Artists Flock to Guild Hall Opening

A colorful and artistic crowd gathered at Guild Hall  on Saturday night to celebrate the opening of two new exhibitions: "Mary Ellen Bartley: Leaning Above the Page" and "New Additions and Works From the Permanent Collection."

Ms. Bartley, who recently had a solo show at the Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York City, was awarded top honors by Lilly Wei in the 2012 Artists Members Exhbition. At Guild Hall this autumn and winter, she is showing photographs from five series: "Paperbacks," "Standing Open," "Blue Books," "Sea Change," and "Push 2 Stops." The catalog features an interview with the artist conducted by Ross Bleckner.  Mr. Bleckner described one of her works as a "quiet composed still life and suddenly it starts to vibrate."

Throughout the rest of the museum are more than 50 works acquired by or donated to the museum's permanent collection, many by artists given the lifetime achievement award by Guild Hall. Those artists on view include Jennifer Bartlett, Joe Pintauro, David Salle, April Gornik, William King, Eric Fischl, Chuck Close,  Estaban Vicente, and Larry Rivers, and there are many, many more.

Ms. Bartley will lead a tour of her show on Saturday at 2 p.m. Christina Strassfield, the director of the museum and chief curator, will give a gallery talk on the permanent collection show on Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. Both exhibitions will be on view through the new year.