Current Show

JUROR:  Kevin Rita is the Director/Principle of Garvey Rita Art & Antiques in East Orleans, MA. Originally established in Connecticut in 1991 as Paesaggio Gallery, Garvey Rita specializes in contemporary and modern American paintings and works on paper of the highest quality. They curate and produce exhibitions as well as advise corporate and private clients; actively buy and sell works on the secondary market and offer professional services in the areas of appraisals, auction representation, collection development, consignment sales, and conservation. Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Rita has a BA in English and Philosophy, graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Michaels College and did further post-graduate education at Goddard College where he studied with the Nobel laureate, Louise Gluck. After a 10 year career in Human Resources he followed his passion and opened Garvey Rita Art & Antiques specializing in antiquarian and first edition books and American paintings and works on paper. He also started exhibiting at art fairs and book shows throughout the Northeast. He is currently an elected board member of the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America and a member of the Southern New England Association of Booksellers.

JUROR STATEMENT:  I am not interested in what some might term “originality” in that nothing can be. I am also not interested in pure technical facility although an understanding of color, or lack of it, composition and a quality of line are important elements in a work of art. I am most interested in honesty and process. I want to feel that choices are being made and worked out through the process of creating a work of art. I am not interested in a “finished product” so I always prefer the journey to the arrival. I have attempted to curate this exhibition with the idea that the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts. That the conversations that different works have add a larger dimension to the individual pieces. Kevin Rita