Category: Greiser’s Events

View 16 Works of Art by Locals in Our Gallery’s New Permanent Rotating Show

Easton has a long been home to prolific and acclaimed artists. World renowned sculptors Louise Bourgeois and Frederick Schrady lived and worked here. As did Everett Raymond Kinstler who painted the portraits of Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan, and Steven Dohanos, known for illustrating Saturday Evening post covers.

A new exhibit at Greiser’s features the work of 16 fine artists living in Easton today. While we’ve dubbed our show the Easton School of Artists, this distinguished group could not be stylistically more diverse. It includes artists who work in oil, pastel, watercolor, gouache, ink, textiles, and mixed media as well as 2 photographers, a sculptor, and a ceramic artist.

By “school of artists,” we mean only that the work is linked by the fact that each artist has chosen to live or work in Easton and is, not coincidentally, a customer of Greiser’s.

Our opening show features the work of as many artists as we could reasonably squeeze into our small gallery! As work sells or is taken off loan, we intend to make room for additional Easton artists and to keep the show as a rotating gallery throughout 2026, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening in 1926 by Arthur Greiser of The Easton Center Tea & Coffee House at this location.

Most work in the current exhibit is available for sale in the store and online here.

Here are the biographies of each of the 16 particiapting artists:

Robert Brennan is known for the diversity of his art in medium, form, style, and subject matter as well as for his leadership in a rt education. Brennan served as professor and art department chairman at the University of Bridgeport, painting instructor at the Silvermine School of Art, and K-12 coordinator of art for the Darien School System. He received his MA from Columbia University Teachers College, where he also studied in the doctoral program with a major in painting and printmaking.

Brennan has won numerous awards for exhibits of his paintings and constructions in Connecticut and New York: His solo exhibit White in New York City won an Artists Grant, and his construction Virgin Landscape won the Silvermine Guild’s prestigious Art of the Northeast USA first prize. His most recent exhibits were at the Hagaman Memorial Library in East Haven, Conn., the Essex Meadow Gallery in Essex, Conn. His current solo exhibit at the Easton Public Library, focuses exclusively on his abstract paintings and constructions.

Recently, Brennan published From the Deck, his first book of poetry, and is presently working on a book of combined paintings and poems and a memoir. Brennan lives with his wife Patricia in Easton.

Alain Bourgeois is a documentarian and urban landscape photographer who has, over many years, resided in both Easton and New York City. For decades, he has traveled in the United States and abroad seeking to record the progressive effects of the passage of time on the structures that surround us. “Over time, the context in which our lives are lived changes not only in memory, but also in fact,” he says. “Softened by the steady hand of time, the locations of our past call out to be seen anew.”

Cara Forgione is a lifelong hands-on creator, whose latest pursuit plays on her mottos, “Keep Creating” and “Reduce Reuse Recycle” to create moody mixed media landscapes and seascapes. Using a combination of acrylic underpainting with creative layering of tissue paper, grass cloth, magazine content, calendar graphics and recycled paper scraps, Forgione combines her love of nature, texture, and color to create various sizes of artwork, some of which she has begun digitizing to print on fabric.

Her work was recently featured in a solo show at the Easton Public Library, and several of her pieces are currently part of an all-female artist show celebrating Women’s History Month at Thames River Gallery, New London. Residents since 1997, she and her husband John Forgione have raised three children in Easton.

John Forgione was born in Brooklyn and moved to Connecticut at an early age. He was introduced to painting and sculpture by his uncle, mentor, and namesake John Forgione Sr., and went on to earn a BFA in art and painting at the University of Connecticut. His lifelong love of nature and the strong influence of French and American Impressionists drive his passion for plein air painting.

He enjoys the emotional and physical challenges of painting outdoors, working quickly and fervently to capture the energy of a scene – including the effects of light, weather, form, architecture and nature in his work.

His paintings have been displayed and sold through a variety of shows and galleries including the Thames River Gallery, Fine Line Art Gallery, NEST Arts Factory, New Pond Farm, Rene Soto Gallery, Greiser’s Market, Mark Twain Library, Metro Art Studios, his home studio and gallery in Easton, and others. John is also a successful entrepreneur, and is a founding partner at SFA Marketing, a Connecticut based marketing agency.

JT “Tom” Hunsucker is a classic figure and portrait sculptor working in clay and traditional casting techniques. Before moving from Los Angeles to Easton with his family in 2019, he taught sculpture at Pasadena City College and taught privately and as a guest artist at community centers and studio programs for many years. 

The United Teachers of Los Angeles commissioned him to create a commemorative portrait of its former president Helen Bernstein, which is on display at the union’s headquarters in Los Angeles. His work is features in several other prominent public and private art collections all over California.

Sara Hunsucker is an Easton artist and designer drawn to the beauty and utility of everyday objects. Her work celebrates the humanity apparent in the imperfection of her handmade objects. “I find it humbling to be able to create objects that can have such an intimate connection to the body and that serve a real purpose,” she says.

