New Work by Emmet Estrada!

Top Drawer eNewsletter 1.17.12

Happy New Year from Top Drawer Art at The Brass!

Another year has passed and our art program is stronger than ever, producing some of the most original, honest, and innovative artwork in the country, with no signs of slowing down!  We’ve got some exciting news to tell you about for the upcoming year.

The Brass will be part of the brand new Bristol/Warren “Art Night”, a new joint initiative of Bristol Independent Galleries (BIG) and the Warren Arts Initiative (WAI) aimed at showcasing the work of Bristol and Warren artists during nine “Art Night” events in 2012.

Art Night will run from 5pm to 8pm on the last Thursday of every month in 2012 except December, January and February.  A trolley service and “Art Night” map/brochure will help guide visitors to various galleries in both Bristol and Warren.  Each monthly event will also feature two “Open Studio Tours”.  Stay tuned for more info as these events unfold.

For our first Art Night event at Top Drawer Art at The Brass, we will present an exhibition of new drawings by acclaimed artist Emmet Estrada.  Emmet is a recent winner of the 2010 Wynn Newhouse Award, a major national award from the Newhouse Foundation for artists with disabilities.  In addition to that award and subsequent exhibition in New York City, Emmet recently was part of the Revealing Culture exhibit in the 2010 International VSA Festival, composed of hundreds of artists from around the world and showcased at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.  Emmet’s new work is focused in the realm of drawing rather than painting, but is every bit as compelling, as his lines have seemed to have exploded into truly frenetic and captivating works, invoking classic artists such as De Kooning.

Emmet Estrada: Drawings will be on view from March 5 – 30, 2012.  Opening Reception is Thursday, March 29, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

For more info on Top Drawer’s Art Night schedule for 2012, go here.

Until next time, keep on supporting the arts in RI!

Top Drawer eNewsletter 12.7.11

Happy Holidays from Top Drawer Art at The Brass!

Don’t forget this Saturday is our annual Holiday Art Sale, Saturday, December 10, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.!  We’ve got lots of new items in stock, including ornamental Christmas arrangements, Holiday card sets, our one-of-a-kind decorative Snowmen, and brand-new screen printed cloth messenger bags featuring a new Sand Dollar design from Ian Deslaurier!  As for all of our sales, FINE ART PURCHASES WILL BE 30% OFF FOR THE DAY!  Stop in and grab some great holiday gifts, as well as that painting or drawing you’ve always had your eye on!   

Remember all your purchases go towards supporting adults with developmental disabilities!

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

Top Drawer eNewsletter 11.22.11

Happy Holidays from Top Drawer Art at The Brass!

Don’t miss any of our great Holiday events this year! 

We will be open this weekend during the 23^rd Annual Warren Holiday Festival, Saturday, November 26^th, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.!  Come to Warren for a day-long celebration of the Holiday season, which includes special events at many local businesses and an appearance by Santa Claus himself!  Please see the Warren Times website, www.warrenri.com, for a complete, downloadable schedule of events.

Top Drawer will also be all decked out for the Warren Wonderland, part of Discover Warren’s holiday-themed celebration of our local arts and culture, Friday, December 2, from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.!  We’ve got lots of new items in stock, including ornamental Christmas arrangements, Holiday card sets, our one-of-a-kind decorative Snowmen, and as always lots of great new artwork to see!  Visit Discover Warren at www.discoverwarren.com for a great look at what our town has to offer.   

If you can’t make the Warren Wonderland or the Holiday Festival, come and see us for our annual Holiday Art Sale, Saturday, December 10, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.!  This sale coincides with the 30 Cutler St. Studios Holiday Sale, so it’ll be a great occasion to explore all the great things our talented neighbors, including Mudstone Studios, have to offer as well!

See you at one of these great events!

Until next time, keep on supporting the arts in RI!

Remember all your purchases go towards supporting adults with developmental disabilities!

Top Drawer eNewsletter 10.20.11

Happy Halloween!!

Scroll down to see some of the great Halloween art that folks have been working on, and click here to see new Artist pages including Ian Deslaurier, Johnny McKenna, and Katie Carcieri.

THIS SUNDAY, October 23 at 12 p.m. visit us during the Warren Walkabout, the annual arts and business festival highlighting local art studios, restaurants, and shops in the quaint town of Warren.  Free trolley rides will be running to all the selected destinations, including us at The Brass!  Come see our brand new Halloween projects and do some early Christmas shopping as well!  Other town activities include a Dragon ride to a pumpkin patch and Sine Nomine’s Roving Singers!  For more info on the Walkabout go here.

See you this Sunday, until then keep on supporting the arts!

                                                                                                  Toni Vollaro

     Haunted House by David Toste

Anthony Pontarelli

                                                                                        Ghost by Anthony Brum

Jack-O-Lantern and Scarecrow by Dominic Cabral

Top Drawer eNewsletter 10.7.11

Hello everyone!

We’d like to thank everyone who attended Outside The Lines: New Classics from Top Drawer Art at The BRASS at the Providence Art Club, and for everyone who generously supported us during this historic exhibition, including Anthony Carcieri, Josie Merck, and State Rep. Deb Ruggiero!  We also can’t forget Seb Borges, Kristin Grimm, Dan Michener and everyone else at the Providence Art Club for making this show happen! 

For those that weren’t able to see the show, and all other supporters of Top Drawer, please join us tomorrow night for the Opening Reception of The Secrets of Top Drawer, 5 pm – 7 pm at La Grua Center in Stonington, CT!  La Grua is an amazing space in a beautiful, quaint town just across the border, and we’d love to see everyone there showing your support!  La Grua Center is at 32 Water St., #7 Stonington Commons, Stonington, CT.  For more info see the attached filer from La Grua.  Artists with work in the show include Anthony Pontarelli, Wendy LeBeau, Katrina Cathcart, Nick Taylor, Katie Carcieri, Betty Lou Wilcox, Emmet Estrada, Brian Novasad, Brian Lamora, Toni Vollaro, David Toste, Paul Martland, and a special surprise: new Top Drawer artist Ian Deslaurier!  Ian is an amazingly talented Rhode Island artist whose unique, maze-like style of drawing and beautiful, original woodblock prints are an incredible new addition to the Top Drawer roster, and we are proud to be officially representing his work!  Scroll down to see more examples of his woodblock prints, go here to his Artist's Page, or come to our retail location at 16 Cutler St., Warren, to see our collection of Ian’s one-of-a-kind, hand-printed mini-sketchbooks!  If that’s not enough Ian also has a special one-man display at Brickway on Wickenden, on Wickenden St. in Providence, so there are plenty of opportunities to show your support!

 

Woodblock prints by Ian Deslaurier

We’d also like to congratulate Wendy LeBeau and Kyle Komiega for being accepted into the 2011 Art Ability Exhibit at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital in Malvern, PA!  For those in the Philadelphia area please check out that fantastic exhibit featuring amazing artists with disabilities from all around the globe.  Go here for more info.

Until next time, keep on supporting the arts!