"Summer Colors" Exhibit at the DeBlois Gallery
July 4 - 31, 2026
Annie Winthrop Cordin: to Register call the gallery at 401-847-9977
Our July exhibit features the work of photographers Michael Day, Sylvia Hampton, and Caterine Milinaire, as well as multimedia artist Vesna Longton.The show’s title, Summer Colors, celebrates the vibrant colors and festivals that summer evokes, as the artists seek out beauty and energy in their work.
Wildlife photographer and DeBlois member Michael Day gathers strength and sanity by walking daily in the forest, communing with whatever nature brings, learning the patterns, activities, and songs of the birds in every season of the year. Although his main project is to document the beauty of wildlife near where he lives in Illinois, recent travels have taken him to distant lands. In this exhibit, he celebrates creatures from around the world: Alaska, Antarctica, Argentina, Florida, Illinois, Japan, and Rhode Island.
According to photographer Sylvia Hampton, “as a child, student, college grad, wife, mother and the person still inspired by the world around me, I have always had a camera, owned or borrowed. Early in my photo-life, I learned film and darkroom process. Much later, with time and training these became digital technique. More importantly, I had the curiosity and enthusiasm. I still find endless inspiration in the world around me, bringing shells, flowers, feathers and antique lumber together in my studio. As someone once said, I pay “quiet attention to the most seemingly ordinary and insignificant details.” I am drawn to the textures in nature, the patterns, and the many ways light plays a part; my style developed over time, and the light and the seasons were my ‘directors.’”
Multimedia artist Vesna Longton tells us: “Beyond time, everything is One. The Big Bang broke existence into pieces and we became carriers of combinations of energies and matter. As a source of sacred knowledge, art helps me collect pieces of that big puzzle. My artistic universe connects with the philosophy of the world through shamanism and cosmogenism. When artists were healers and shamans, their creations had meaning and power. I believe in artosomatics – the power of art to create wholeness and healing. My sculptures have colors, density and transparency, and my paintings are often made of multiple layers of epoxy or plexiglass to create depth in layers of colors, or built from multiple canvases to simulate a puzzle effect. I use light as a symbol for the soul in my artworks, which are usually based on a symbol or metaphor and carry a coded message. Everything you see and hear in reality or imagination is related to you in the past, present and future. Therefore, if you are looking at my art, it is about you.”
Caterine Milinaire is a journalist, photographer, and author. She was educated in Paris and in England. Milinaire is the daughter of Henri and Nicole Milinaire. Diana Vreeland, editor in chief at Vogue Magazine in the mid 1960’s, hired her to come to New York and edit youth fashion pages for the magazine. While an editor at that publication she worked with Irving Penn and took photography classes from Richard Avedon. Caterine went on to travel around the world several times taking photographs, writing articles for many other magazines. She is the author of 4 books of text, photos and drawings: Birth, Cheap Chic, Celebrations, and Liana the Wandering Vine. Currently Caterine continues to add photographs and drawings to her Festive Fiestas pictures project.
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The DeBlois Gallery is located at 134 Aquidneck Avenue in Middletown and is open 1:00 – 5:00 PM Wednesday through Sunday. All welcome; ample, free parking! DeBlois Gallery is actively seeking artists who would like to show their work in 2027. Please see our website for details.
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