As an undergraduate at Otis College of Art and Design in her hometown of Los Angeles, she created visual artwork that was largely dependent on viewer interaction. Hunsucker continued the path of visual artist exhibiting her drawing, painting, sculpture and installation work all over Los Angeles and nationally while working in art education.

After earning an MFA in visual art from the University of California, San Diego, in 2008, she continued her work exhibiting and teaching art, including work as an adjunct sculpture instructor for years at Pasadena City College. Hunsucker’s passion for handmade ceramics started in 2017 when she was hired as the Education Manager at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, CA. Having little experience with the process of ceramics, she thought it might be a good idea to take a few night classes. Sara Hunsucker Studio was born and the rest is history. She has lived and worked in Easton since 2019.

Elizabeth Katz is a painter who lives in Easton and works at Metro Arts Studios in Bridgeport. She describes the act of creation as “a constant challenge, a test of my artistic abilities.” Katz is drawn to the richness and vibrancy of oil paints, their smooth textures and ability to capture the essence of light.

Her travels to Cape Cod serve as a wellspring of inspiration. The unique quality of light there, constantly shifting on the landscape, ignites her creative spark to create paintings that are an invitation to joy. “I strive to capture the beauty of Cape Cod’s light and translate it into a visual experience that uplifts and brings a smile to the viewer’s face. Each brushstroke is an attempt to create a world of peace, happiness, and visual delight.”

Duvian Montoya, painter and executive director of the Norwalk Art Space, was born in Norwalk, lives in Easton, and has family roots in Colombia. His early work, described as “magical realism,” focused on themes of immigration, Latin American identity in the U.S., and displacement. In his current phase, Montoya focuses on technical skill and detailed imagery, painting scenes culled from some of the most banal moments in our everyday life. Montoya says this quietness allows him to make surprising choices and subtle statements about the way we live our lives today. 

His work is collected by public and private institutions, including the city of Norwalk, the city of New Haven, the Mattatuck Museum, Disney, and Gulfstream Worldwide.

Tammy Nguyen, born in San Francisco and based in Easton, is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses painting, drawing, printmaking, and book making. Nguyen received a BFA from Cooper Union in 2007 and a Fulbright scholarship to study lacquer painting in Vietnam in 2008. Since earning her MFA from Yale in 2013, Nguyen has received numerous awards and had work exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, the Sarasota Art Museum, MOMA PS1, Smack Mellon, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, MIT Library, and the MOMA Library, among many others.

She is now a professor at Wesleyan University with representation by Lehmann Maupin. This May through November, Nguyen is one of 111 artists featured in the La Biennale Arte 2026.

Nguyen’s work features colorful grounds, remarkable flatness, metal leaf, and intricate layering. She combines the investigation of geopolitics, ecology, and lesser-known histories with myth and fantasy, producing enchanting visual narratives that blur the lines of fiction and nonfiction. Her lush and heavily researched storytelling provokes thought about truth and confusion in the past, present, and future.

In addition to her practice in traditional fine arts, Nguyen is the founder of Passenger Pigeon Press. This independent press joins the work of storytelling accessible in library collections and mailboxes of readers around the world.

James Prosek is an artist, writer, and naturalist whose work pays homage to the history of art and natural sciences while addressing contemporary environmental concerns. His diverse body of work is the result of extensive travel and field observation. Prosek creates paintings, drawings, and sculptures that evoke the immense biodiversity of our planet and its imaginative potential. The interconnectedness of nature, the ephemerality of boundaries, and the loss of cultural and biological diversity are major themes of Prosek’s work.

He has published over a dozen books and exhibited his art globally from the Yale University Art Gallery and the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Asia Society Hong Kong Center, the Royal Academy of Arts in London and Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.

Prosek was born in Connecticut and raised in Easton where he continues to live and work today.

Paul Richard is a contemporary artist whose work merges the whimsical with the profound and captivates the intersections of street culture and high art. Known for his thought-provoking NYC sidewalk portraits and inventive use of public spaces, Richard transforms the everyday into a canvas, as described in a 1998 New York Times article headlined, “One Man’s Fire Hydrant is Another Man’s Object Trouve.”

Richard’s work has been showcased in prominent museums, including the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, galleries in New York City, and major exhibitions such as Art Basel in Miami.

These accomplishments have solidified his standing in contemporary art conversations, while his creative spirit remains profoundly connected to the streets. A true urban poet, Paul Richard continues to challenge the boundaries of where and how art can exist, bringing beauty to unexpected corners and engaging audiences in new ways with every piece.

Often referred to as a “Brooklyn artist,” we claim him as one of Easton’s own: Richard is a near daily visitor to Greiser’s and can often be spotted riding his vintage bicycle here from his nearby home studio!

Margaret Roleke produces sculpture, installations, prints, and textiles including outdoor sculptures and wall pieces. She lives in Easton and is currently an Artist in Residence at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, where she will work through June 2026.

Roleke earned an MFA from Long Island University, C.W. Post, and BA from Marymount Manhattan College. She also studied at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Katonah Museum of Art, Pen + Brush Gallery, and WhiteBox in New York City.

