ex libris: East Hartford
A library art exhibition featuring fifteen found windows by Eddie Hall
March 31 - April 30
Berlin artist Eddie Hall is pleased to present ex libris an exhibition of fifteen 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.
Eddie Hall is a self-taught abstract artist based in Berlin, Connecticut, known for creating vibrant, geometric works using recycled windows as his canvas. Drawing inspiration from architecture and design, his art transforms discarded materials into bold visual narratives. Hall is a member of the Kehler Liddell Gallery and the Silvermine Guild of Artists, and his work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at institutions including 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, and many others. His work is held in the permanent collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art and Central Connecticut State University and currently on display at the Connecticut State Capitol Building. Hall is currently pursuing the impossible goal of exhibiting at every library with a gallery in Connecticut.
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. There are 169 towns in Connecticut - not all have libraries and not all those libraries have places to display art, but every time Hall looks up where to go next, he realizes there are even more. He loves the challenge of curating works to each unique space in these libraries to show artwork.
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.
Virtual Gallery
A framed artwork of a geometric mountain landscape in shades of blue, white, and gray, with a dark blue sky, inside a wooden frame.
A stained glass window with a heart design, featuring red, yellow, and green geometric shapes, framed by a wooden border.
Abstract artwork with blue, red, black, and turquoise geometric patterns, featuring a large chevron shape in the center and smaller butterfly shapes on the bottom right.
Framed artwork featuring layered green and teal triangles with black borders, arranged in a repeating pattern.
Blue wooden lockbox with geometric cutout pattern and red accents on a light-colored surface.
Decorative wall panel with geometric patterns in green, black, and gold, framed in teal.
A rectangular artwork with a blue frame featuring a geometric pattern of concentric semi-circles in shades of blue, yellow, and red, resembling a stylized sunrise or sunset.
A black-framed clock with a colorful, geometric pattern on its face, mounted on a white wall.
Colorful modern artwork with a white border, featuring vertical streaks of blue, red, yellow, green, and teal colors, framed with a dark blue border, hung on a white wall.
Framed abstract art featuring a 3D geometric pattern with bold colors, primarily blue, yellow, red, and gray, and a black border.
A black chessboard with circular pieces in red and blue patterns, each with white and dark lines.
A wooden frame surrounding a panel with a repeating red and white geometric pattern on a light gray background.
Framed geometric artwork consisting of blue and white three-dimensional triangles arranged in a grid pattern.
Framed geometric art piece with red, blue, and black patterns on a white wall.
A blue and black sliding puzzle toy with a grid of blue tiles inside a black frame.
East Hartford Public Library
840 Main Street
East Hartford, CT 06108
(860) 290-4329
Library Hours
Monday, Friday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday - Thursday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm
Sunday: 1pm - 5pm
A multi-level art gallery with colorful stained glass artworks on the walls and a man standing on the middle balcony leaning on the railing. The room features bright overhead lighting, and shelves filled with books or DVDs are visible at the bottom.
View of computer stations in a library with bookshelves and artwork on the walls.
Art gallery wall displaying framed digital artwork and informational posters, with a gray carpeted floor and fluorescent lights overhead.
Wall with three framed stained glass art pieces, a bookshelf at the left, and a white railing in the foreground.
Interior of an art gallery or museum with framed colorful abstract artwork on the walls and shelves with books and DVDs.
An art gallery with colorful abstract paintings hanging on white walls, a man stands smiling in front of the artwork, and bookshelves are in the foreground.
Interior view of a multi-story library with white tables, bookshelves, and artwork on the walls. The upper level has a white railing and colorful abstract paintings, while the lower level has bookshelves with books.
Interior view of an art gallery with paintings displayed on the walls and bookshelves on the lower level.
An interior view of a multi-story library with shelves filled with books, decorative paintings hanging on the wall, and white railings along the edges of the open space.
Interior of a library or art gallery with a white wall featuring a series of colorful abstract paintings hung in a row, a white metal railing on a lower level, and bookshelves in the background.
Art gallery wall with four framed geometric and abstract colorful paintings, lit by ceiling track lights in a museum or gallery space.
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.