August 2026 in the Crowell Gallery
Sharon Myers and Erika Radich
The Comfort of Color: Kindness, community, and joy in fabric and collage art
August 4 – 28, 2026 An artist’s reception will be held Saturday, August 8, 2026 from 1:00 – 3:00pm
Two local artists’ emergence from the darkness of COVID into the bright light of playfulness and hope will be featured at the Crowell Art Gallery in August. Fabric artist Sharon Myers of Brattleboro and printmaker Erika Radich of Lake Spofford, New Hampshire, have exhibited their work widely in New England. This is their fifth joint show.
The two friends met 16 years ago as commuters to Heartwood College of Art in Biddeford, Maine, where both received MFA degrees. They have remained friends and co-exhibitors since then.
“Skyscapes I and II,” Myers’ new works in the Crowell show, are quilts that reflect the “joy I feel in using fabric to express emotion on a large scale,” she said. Myers’ creative process is “very personal. I work intuitively, selecting fabrics, choosing colors, and devising shapes to suggest elements of our landscape – mountains, forest, or clouds passing overhead. Both Skyscape quilts convey the passage of time during the day, with ‘wings’ of silvery fabric to indicate that magical fleeting light of sunrise and sunset – my favorite times of day.”
Radich’s collages reflect the “silver linings” she found during and after the pandemic. Her new work, based on repurposed prints, is meant to evoke a “sense of stability, lightness and hope. The elements are playful and irreverent, falling over and into each other. The colors extend the thoughts of future brightness,” she said. Overall, Radich’s main message is “village and how important that concept has been, whether it be physical or conceptual presence. The inspiration is the multitude of kindnesses and the immense mutual care for each other,” she said.
Both Myers and Radich worked in creative fields as they developed their own artwork. Myers taught art and was chef and owner of Sharon Myers Fine Catering (37 years) and of The Purple Chef (15 years). Radich worked in arts administration locally and regionally.
2026 Gallery Schedule
- January—Robert L. Crowell Art Collection
- February—Cathy Osman
- March—Julia Duke
- April—Children’s Exhibit
- May—Brattleboro-West Arts
- June—Gregg Wapner
- July—Maisie Crowther
- August—Sharon Myers, Erika Radich
- September— The Scherer Family
- October—Kathleen Kemp
- November—Art Among Friends
- December—Mohammed Daoudi
Interested in exhibiting your art at the Crowell Gallery? Email crowellartgallery@gmail.com for information.
Gallery History
The Crowell Gallery at the Moore Free Library in Newfane, VT was opened to the public on September 2, 2000. It houses an outstanding collection of contemporary Southern Vermont artists. The permanent collection is on view each winter (usually in January and/or February). For the rest of the year, the gallery hosts special monthly exhibits by local artists. The gallery also serves as a venue for public programs and meetings.
Robert and Muriel Crowell funded the renovation of the Moore family’s 1890 post and beam barn. The work was performed by local artisans Dan and Gary MacArthur. A gift in 2004 from the Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason Foundation provided tensor lighting for the gallery.
About Robert L. Crowell
Robert L. (Bob) Crowell, former head of the Thomas Y. Crowell Company (which later became part of Harper Collins Publishers), was the grandson of the company’s eponymous founder. Thomas Y. Crowell began publishing books in 1876 and was the first U.S. publisher of Tolstoy and Gogol. Bob joined the company as a salesman in 1931, was elected treasurer in 1937, and rose to head the company in 1938. Under his leadership, the company published Roget’s International Thesaurus, the Frank Heller detective series and numerous art and children’s books.
Bob served as a trustee of the Moore Free Library from 1976 to 2001 and was President of the board for five of those years. As the Moore Free Library’s primary benefactor, he funded scholarship programs, literary awards, and library renovations. He passed away June 29, 2001.