Hollis artists’ work takes off

Thursday, January 21, 2010

By HATTIE BERNSTEIN

Staff Writer

HOLLIS – Every day, about 12,000 people go to the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum.

Foot traffic isn’t quite that high at Terminal A at Boston’s Logan International Airport, although each day, thousands of passengers walk through the building where the work of two Hollis artists, Albine Vermot-Gaud and Marilene Sawaf, are part of an exhibit, “The World Around Us.”

The three-month exhibit is one of more than 40 temporary displays sponsored by the airport’s aviation department since 2001, providing exposure for local artists and pleasure for travelers arriving in the city or waiting for a departing flight.

The “World Around Us” features five area artists, members of New Hampshire Artists International, a group whose members have roots in nations around the world.

Nashua resident Rose Mazzone, manager of Terminal A, came up with the idea for the show after meeting Vermot-Gaud in 2008 at the annual Hollis Fine Art Festival. She invited the Hollis artist to show her work and encouraged her to organize an exhibit that included some of her peers.

Paintings by the New Hampshire artists represent a world of cultures and experiences.

Vermot-Gaud grew up in Italy and France. Sawaf is from Lebanon. North Pepperell, Mass., resident Nita Leger Casey is from France. Nashua resident Yong Chen is from China. And New Boston resident Mary Buergin is a New England native.

Vermot-Gaud, who has nine paintings in the show, said she favors a school of painting known as “Les Fauves,” or “The Wild Beasts,” a departure from representational art reflected in such masters as Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin.

But Vermot-Gaud, who worked in international sales and raised two children before launching a career as a painter, said her work has evolved: She began in her late 40s by painting roosters and chickens, and after living in Paris for two years – a lucky break that came about because of her husband’s job, she said – she began branching out.

“I started with chicks, and I got sick of doing feathers, so I went to Tuscan scenes, woods, trees,” Vermot-Gaud said, tracing her interest to family roots in northern Italy, close to the French border.

Hollis neighbor and colleague Marilene Sawaf entered five paintings in the airport show, many of them influenced by her studies in design, stained glass and medieval art. Her work, which she said has evolved over a 30-year period, reflects an appreciation for oriental carpets and Byzantine tapestry.

Many of her images depict sweet-faced, rosy-cheeked women, images she calls “flower women” because they’re composed of colorful flowers.

Sawaf and Vermot-Gaud have had success marketing their work, but not enough to be self-supporting.

“What fueled my motivation was that somebody liked it,” Vermot-Gaud said. “I have repeat clients.”

Hattie Bernstein can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 24, or hbernstein@cabinet.com.