‘Artists to Collect’ Opens at Catherine Fosnot Gallery in New London

Catherine Fosnot in her gallery, with work by Charity Baker (CT Examiner/Hewitt)

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NEW LONDON — Twenty six young, mid-career and older artists considered collectible by New York critics will be the focus of a show opening at the Catherine Fosnot Art Gallery and Center on Nov. 14.

“Artists to Collect” is the brainchild of Fosnot, who is a painter and lived in New York City for more than 20 years, and George Waterman, who has roots in the New York art community and owns the Harris building as well as the Manwaring Building at 225 State St. 

“We asked seven or eight critics, ‘Who is on your radar right now with ideas that you think are important to collect?’” said Fosnot. 

Each critic supplied three or four names of artists who submitted work for the show. Fosnot and Waterman, juried the show along with Jose Garaycochea-Ulloa of the Expressiones and Giles Norton, the founder of Lateral Brand of New London. 

“They can be young emerging artists. They can be artists in the middle of their career where their career just hasn’t taken off yet sufficiently that you think they’re worthy of much more attention than they’re getting. Or, it may be an artist more towards the end of his or her career, whose paintings sold for quite a bit more — he or she’s not producing as much as they used to and they might be good people to take notice of and collect,” said Fosnot. 

All of the work will be priced below $5,000, with a “nice range” from $75 to $1,000, said Fosnot, who lives in New London and rents studio space on the second floor of the Harris building. 

The show will fill Fosnot’s gallery facing State Street and two other atria in the Harris building.

Work by Charity Baker (CT Examiner/Hewitt)

“We’re hoping that it provides an opportunity for people in the New London community and larger community to come in mix and get to know the artists — these are very well known artists or important emerging artists,” she said.

One of the goals of the gallery is to help artists build a network of other artists, curators and people in the art world, said Fosnot.

“The other thing I’m trying to do is provide opportunities for local artists that I think are very talented, that perhaps just haven’t been in places like major art centers, because of just living in a smaller town rather than in a major art Center,” she said. “I’m trying to pick very carefully who those artists will be and really feature artists that I think are very talented that I want to help get noticed.”

Fosnot, a longtime painter, is also the founder of Mathematics in the City, a professional development center located at City College of New York, where she taught for many years. She originally rented the space at 162 State Street for teaching math workshops for teachers, but the pandemic stopped her plans. When she tried to break the lease, Waterman suggested she open a gallery and he lowered the rent. She opened the gallery in September with a solo show of her own work. 

“This was going to be a math workshop and then it became a gallery and then the gallery idea just exploded. I think people were really excited to see a new gallery come in,” she said. “I’ve gotten lots of New London people coming and saying, ‘Thank you, this is wonderful art that you’re bringing in and it’s so nice to have you in New London and doing something for the city.” 


The show will run from Nov. 14 – Dec. 31, with a preview on Nov. 12. For more information and a list of the artists in the show, click here.

Catherine Fosnot Art Gallery and Center is located in the Harris Building at 165 State Street, New London.