New exhibit from longstanding artist

NORTHAMPTON — William Baczek Fine Arts is paying tribute to one of its most senior artists, Larry Preston, with a six-week solo exhibit of new still life oil paintings.

Preston, a Worcester native who as a teenager was a great admirer of the Worcester Art Museum’s collection of Flemish still life paintings, has been exhibiting at Baczek Finer Arts since it opened in 1996 and has had a number of previous shows there.

In the current exhibit, which runs through June 17, the artist offers 15 new and recent works, ranging from images of flowers, fruits, and vegetables to more whimsical tableaus of half-eaten donuts.

“Larry Preston’s paintings are not overly ponderous or weighted by history,” gallery owner William Baczek says. “They are serious paintings that do not take themselves too seriously.”

Preston, a professional musician before he turned to painting, says he paints “what I find beautiful. I do not paint to be relevant, for an audience or to make any statement other than to capture the beauty to be found in the objects I choose to paint.”

More information on the exhibit is available at wbfinearts.com.

Valley ClassicalConcerts wraps upits season

NORTHAMPTON — The Boston-based Balourdet Quartet, which won a number of awards in recent years in Italy and the U.S., will perform at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Integrity in Florence May 21 at 3 p.m., in the final concert of the year by Valley Classical Concerts.

The young musicians — two violinists, one violist, and one cellist — are currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program.

The quartet, formed in 2018 at Rice University in Texas, takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, “chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community,” according to the group’s website.

At their performance, the ensemble will perform Hugo Wolf’s “Italian Serenade,” Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44, No. 2, and Beethoven’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130, with Grosse Fuge, Op. 133.

Tickets and additional information can be found at bombyx.live.

Community readingproject about land use

NORTHAMPTON — Historic Northampton and the Montview Neighborhood Project are hosting a community read of “Reclaiming American Cities: The Struggle for People, Place, and Nature since 1900” by Northampton writer Rutherford Platt, a former professor of geography at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Platt’s 2014 book looks at the haphazard way many U.S. cities evolved in the 20th century, where poor planning, or planning efforts dominated by moneyed interests, led to ravaged neighborhoods, traffic-choked streets and suburban sprawl.

But the book also highlights more recent efforts led by grassroots groups to make cities more livable, such as the introduction of bike lanes and urban gardens.

The community read is in preparation for a June 5 panel discussion, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Forbes Library that will be led by Platt and which will consider controversial planning decisions in Northampton, including in the Montview neighborhood.

Montview Neighborhood Project is working with Historic Northampton to document the geography, architecture, and the social and cultural history of that area of the city.

Copies of “Reclaiming American Cities” are available at Forbes Library and can be purchased for $5 from Claudia Lefko by contacting her at (413) 584-0068 or at iraqichildrensart@gmail.com.

Exploring creativity with a masterphotographer

HATFIELD — Photographer Nona Hatay, whose work has been featured in museums, newspapers and magazines, and two books on Jimi Hendrix, will lead two collage workshops at the Old Mill Inn, 87 School Street, on May 14 and 15.

Over the past 20-plus years, Hatay has developed a photo art series called Natural Illusions, in which she creates mirror images of natural settings. For her workshops, she’ll provide a large selection of these photos that workshop attendees can cut up to create an 8 x 10-inch framed, finished collage work.

The workshops, which cost $60, come with a complementary glass of wine, beer, or other beverage. Vegetarian chili is also available with a $10 preorder.

No art background or experience is needed. The May 14 workshop takes place noon to 2 p.m., the May 15 session from 6 to 8 p.m. Preregistration is required; call or text Deb Killeen at (508) 360-7845 or come to the cafe at the Old Mill Inn between 8 and 11 a.m.

UMass alumna shines in NYC opera competition

AMHERST — Natalie Lewis, a 2021 vocal studies major from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was one of six winners last month at the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition in New York, with the winners chosen from over 1,200 applicants.

The contest, designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in their career development, is overseen by a panel of administrators from major opera companies and grants cash prizes of $20,000 to each winner.

Earlier this year, Lewis, a graduate student at The Juilliard School, earned a $10,000 prize when she won first place in a competition sponsored by the Houston Grand Opera. She also made her Carnegie Hall debut and has become a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Germany.

UMass voice professor William Hite, who worked with Lewis, says she’s “clearly on the verge of a major operatic career,” with a skills set at age 24 that puts her “on par with the more mature vocalists.”

In a statement, Lewis, who attended Bedford High School in eastern Massachusetts, credits the UMass vocal program and Hite in particular with helping her with her overall development and winning a spot at Julliard.

“Going to UMass helped me grow and develop as a person and human being outside of music,” she said. “I’m really happy that I fell in love with opera at a place where it wasn’t the only thing that surrounded me.”

Art for divisive age

SOUTH HADLEY — A collaborative fiber project designed to represent community is now on display in the Williston Library at Mount Holyoke College.

“Devotion,” a 30-foot collage conceived by Mount Holyoke senior Karla Biery, includes the artwork of more than 70 students, including Five College students, through commitment to the patient processes of building community and creating fiber art.

The artwork is part of a project requirement for Biery, a critical social thought major. She told the Mount Holyoke News, the student newspaper, that she had originally created a painting with connecting patterns but then thought of a large fiber collage.

“It’s trying to represent that feeling of connection between people,” she said, the idea of “actually building something together instead of tearing each other apart.”

— Compiled by Steve Pfarrer

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