Tag Archives: Nylen Gallery

Roundup: Matteo Bocelli, Underage Drinking, Photos & Art …

Posted on July 11, 2026 | 1 comment

Last night’s Matteo Bocelli was a true highlight, in what is already a star-studded Levitt Pavilion summer lineup.

A sellout crowd packed the riverside theater. They were rewarded with perfect weather, and a great show by the Italian pop singer.

One bonus: He strolled down from the stage, and greeted fans massed in front.

(Photos/Susan Garment)

The fun continues today with the jam band Eggy (Saturday; 2 sets, 6:25 and 7:55 p.m.). The show begins with Ross Bogan (4 p.m.) and Tom Hamilton (5 p.m.). Click here for tickets, and more information. 

Tomorrow (7 p.m.) it’s the Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble. Click here for free tickets, and more information.

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Underage drinking is not new in Westport.

What is new is a Westport Prevention Coalition project about it.

They’ve organized 2 focus group sessions, to hear from parents: Tuesday, July 21 (4 p.m.) and Wednesday, July 22 (10 a.m.). Both are in Room 211 at the Westport Library. To RSVP, click here.

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Westport photographer Tom Kretsch takes images all over the world. He’s exhibited them far and wide too.

This month, a show of his works opens right here in his home town.

“A City is Not a Place; It’s a Feeling: With Colors, Shapes and Life” runs July 23 to September 30 at the Nylen Gallery (772 Post Road East). An opening reception is set for 5:30 p.m. July 23.

Kretsch says, “In this collection of photographs, I have found the soul of a place … In these experiences I have been able to capture what to me is the ‘feeling’ of a city through its shapes, colors and life.  Sometimes the ordinary can become extraordinary. Through my visualizations I have tried to capture that voice of some cities, big and small.”

(Photo/Tom Kretsch)

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Westporters love The Blondinit for its great food.

Next month, they’ll enjoy it as an art destination.

On August 5 (7 p.m.), the Israeli restaurant will host a guided experience, led by artist Sara Joy.

No artistic experience is necessary. She’ll lead everyone through a fun, approachable project designed for all skill levels. (It’s not messy, so you can dress for a night out.)

For $110, you get the guided art experience, a selection of appetizers, and one cocktail. Reservations can be made via The Blondinit’s Toast app.

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We’ve all had package deliveries that could not fit in the mailbox.

But this one at Compo Cove takes that to new lengths.

(Photo/Judith Katz)

We hope the postal carrier got the right address.

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William (“Will”) Rowlands — the former Westport News editor who was also well-known in the gardening and soccer communities — died at his Fairfield home on June 12. He was 74.

The Westport native attended Greens Farms and Hillspoint Elementary Schools, Long Lots Junior High, and Berkshire School in Massachusetts.

A hockey player, Will spent many hours at Crystal Rink in Norwalk before playing varsity hockey at Berkshire. He also enjoyed Little League, golf at Longshore, and pickup games in neighborhood back yards.

Will met Anne Currie of Westport at Longshore in 1969 at age 17, the day after the first moon landing. They were married in 1976, and would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 24.

He earned a bachelor of science degree in geology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. Back in Westport he began work as a typographer, launching a lifelong career in graphics. An early adopter of the Apple Macintosh, he was active in the local users group BizMac.

Will’s career took him from typography to desktop publishing to editor of the Westport News. Since 2010 he served as editor and publisher of Connecticut Gardener magazine. Together with his wife and business partner Anne, he published 78 issues.

He was active in the New England Press Association, ran for state representative from Connecticut’s 133rd District in 1999, and served on the Westport Zoning Board of Appeals before moving to Fairfield in 2004.

Will was deeply involved with the Westport Soccer Association as a coach. He later became a youth and high school referee, officiating more than 1,000 games. He remained active until late 2024, even while undergoing cancer treatments.

In addition to running 2 marathons, Will earned a 4th Dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and became an Advanced Master Gardener through the University of Connecticut.

Swimming, kayaking, playing guitar, gardening and an abiding love of cats were a few of his many passions.

Will is survived by his wife Anne of Fairfield; son, Graham (Megan Sheahan); grandsons Orin and Emrys of Arlington, Massachusetts; brothers Robert and David, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial donations may be made to Native Plant Trust or the Connecticut Land Conservation Council. A celebration of Will’s life will be held in the fall.

Will Rowlands

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Ed Simek sends along today’s very intriguing “Westport … Naturally” image — and an interesting avian lesson:

“This week I discovered another bird at Burying Hill that I haven’t seen before.

“I looked it up. Not surprisingly it’sm called a lesser yellowlegs. There are also greater yellowlegs, which as the name implies are larger.”

(Photo/Ed Simek)

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And finally … on this date in 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.

