2 heads better than one?
The gallery says: "Lionel Smit is known for large-scale portraiture both on canvas and as sculpture; he is one of South Africa's preeminent contemporary artists. His process as an artist today remains adaptive, inventive and physically engaging. Mr. Smit's sculpture 'Morpheus' conveys a strong sense of duality with the two bronze heads connected in perfect symmetry. ''
Earth, fire and water adventure
From "Beyond the Far Blue Mountains,'' a 50-minute, three-screen video by Molly Davies, at the Helen Day Art Center, in Stowe, Vt., through July 31. It's about a young German girl's adventure that includes tests involving earth, fire and water.
And renting of cloth
"Grief'' (fabric), by Liz Collins, in the show "Intimacy + Materiality,'' at the Helen Day Art Center, Stowe. Vt., through April 10.
Treadmill for textiles
"Come, run in me'' (video, audio, wood, vinyl, acrylic, treadmill, spray paint, LED light strips, speaker, fabric and tag fastener), by CHRISTY CHOW, from the series "Laborland,'' in the show "Now You See Me: The Best of the Northeast Masters of Fine Arts,'' at the Helen Day Art Center, in Stowe, Vt., through Aug. 23.
With this installation, she wants us to consider the low-wage laborers needed to produce our clothes.
Maybe, but she may as likely be getting people to think about their local YMCA.
After the architecture
From MATTHEW CHRISTOPHER'S show "The Age of Consequences,'' at the Helen Day Art Center, in Stowe, Vt., through Nov. 23.
Mr. Christopher's photos look at abandoned and often dilapidated spaces in America. These are testimonials and historic markers that question ''the path of this country by reminding the viewers of these decayed and rusted industries, churches and mental health facilities...''
He says that "This is my collection of the things I found in the aftermath, evidence of who we once were and what would become of us. Our era would become known as the 'The Age of Consequences,' and while we knew deep in our hearts that things were falling apart, there was a time in the beginning where we could still look the other way."
But the concrete is real
"Fictitious Force" (outdoor sculpture), by BEKA GOEDDE, in the "Exposed'' show at the Helen Day Art Center, in Stowe, Vt., through Oct. 15.
This piece is a cast-concrete tile formation of a braid rug.
Ms. Goedde says: "A fictitious force, in physics, is an apparent force; it is not due to one object or another accelerating but instead the natural frame of reference itself is accelerating. The rug is a household object I employ especially for its concentric, circular, or centripetal pattern.''
We're in the heart of New England's outdoor art season.