Curated by Eric Litke & Peter Hastings Falk

Avant Colony: Unearthing the Westbrook Gallery presents the early history of an artist-run gallery and performance space on the Connecticut shoreline - the Westbrook Gallery, founded in 1956 by West Haven native Aage V. Hogfeldt (1925-2014) a Word War II veteran and 1951 graduate of the Yale School of Art. The exhibition presents original artwork which has not been seen publicly since the period by six artists who constituted the Gallery's core active group in the early years of 1956-64: the aforementioned Hogfeldt, William Kent (1919-2012), Leo V. Jensen (1926-2019), David T.S. Jones (1926-1996), William Skardon (1923-1983) and Robert Alan DeVoe (1928-1992).

Through paintings, works on paper, three-dimensional works, and artist books - as well as printed ephemera, period newspaper articles, photography, and accompanying essay - this exhibition is the first to explore this group of artists and their interest in formal innovation, collaboration, and exchange of ideas. Accompanying the exhibition will be a satellite gallery presenting 1960s paintings by a contemporary of the group, artist Ruth S. Tyler (1922-2006) including works last seen publicly at the Ely Center in 1963.

Exhibition Dates: February 1- March 31, 2024