CLAREMONT, N.H. — RVCC Projects is pleased to present “A Brief Reprieve,” a selection of recent acrylic on paper paintings by Goffstown-based artists Zachary DeWitt. The exhibit will run from March 4 to June 6, 2025. An opening reception will be held Wednesday, March 12 from noon to 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
DeWitt thinks of his process as visual journaling in which he explores memories both personal and collective. Landscapes recalled from early childhood emerge with heighted color and expressive brushwork; the scenes are rendered both mysterious yet familiar through the mediation of memory and paint. Recognizable images appear amidst seemingly abstract expanses of energetic brushwork creating a dynamic tension between image and surface.
Throughout his work, DeWitt draws upon his career as a mental health counselor as a source of inspiration. The title of the exhibit is borrowed from one of the paintings in the exhibit and suggests how art can offer both the artist and the viewer a moment of quiet contemplation, a pause — a brief reprieve — from the unpredictability and challenges of everyday life. The practice of journaling — whether linguistic or visual — can be a helpful tool in processing feelings and emotions. This exhibit intends to draw the viewer’s attention to art’s capacity to provide solace, comfort and joy.
As discussed in his artist statement, Dewitt’s work is intended to “hold space for and allow viewers to reflect on their own senses of home, nature, and nostalgia.”
RVCC Projects is a gallery and project space that serves as a platform for art exhibitions, special projects and public programs that complement RVCC’s curriculum, promote diversity and enrich the cultural landscape of the community. The gallery hosts three exhibitions per year, highlighting the artistic achievements of artists working across media, with a special emphasis on critically engaged, rigorous art from the region.
For more information, visit rivervalley.edu/gallery.
