Steve Parlato

May 8- July 14

Join us on May 8th from 6:00 PM-7:30 PM for Steve’s gallery opening and reception. For more information and to RSVP, click the button below.

STEVE PARLATO BIO

Middlebury artist Steven Parlato’s work has graced theater posters and book covers, and he’s exhibited his collage series, They Are Not Disposable, throughout CT and in NJ, PA, and OH. An award-winning poet and college professor emeritus, Parlato is the author of two young adult novels, The Namesake (winner of the 2011 Tassy Walden Award for New Voices in YA Fiction) and The Precious Dreadful. Both explore grief, loss, and hope. His poetry has appeared in Freshwater, MARGIE, Borderlands, Peregrine, CT River Review, and other journals. On stage, he’s played roles ranging from the Scarecrow to Macbeth. Parlato offers writing workshops at venues throughout CT and creates artwork on commission. Follow him on FB at Steven Parlato Author and IG: @stevenparlato.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

They Are Not Disposable should not need to exist. However, the persistent plague of systemic racism in America (and beyond) makes this artwork necessary. With the collage series complete, the sixteen initials within the works unite to make the declaration, “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” It is absurd this statement should need to be made; tragic it should still be met with resistance. 

Since this is the reality of our world, I ask that you meet threats to justice with your own resistance, in whatever creative form you choose. The only wrong way to approach racism, and all other forms of evil, is to remain silent. As I reflect on the creation of these images, I’m daunted by the work to be done—and overwhelmed by the fact that there are a near-infinite number of potential subjects, countless lives stolen by the evil of white supremacy. 

My hope is that this work leaves an impression, reminding viewers of the intrinsic humanity of each subject, and that of each individual we encounter. If my portraits of the stolen have touched you, I encourage you to learn more about these sixteen people, to keep their memories alive as I’ve attempted to do. And together, let’s confront the issues of inequity and racial violence that continue to claim innocent lives.

Marie Louise Trichet Art Gallery

“What was any art but a mold in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself – life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.” –Willa Cather

About the Gallery

What a happy marriage the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery and Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center enjoy. Over 25 years a wide variety of artists working in various mediums have exhibited in the gallery, each capturing some element of life that reveals the Divine.

Visit the gallery Monday through Saturday* 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. *It is advisable to call to inquire about Saturday hours.

Come breathe in this quiet space and catch a glimpse of a moment of creation.