The circus is in town! An all-media group show with the simple title “Circus!” at Studio Place Arts in Barre trumpets the weird and wonderful visual world of the “Greatest Show on Earth.” With about 50 pieces on display, including works with dozens of constituent figurines, SPA’s main gallery is a whirlwind of vibrant colors and exotic forms.... Read more

Art’s Alive, in its 23rd year and the area’s oldest visual arts festival, has again installed numerous artworks in Church Street Marketplace windows for the month of June. That signifies the organization’s egalitarian approach to presenting artwork, and looking for the displays is rather like going on a cultural Easter-egg hunt.... Read more

Each of the dozen members of 215 College Artists’ Cooperative is entitled to curate an exhibition during the year. The current “Small Works” show, originating with Burlington painter Elise Whittemore-Hill, is a dynamic display of diminutive works.... Read more

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, an extensive array of armor, swords, helmets and halberds reside in their own sanctum, at some distance from the Monets, Renoirs and Picassos. In the Met’s vast collections, historical objects and fine art pieces go in separate zones, according to category and period.

That’s the rule of thumb in museums, where mash-ups of artifacts and art are unusual. Exhibitions that pull together historical objects and contemporary art are rarer still.... Read more

“Masters of Vermont: The Men” at Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville is a sequel to the venue’s successful 2007 exhibition “Masters of Vermont: The Women.” Diverse and highly informative, the latter show shed light on the careers of 19th- and 20th-century painters Martha Wood Belcher,... Read more

Vermonters are generally pretty thrilled when summer kicks into gear at last, but ongoing economic woes and other unsettling news can dampen even the cheeriest spirits. Perhaps that’s why Green Mountain Gallery curator and co-owner Sandra Noble decided to offset the doldrums by assembling a group show with the carefree title “Things That Make Us Happy.” The place is, consequently, an official angst-free zone.... Read more

The Flynndog in Burlington is presenting two stellar exhibits, entitled simply “Old and New Paintings” and featuring Vinicio Ayala and Greg Mamczak, through June 30. The tandem figurative shows fill the long, sunlit gallery with unexpected rhythms and textures. And, despite the title, none of the paintings are actually that old. Curator Bren Alvarez Farrington says former-Angeleno-turned-Burlingtonian Ayala paints constantly, so his work is fresh.... Read more

Some contemporary landscapists cling to the Hudson River School tradition of romanticizing what they see. Others follow the well-worn path of realism, preserving moments in time to bring the outdoors inside. The most sophisticated landscape artists focus on color and form, adopting impressionistic techniques to pursue an expressive personal aesthetic.... Read more

The “green man” is a symbol of rebirth, which makes one wonder why this popular figure in architecture and the decorative arts isn’t a woman. But apparently Mother Earth needs a counterpart, and the disembodied head of a god-like male wreathed in leaves seems to do the trick.... Read more

Burlington City Arts unveiled a new exhibition in the Maltex Building on Pine Street this month. The Maltex is one of the great venues of the Queen City. In times past it served as the flagship site of the South End Art Hop, but in recent years it’s been curated solely by the BCA Art Sales and Leasing program.... Read more