The WhoLE TRUTH: The Exhibit

I had a long drive to prepare myself for the Matthew Rose show at Gallery-in-the-Field in Brandon, VT. What a beautiful ride from my hometown of Fort Plain, NY in the lush Mohawk Valley, past Lake George and Lake Champlain locks...to the rolling farmlands of Vermont. Sleepy vintage towns with extreme church steeples and tiny schoolhouses, quiet vacation lakes with sparkling waters, and busy operating farms finally gave way to the beautiful setting that belongs to Gallery-in-the-Field. By it's simple, white picket gateway, you would never guess that such a color explosion was only a few yards away.
I was surprised to find this gallery off the beaten trail, almost an oasis in the middle of Vermonts' rich, coifed farmland. I couldn't believe anyone would find it, let alone travel to this place in the middle of nowhere! This gallery is truly a hidden treasure.



I arrived early and had a chance to meet Matthew before the exhibit. He was in and out of the gallery, checking on his arrangement, re-arranging, and then after that re-arranging and then arranging some more. On the wall were literally hundreds of detailed collage works. I was taken back at the amount of pieces that he assembled for this exhibit. I thought of the hours that were represented behind the scenes, the many nights of dazed eyes and painting and gluing, the endless cutting that was required to prepare all of these pieces. This was a cross-section of Matthew Roses' reality, a splaying of thoughts and cross-references, a series of symbols, suggestions and subtle or blatant commentary. This was The Whole Truth. period.



The works were arranged loosely on the wall into categories that only the creator of such a large amount of things could understand. Sifting thru them slowly I got lost in his world. Fascinating color combinations, surreal situations, and the surface texture of Matthew Roses' pieces kept me enthralled for over 2 hours. It took time to absorb the feeling behind it all! Sensory overload!


The talk Matthew gave enlightened me as to the amount of information reeling around inside his head. He spoke of Paris, the US, collage, and a bit about his life. This lecture did not clue me in about his ideas and thoughts nearly as much as the myriad of images hanging on the walls around me. No amount of talking could clarify thoughts that seemed to be better explained by the graphic imagery and symbology used in his collage work.
After the talk, people gathered around Matthew to ask even more personal questions, and others took advanatage of the fantastic spread of food goodies and wine that was provided by Gallery-in-the-Field. Who could resist the tempting pastries and appetizers???


I left Vermont full and inspired. The food settled in nicely on the ride back and I spent the next 3 hours mulling over the various works that I had scene, and the words that were spoken, and new ideas to consider
The show will be hanging in Vermont at The Gallery-in-the-Field through July 8, 2007. You won't be disappointed.