I really don’t think I am exaggerating when I say it is the rare day that passes when I’m not struck by someone’s ingenuity or creativity, reaffirming my admiration for the human heart and mind.

Julia Zanes                                                                                                                                          The Golden Game (House without Walls) © 2012, (left)                    The Golden Game II, (right)     In her statement, Zanes says that her series of 5 Golden Game paintings (4 of which appear in this exhibit) are inspired by board games, formal gardens, alchemical engravings, Islamic, Persian and Indian art. She intentionally made them large enough that the viewer would feel on a scale with the image, “so as to allow (one) to step into the scene as a viewer and participate in the game”.

But it is unusual to encounter an exhibition that marries artwork with its venue in such a way that it becomes possible, however briefly, to step within an environment that is entirely removed from the stresses that currently dominate our world consciousness, finding oneself instead in the midst of an otherworldly place of dreams and color and light.

Donald Saaf     ©2015 Dream of Andrei Rabin, oil on canvas

Julia Zanes’ and Donald Saaf’s current show, Parables, at the Kent Museum in Calais, VT is such a reprieve. Their work is luminous and fanciful, richly saturated with color, pattern and visual texture, telling stories that hang on the endings we privately provide. Saaf’s interest in memory and Zanes’ concentration on narrative serve up a world that, in the way of the Brothers Grimm, is both foreign and hauntingly familiar.

Julia Zanes     ©2014 Blue Boat

Paintings, sculpture, and marionettes seem happily at home displayed throughout the brick tavern that is over 175 years old and whose walls, some enlivened by exposed lath-work and others bearing the patina of wallpaper worn and torn with age, foster an imagination-nurturing symbiosis between art and environment. It is a full-on experience that is not to be missed.

Donald Saaf     © 2014 Apple Orchard,     oil, mixed media on canvas

Peak foliage is almost upon us, so a trip to the rural hamlet of Historic Kents’ Corner is much more than a mere drive from “here to there”; it bookends and wraps together an experience that will lift you up and sweep you away.

Julia Zanes     © 2013 Saint                                                         surrounded by others in The Blue Prophetic Alphabet series

Since Parables will only be on view for one more weekend, I strongly urge you to make room on your calendar: Friday – Sunday, October 7-9, 10am – 5pm.

Julia Zanes     © Puppets