A Feast for the Eyes in Deep River
There's a feast for the eye as well as the stomach at the renovated and expanded Adams Market in Deep River. The recent grand opening featured not only the debut of seafood and sushi at the market, but also of the new art gallery housed in a series of glass-enclosed display cases on the store's exterior wall facing the parking lot.
The art to be displayed is as local as the market itself-it is the work of students from Valley Regional High School.
At the moment, the exhibit has a further local angle: photographs from technology education teacher Chris LeQuire's photography class of historic structures in Deep River. Laura Hilton, chairperson of the Fine Arts Department at Valley Regional, will have overall curatorial responsibility for the exhibit space, which will feature other displays of student art work in later exhibitions.
At present, plans call for the exhibit at the new community showplace to be changed three to four times a year. LeQuire said ideas for future photographic shows include shots of stonewalls, birdhouses, or barns.
The supermarket gallery was the inspiration of Peter Howard, chairperson of Deep River's Design Advisory Board.
"That's why we have the board, to have creative ideas," Howard said.
Student photographers included in the current exhibit, which had previously been shown at the Deep River Historical Society, include Griffin Burrows, Jake Wlochowski, Kate Williams, Sara McIngvale, Stephen Klinck, Rodney Moser, Seanna McWade, Bess Pearlstein, and Meredith Whaley.
Ann Courcy coordinated the project for the historical society, which provided the class with a list of notable buildings to photograph.
"This was a great photo assignment because it was an interesting project and it also involved the history of the town," said LeQuire
Griffin Burrows, a Valley senior, took a picture of a Deep River home that JoAnn Wetmore had lived in as a child. When she saw the picture at the historical society, an entrance door with a flag waving in front of it, Griffin says she asked if she could buy it. Instead, he made another copy, framed it, and presented it to her.
Seeing Griffin's photograph on display at Adams was a moment of pride for his step-father Michael Bonacorsa.
"This is the kind of thing you might see in a big city, but this is here in Deep River. It's a very nice thing for the market to do," he said.
Jake Wlochowski, who photographed four buildings on Kirtland Street, described seeing his work on public display in the heart of Deep River as "pretty exciting." When the class got the assignment, he said, he thought it would be just another project.
"But it's turned into something really nice," he added.
LeQuire said that the project had enabled Wlochowski to work on the techniques of high dynamic range, which involve combining many photographs of the same subject into one composition.
"When people see this," said Wlochowski, as he looked at the exhibit, "they are going to think these were taken by professionals, not students."
Deep River resident Mark Guiliano, a member of the exhibit staff at the Wadsworth Atheneum, hung the pictures in their new glass cases at the supermarket. He said that he began hearing favorable comments about the photographs even as he was in the process of installing the exhibit.
Aurora Courcy, 7, was enthusiastic about the photos, particularly a large shot of the Deep River Public Library.
"I like it because it's big and it's the library and I love the library," she said.
Her brother Stephen, 4, had his own opinion of the show ("That's spelled with a 'ph,'" Aurora instructed a reporter writing her brother's name.)
"I like the pictures because they are of houses," he said.
According to Adams manager Jeff Prindle, the supermarket has added some 8,000 square feet, taking over the space formerly occupied by four stores, some of which have relocated to other venues within the community. He estimates that the expanded market will provide eight new full-time jobs and 15 to 20 part-time positions.
Deep River First Selectman Richard Smith said the enlarged supermarket was an indication of the vitality of the town.
"Everything really worked together on this one, the bigger store, the photo display. It's great," Smith said.
Corporate officers from Adams headquarters, store manager Prindle, and a selection of department managers and assistants stood behind a large red streamer for the official ribbon cutting to open the store.
Ten minutes later, when the entire crowd had dispersed, there was still one person at the photography show. Student photographer Jake Wlochowski walked down the exhibit quietly enjoying the moment as he looked up at his work and the work of his classmates, now on display for any shopper with an eye for art as well as a need for groceries to enjoy.