In Vermont, a Once-Yearly Exhibition Juxtaposes Contemporary Art With Everyday History

With a population of only 600,000, Vermont seems to exist outside the confines of the United States, as if it were its own country. Living is different here. Much is rural, traffic on the interstate is sparse and noise pollution is minimal—where I live, it is nonexistent. Vermont was the first state in the union to outlaw slavery in its constitution and the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through legislation. It has no commercial billboards, and its high-quality granite was used in building the New York Public Library and the UN.

All of this makes Vermont unique, as does as a once-a-year cultural phenomenon—the ephemeral art gallery in the partially deconstructed Kents’ Corner site. For the past sixteen years, Art at the Kent has showcased the work of Vermont artists in the historic house every September for only one month. The exhibition is unique, and the building where the art is shown is a wholly different kind of work of art.

I have been attending Art at the Kent for years, and each time, I am enthralled by how the curators magically transform the space into a living, breathing experience. This is not a white-walled gallery or a hushed museum; this is a vibrating, intimate and alive space. The rooms are small and require a labyrinthine meander through doors and passageways, up and down narrow stairways. There are brick fireplaces, old-paned windows, original wallpaper… even a plaster wall with penciled graffiti from early last century.

Getting to the museum is an experience in itself. Located in the middle of the state, it takes dirt roads weaving through tiny villages to get to the crossroads of Kents’ Corner in Calais. Once a tavern, hotel and general store, constructed in 1833 with additions in 1854, the Kent served travelers along the stage road between Canada and Montpelier. Because the buildings are kept in their raw state, the property enhances the artwork. Outdoors, sculptures grace the sloping lawns, stand beside a brimming-with-fruit apple tree and are tucked into the foliage. There is even a stone maze embedded in the grass, overlooking lush green fields and forest. Idyllic is an apt descriptor.

The Kent Museum is part of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, and this year’s exhibition, “Illuminated Worlds,” showcases the work of twenty-five contemporary Vermont artists. Co-curators Cornelia Emlen, Allyson Evans and David Schütz (Vermont’s state curator) are a formidable crew. Every year they select a new group of artists—there have never been repeats. Over the years, they’ve tirelessly installed many mediums throughout the rooms. Paintings, glasswork, ceramics, wood and stone sculptures, photography, fiber art, metalwork and paper… all showcased in relation to the many wall colors and wallpaper, stairwells, fireplaces, windows and raw wood. The overall experience forces you to slow down and really look, which is what both art and people need.

There are too many deserving artworks in “Illuminated Worlds” to cite here. Each is a jewel, in a jewel of a setting, in a sensitive and careful installation that stuns. Split lath (wood underlying plaster) walls, torn 19th-century wallpaper, the light shining through the many windows… you can’t separate the art from its backdrop. Evans told Observer that “the building is the key curator, the fourth curator, and we listen to every nook and cranny. We can’t be rushed when we install. It is a puzzle.” The work on show shifts throughout the month when pieces are sold and taken away by out-of-state buyers or the curators find a better place to highlight a particular work. “We always say, Art at the Kent is not done till the closing,” Emlen added. Many people return to see the show again because there is so much to take in, with art and building illuminating one another, offering a contrasting, shifting perspective. Sometimes people plan their vacations around the exhibition. The buildings are open for just a month each year, but it is the third most visited historic site in the state.

Added to the mix are a lot more offerings: six author readings, an art café on Friday mornings with homemade scones, artist talks and presentations, workshops and tea tastings. This year, there’s even a demo and discussion on the autumn equinox with a planetarium manager, a meteorologist and a sundial designer.

Since 2008, the curators have chosen to stage the exhibition during peak fall foliage season, which in Vermont attracts a lot of visitors. The site offers its challenges, according to Emlen. “Nothing can be changed in the building, and we can’t put holes in the walls. We don’t think of this as a gallery. It’s an old-fashioned exhibition, an event.” One group from Indiana that comes every year told me, “This is our tradition, a destination, and we’re obsessed with it.” Last year, five thousand people visited the exhibition.

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One of the joys of this unique show is getting to know each artist in their own words. In folders scattered throughout the space there are the stories the artists tell about their work—not quite artist statements, they offer insights into how each artist thinks, their influences and processes. You could spend a long time sitting and reading these stories, which also include the prices of the works on display. How refreshing not to see prices displayed on the walls. “We want people to see the reason for the work—the backstory,” said Evans. Each featured artist has up to twenty works in Art at the Kent, staged in many different parts of the building.

Evans and Emlen are amazed at the response to the exhibition, but also gratified, a it takes an entire year to choose artists, visit studios, select works, organized the auxiliary events and install the show.

“The hook is the response from the people; this is a labor of love,” Emlen said. Evans added, “The reward is watching people move through the rooms. It brings tears to my eyes.” I am one of those people, and each year that I go, I am moved by this old building filled with contemporary art. Both illuminate the other with love.