(Sure, it’s the weekend. But “06880” continues to serve you. We’ve done it — 24/7/365 — since 2009. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Beach, Obituaries, Restaurants, Totally random

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Sherri Wolfgang Masters Painting

Posted on April 4, 2017 | 3 comments

As a 12-year-old Queens girl — visiting her divorced father here in 1969 — Sherri Wolfgang fell in love with Westport.

She was a camper at Mahackeno, and later became an art counselor there. Her dad took her to Max’s Art Supplies, where she bought her first drawing pad.

The budding artist always got an “artists’ vibe” from this town. She grew up, earned a BFA at Carnegie Mellon, and embarked on a career as an illustrator.

Sherri got married, and lived in Greenwich Village. When she had kids, it was time to move to the suburbs. But she wanted a place with that same “great, creative environment.”

In 1992, Westport was that place. Through Max’s — and meeting spots like Glynn’s restaurant — Sherri met artists, illustrators and cartoonists. Stan Drake, Curt Swan and many others welcomed her in.

She formed a studio, called Dynamic Duo. She created covers for Time, Barron’s, Sports Illustrated and Business Week, and helped with ad campaigns for Coca-Cola, Burger King, IBM and MTV. She couriered her work to New York by train, just like all the famed illustrators here did.

Sherri Wolfgang, in her Kings Highway South studio. (Photo/Pam Einarsen)

In 2004, Sherri turned the studio into an art school. For 2 years she taught her craft to kids and adults.

But she missed painting. Ten years ago she started again. She’s been a full-time painter ever since.

Sherri proudly calls her style “old school.” Figure painting is not as popular today as it once was, she says, but that’s how she was trained. She loves it.

She layers oils and resins in traditional style, like the old masters. But Sherri is not da Vinci, Michelangelo or Rembrandt. Her paintings are contemporary. Many include a bit of whimsy or humor.

She paints large canvases, often in series. “Twisted” — which took several years to conceive, create and complete — portrays women who are addicted to cosmetic surgery. That doesn’t sound funny. But Sherri — who believes that “beauty comes from within” — manages to turn that serious subject on its Botoxed head.

If you recognize some of the women, you should: Sherri used herself as a model.

“Lunching in Westport,” from Sherri Wolfgang’s “Twisted” series. (Photo/Pam Einarsen)

She’s had group shows at the Westport Arts Center and Silvermine Guild, plus solo shows at Nylen Gallery here and City Lights in Bridgeport.

Now Sherri is gearing up for her biggest show yet. It opens June 1 at Bridgeport’s Housatonic Museum of Art.

Specifically, the Burt Chernow Gallery. It’s named for the longtime professor, who began his teaching career in the Westport school system. He helped found the Westport Arts Center — where Sherri spent plenty of time, in its studio days at Greens Farms School.

Sherri will exhibit 2 complete series. “Nick.e.lo.deon” celebrates the wonders of the human form. Her model was Nick Daley, a Staples High School 2012 graduate and professional dancer.

One of Sherri Wolfgang’s “Nick.e.lo.deon” paintings. (Photo/Pam Einarsen)

She’ll also show “Twisted.”

The Chernow connection to Westport’s old arts vibe is important to Sherri. Glynn’s is gone. Max’s closed too.

“I’d walk in to buy art supplies, and end up hanging out for hours with Shirley, Nina and Jay,” Sherri recalls. “That was our haven.”

When owner Shirley Mellor sold everything in August 2014, Sherri bought its iconic clock. She beat out fellow artist Miggs Burroughs by a minute. He’s still a friend, as is Nina Bentley — reminders that despite many chances, artists still live, work and thrive here.

Sherri Wolfgang (center) with Max’s Art Supplies’ famous Karron’s clock. She’s surrounded by (from left) Max’s famed Nina Royce, Rita Ross Englebardt, Shirley Mellor (owner) and Jay Cimbak.

Ten years after resuming painting, Sherri says she is in “mid-career.” She feels “lucky and honored” to be able to work in her large, bright and art-filled South Kings Highway studio.

After years of study — including lugging large books of the masters home from the Westport Library — Sherri says, “Things make sense now. I’m a more confident painter. My brush strokes are more solid. And I know when a painting is done. When it’s finished, I can walk away.”

With “Nick.e.lo.deon” and “Twisted” done — and preparations underway for her Housatonic show — Sherri is ready for her next series.

Called “American Pathos,” it’s based on what she sees as her daughters and their Staples friends begin their adult lives. (Sherri calls Class of ’12 grad Maya Schumer — a neuroscience major at Carnegie Mellon — and current junior Eden Schumer “my best works of art.”)

Those young women and their friends wear earrings and tattoos. Sherri will paint those — with Renaissance backgrounds.

Move over, Old Masters. I can’t call Sherri Wolfgang a New Mistress — but I sure can be at her Burt Chernow Gallery opening this spring.

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Posted in Arts, Local business, Organizations, People

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