ex libris
A library art exhibition featuring found windows by Eddie Hall
March 2- March 28
Berlin artist Eddie Hall is pleased to present ex libris an exhibition of approximately twenty art pieces created working with reclaimed windows. His work combines the rigid uniformity of hard-edge painting with themes of architectural abstraction and design. These works are all made on reclaimed windows and experimenting in glass painting techniques. The overall result is a body of work exhibiting bold colors that delves into the interplay between matte painted surfaces and glass.
This is part of a series of exhibitions at public libraries in Connecticut of art pieces by Eddie Hall created working with reclaimed windows. The series is a likely neverending project where Eddie plans to try and hang work at every library in Connecticut. Public libraries are an important space in our communities where people of all ages, backgrounds, and income levels feel welcome. By showing artwork in these spaces, the project allows his artwork to reach an audience who might not otherwise seek it out or see it at a gallery. Additionally, Eddie hopes this project highlights the use of libraries as an exhibition platform to other artists and the value of these exhibition spaces in the community.
ex Libris is series of shows I am doing at Connecticut libraries. In December of 2024, I did my first library show a little less than a mile from my house at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library. At the time, I just had a larger gallery show and figured it would be something to do with the works instead of putting them back in storage. As a lifelong lover of books and libraries, something about showing at a library resonated with me. Just like I never noticed galleries before I was an artist, I never noticed how many libraries had space to show art until after my show in Berlin. I have seen people unfamiliar with the art world enter gallery shows with trepidation, unsure if they were welcome and even asking whether they need to pay to attend. Public libraries are a unique space in the community and people of all ages, backgrounds, and income levels feel welcome there. Showing my work in these spaces allows it to reach an audience who might not otherwise seek it out, people appreciating my work I would not regularly see at a gallery. There are 169 towns in Connecticut - not all have libraries and not all those libraries have places to display art, but every time I look up where to go next I realize there are even more. I am going to try and display at every library in Connecticut that I can and I probably will not even get close.
Cheshire Public Library
104 Main Street, Cheshire CT 06410
203-272-2245
Library Hours
Monday - Thursday 9am - 8:30pm
Friday and Saturday 9am- 5pm
Virtual Gallery
Eddie Hall is an artist in Berlin, Connecticut creating works using windows which exhibit vibrant colors and geometric patterns drawing inspiration from architectural and design themes. Hall is self taught as an artist, an active member of the Kehler Liddell Gallery and Silvermine Guild of Artists and has been featured and won awards in solo and group shows throughout New England, including at the New Britain Museum of American Art, Mattatuck Museum, Hill-Stead Museum, Mystic Museum of Art, Edward Hopper House & Museum, Slater Memorial Museum, Scope Miami, Hygienic Arts, Cambridge Arts Association, Greenwich Arts Society, New Haven Paint & Clay Club, and Ursa Gallery. He is a recipient of the Artist Respond grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts and his work is in numerous private collections and currently on display at the Connecticut State Capitol Building.
The artwork featured in this show was selected from works created by the artist over the last four years, following a change in focus to acrylic painting on glass. The show is held at the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington.
You can find more information and images of artwork featured in the show at www.eddiehallart.com/reframed-farm.
Library Hours: Monday - Thursday 10am - 8pm; Friday and Saturday 10am - 5pm
For further information please contact: Eddie Hall at info@eddiehallart.com
From the artist:
If you start looking, you would be surprised how many windows you find lying by the side of the road. Art and design elements have been applied to the discarded windows included in my work, transforming them into items of beauty.
After an experiment with an antique window hanging untouched in my kitchen for years, I found myself returning to the visuals I could achieve with acrylic paints on the reverse of recycled windows. In this medium, I saw an ideal presentation for bold colors and geometric patterns.
My process starts with selective removal of imperfections in the windows. Sanding, priming, removing hardware, turning the item into a canvas. Once prepared, detailed work begins taping lines, razoring edges, layering paints in reverse, color selection, meticulously scraping away mistakes, and often planning depth effect using multiple panes and maximizing the interplay between matte and glossy using the reverse and foreground of the glass.
Several themes have presented themselves in these works, some architectural, some representational, and some purely design. These works have allowed me to transform and reuse otherwise discarded items.