For example, Gummer’s work Towers seems to brandish swaying branches to the sky from the side angle, while loosely rising like a skyscraper in the front view. The Center’s splendid location atop a rise just slightly lower than nearby Brandy Hill means that every bit of outdoor art has room to breathe amidst inspiring surroundings. But Gummer’s pieces have both symmetry and undulation to them, executed in metal with burnished edges. The metal slats and open sides made me think of our childhood motley fabrication of tree houses we built from scavenged lumber.
At Don Gummer’s opening last week, we approached the piece Open House from the back, and I immediately took it for a variation on tree house.
The center has all kinds of art labs: drawing, printmaking, digital, ceramic, photo, painting studios, a children’s space and a handsome auditorium for artists to unleash their free imaginings. Those freedom vibes infuse the site to this day. These sorts of installations carry much persuasive power, lying just a hop and a skip from the birthplace of John Brown, the abolitionist with ferocious anti-slavery convictions. Don Gummer’s sculpture spread around the generous acreage of the Five Points Art Center in Torrington, Connecticut features porous structures that frame and reframe the environment, letting metal members melt into the natural world. Sculpture loves the sky, taking cloud, rays, forest and field as volumes to shape.