“America faces large challenges: racism, gun violence, global warming, and an assault on the truth,” Roleke says. “My work is an urgent response to these issues and a call for dialogue. Through assemblage of sculpture materials and paper collage, billboards, installations, and cyanotype, I create messages designed to appeal to basic human desires for decency and good health. I move between these themes creating sculptures, installations and prints that urge action on injustice. My work isn’t didactic, but it is made with singular desire. It expresses unease and discontent with the status quo and connects with those who may share those feelings.”

Patricia Scanlan’s love of painting landscapes started while traveling the coast of Maine and walking the woods of New England and was encouraged by years studying with the modern master landscape painter, David Dunlop. Painting in oils, she says, enables her to relax, explore, and capture a moment in time to celebrate on canvas.

Scanlan has exhibited her art the Silvermine Art Center, won awards at the Easton Arts Council Member Show, and was featured in a solo show at Greiser’s Coffee & Market.

Prior to painting landscapes, she built and painted birdhouses for the Project Return Birdhouse Auction in Westport. Scanlan has also supported Westport’s Homes with Hope for more than 10 years by annually creating 12 hand-painted placemats for a designer fundraising table.

As a professional interior designer, she has designed kitchens and libraries for homes and clubs in the Westport area for many years. Pat lives in Easton with her husband Jeff. They have three children and six grandchildren.

Lee Skalkos is a multidisciplinary artist working in watercolor, oil, pastel, and metal. Her work draws inspiration from the natural world and the historical architecture that shapes rural communities, particularly barns, which she views as symbols of endurance and transformation.

With a background in art education, Skalkos spent 13 years teaching at Joel Barlow High School and now shares her passion for teaching with students at John Read Middle School in Redding. Her students ages 11-18 have been awarded more than 40 gold medals in the state of Connecticut as well as six national titles for their metal work and artwork.

Skalkos started making and selling jewelry at age 18 and participated in 35 shows a year. Her Child Artwork Jewelry line was featured on HGTV, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Rosie Magazine, and was also featured in Victoria Magazine where she was presented with the National Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Her art reflects a deep reverence for both the fragility and strength found in nature and time-worn structures.

Angela Strassheim is an internationally recognized art photographer with an extensive multi-national exhibition record. She holds an MFA from Yale University, a BFA from Minneapolis College of Art & Design, and a Forensic Photography Certification from Metro-Dade in Miami, Florida. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums including The Guggenheim Museum, The Whitney Museum, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University Art Gallery, The Walker Art Center, The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Musee de l’Elysee in Lausanne in Switzerland, Museum of Modern Art (MAC/VAL) in  Paris, and the Wellcome Trust Collection in London. She was featured in the Whitney Biennial in 2006.

In 2020, she produced the cover image for Time Magazine’s first issue covering the CoronaVirus Pandemic. Her awards include the Women in Photography LTI Lightside Grant, Bush Fellowship, McKnight Fellowship, and Jerome Fellowship. Her work is included in many public and private collections including those of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Whitney Museum of Art, Yale University Art Museum, The Israel Museum, General Mills, Sir Elton John, Anthony Podesta, Andrew Hecht, and Peter Norton.

Born in Iowa and now an Easton resident, Strassheim is the owner and founder of Heartstone Photography, a documentary art style company that specializes in capturing the essence of your everyday family both in digital and film formats.

Joan Wheeler, who spent her childhood in the farm country of Pennsylvania dreaming of imaginary adventures with birds and farm animals, says she was drawn by the rural aspect of Easton, its farms, and acres of preserved land compared to other Fairfield County towns. She has now lived and worked here for more than 30 years. “I’m still finding inspiration in the land around me. The setting in my paintings is often derived from the woods I hike in,” she says.

In addition to painting, Wheeler creates large scale fiber art focused on environmental issues. She is a recipient of the Connecticut Artist Fellowship Grant, and a Dan Long grant for work about sustainability and the environment. Her work has been featured in solo or group shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Westport, the Coral Springs Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum in Milwaukee, New Britain Museum of American Art, the New York Hall of Science, the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, the Discovery Museum, the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, and others. Her work is also included in the permanent collections of the Housatonic Museum and the Mattatuck Museum, and she is a member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists.

Visit our online shop to browse for art purchases.

Join us at Greiser’s for a reception on Sunday, March 15, 3:30 PM

Greiser’s will host a reading and book signing with Kirsten Smith Navin, author of The Squire Thief.

Kirsten Smith Navin, who has lived in Easton for 20 years, drew on her Long Island childhood as daughter of the local chief of police for her debut novel, The Squire Thief. Described as “A Forgery Hidden by a Murder Disguised As a Theft,” the mystery features a layered plot of art forgery and murder set on Long Island’s Gold Coast. 

The story follows veteran cop Richard Whitney aided by his art-student daughter as he investigates a series of crimes linked to a notorious, quirky thief known as “The Squire.” Whitley soon realizes a more dangerous killer is at play, putting his family in danger. 

The at once gripping and amusing tale blends art, deception, and police procedural elements. Navin will read from the book, answer questions about her process, research, and characters, and sign copies of the book.

Register online to attend. Admission of $15 includes a signed copy of The Squire Thief.