Artists and curators Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg recently announced the highly anticipated fall art exhibition opening at Forest Hall Studios in Milford, PA. The big reveal, September 23, 2023, will showcase the art of Hunt Slonem (who has permanent collections in the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Bruce Dehnert (International Sculpture with pieces on display in The White House), and the fresh eye of emerging photographer Vincent Caruso.
“Forest Hall” is an iconic, architecturally important 19th-century bluestone building in the heart of Milford, Pennsylvania, known as the birthplace of the American Conservation Movement. The exhibition opening is 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 23. Admission is complimentary. Exhibit Hours following the opening will run on Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Milford has been a getaway for New Yorkers since the mid-19th Century, being 90 minutes from the city.
Hunt Slonem is best known for his paintings of bunnies, butterflies, and tropical birds, as well as his large-scale sculptures and restorations of forgotten historic homes. Slonem’s works can be found in the permanent collections of 250 museums worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, the Miro Foundation, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Slonem’s 86-foot mural of birds at the Bryant Park Grill Restaurant in New York City has inspired numerous collectors and partnerships. Slonem’s notable collectors include Sharon Stone, Julianne Moore, Kris and Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Brooke Shields. Slonem’s exhibit “Wildlife” aligns with the building and theme. Makos said that he and Solberg are “beyond excited to share the world that Hunt Slonem creates, as well as meet the artist and experience his portraits of the natural world, which are so perfectly aligned with the history of Forest Hall.”
Fulbright Award selector Bruce Dehnert’s “Alula” is an exhibition of Dehnert’s recent efforts to describe the nature of Architecture and the architecture of Nature. As Dehnert says, “It’s the architecture of impulsive cuts to the left when I know it’s not right… following nature’s intuition rather than mine.” The internationally known ceramist, founder, and educator of Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts in Maplecrest, NY, at the Catskill Mountain Foundation is an author of works displayed in numerous national and international collections from North America to New Zealand. “Alula” is a unique installation made especially for Forest Hall.
“Shadows,” by artist Vincent Caruso, is currently on display. The most intimate of the three shows, Caruso’s youthful curiosity showcases engaging visual effects exploring the mystery between light and dark. Caruso is a Hallmark Institute of Photography graduate, passionate about creating images of mystery, reminding us to observe the beauty in the smallest details.
Steven Rosado of Milford Hospitality Group said, “Our vision with Forest Hall Studios is to draw from the origin of its vision and purpose- a focus on the conservation movement started by Gifford Pinchot and President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s. You will find a common theme with our Curators and the artists they have chosen with exhibits, such as “Andy in Nature,” “Wildlife,” “Shadows,” and more.”
The original part of Forest Hall was built in the 1860s and designed by Calvert Vaux, New York’s Central Park co-designer. Its original iteration included a residential painting studio used by masters of the Hudson River School, including Worthington Whittredge, John Weir, Jervis McEntee, and Sanford Gifford. Forest Hall Studios previously displayed “Andy in Nature” – a rare glimpse of two disparate bodies of work from two iconic artists, Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg. Makos, a long friend and collaborator of Andy Warhol, shows the human side of the artist, bringing his iconic subject “outdoors” in places like Colorado, New England, Paris, and Montauk, offering someone other than the caricatured image of the commercial Andy Warhol. Solberg, known for his monumental flower portraits, is where Robert Mapplethorpe and Georgia O’Keefe merge, bringing new life to the ubiquitous subject while giving a nod to Warhol’s own exploration of the subject of flowers.
Admission to Forest Hall Studios exhibition is complimentary. Following the September 23rd opening, exhibit hours are Saturdays 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sundays 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The hall will house “The Store” at the entry level, where merchandise can be purchased.
