Exhibit Opening: Retrospectives~The Art of Dennis Sirrine & Tom Frohnapfel at the La Grua Center in Stonington

Exhibit Opening Friday, January 9th from 5-7pm. 

Celebrate art making and community building with Stonington artists Dennis Sirrine and Tom Frohnapfel.Their representational and abstract paintings, mixed media, glass works, and furniture express critical explorations, reflections, and imaginations over the past four decades.Both of their paths led from the Midwest (Dennis from Michigan, Tom from Akron, Ohio), to New York City in the 1980s, to Stonington, CT in the 2000s.Dennis earned degrees in illustration from Kendall School of Design, Grand Rapids, MI; and painting from Minneapolis School of Art (MCAD); as well as studying abroad in Italy, France, and India. He explores a range of expressions, from his early cityscapes and coastal marsh scenes, the 2016 Black & White Series, the 2018 Blue Series, to his current abstractions that engage viewers with a fluid visual language and that push boundaries of knowing and understanding.Dennis manages and curates the Velvet Mill Gallery, is an Elected Artist of Lyme Art Association, and has served on the Art Exhibition Committee at Mystic Art Center (now MMoA). His paintings have been exhibited regionally and beyond, including at the Seaport Maritime Gallery, Courtyard Gallery, Trade Winds Gallery, Finer Line Gallery, Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, Avondale Arts Gallery, Dennis Sirrine Gallery, and more.Tom’s degree from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, is in drawing and industrial design, and his body of work includes design-and-build fine furniture, working with local architects in custom home building, glass blowing, and painting. He continues to explore mediums, challenge perspectives, and share his creative problem-solving skills. Tom has taught craft skills to all ages and monitored figurative drawing salons at MMOA.Both Dennis and Tom have been instrumental in actively supporting and fostering art spaces for inquiry, growth, and connecting with fellow artists and communities in meaningful ways. Exhibit will run through the end of February. Please call for hours.