Bristol Artists Featured in Small Works Juried Community Exhibit

The Bristol Art Museum, in partnership with the Rogers Free Library, announces a new community exhibit, Small Works, a compilation of two-dimensional works of drawings, paintings, photography, prints, or collage featuring several artists from Bristol. The exhibit can be viewed now through Dec. 16 in the Community Galleries of the Library, located across the street from the Museum. The exhibit was judged by Rhode Island artist Rina Naik.

The Small Works exhibit is comprised of 70 pieces of art, six of which were chosen for recognition. The pieces are two-dimensional in form and limited to 12 inches on either side. Large in imagination, but small in size, Small Works provides artists the opportunity to share a wide variety of styles, media, and subject matter.

The following artists’ works were selected for the exhibit:

• Cathy Boyd, Breaking the Sound Barrier, acrylic and graphite on canvas and Aegean Storm, acrylic on canvas.
• Caroline Calia, photographs, Early Morning and End of the Road.
• Lauren Enjeti, Leader Uniforms, mixed media, and County Cleansers, pen and ink watercolor.
• Oryann Lima, The Harbor, acrylic on canvas.
• Suzanne Lewis, watercolors Winter's Day, Colt State Park and Mt. Hope Farm.
• Vicky McGrath, photographs Washington Monument Moment and Mackeral Cove Lock.
• Al Wroblewski, New Sanctions, acrylic and collage.

“The theme of the Small Works exhibit resonated with me, as much of my work is on a smaller scale,” said Naik, Bristol Art Museum Guest Curator. “For this reason, I am very familiar with the joys and challenges of creating work at these sizes. It was a pleasure to see the variety of themes and media represented in the submissions. Artists took this opportunity to showcase a wide variety of subject matter from landscapes to a close-up image of beautiful lips and everything in between. Their artistic points of view made us see the familiar in new ways on a small scale.

Naik, the juror, is an Asian Indian-American artist who primarily focuses on oil painting using the cold wax medium. As of late, she has been exploring mixed media pieces on paper and panel with sumi ink, acrylic inks, asemic writing, Japanese papers, etc. She draws inspiration from the New England Landscapes, in particular, plein air painting on the Cape. Naik shares “New England landscapes are magical in their beauty,” and created a series of mini paintings called Truro wanderings.

Ms. Naik holds a certificate in drawing and painting from RISDce and an MFA in Interior design from Endicott College. She lives and works in Plainville, Massachusetts and has participated in numerous shows, receiving awards of merit and excellence. Her work can be found in private collections. Naik was awarded the Best Emerging Artist Award at the Art Providence Holiday show in 2018; Viewer’s Choice Award, second place, Pawtucket Arts Collaborative Member Show; Merit Award, Attleboro Museum Member Show, Attleboro Arts Museum; and Distinction of Excellence, National Juried Show, IMAGO Gallery, Warren, RI.

Naik is a member of IFA Imago Foundation for the Arts, Fort Point Arts Community; Monotype Guild of New England; Attleboro Arts Museum; Pawtucket Arts Collaborative; and the Concord Center for Visual Art, Concord.