NEW YORK CITY – (September 19, 2011) Peter Woytuk on Broadway, a major exhibition of bronze sculptures, will be exhibited on the Broadway Malls from Columbus Circle to 168th Street beginning on October 21, 2011, through April 2012. The artist is represented by the popular Litchfield County gallery, The Morrison Gallery, and the sculptures are a well-loved sight at Kent Village Barns.

The exhibition begins in Columbus Circle, the start of the Broadway Malls, with the monumental, life size “Elephant Pair.” A bronze Woytuk menagerie of sheep, ostriches, crows, hens and other fanciful sculptures continues at intervals along the Malls, concluding at Mitchell Square at 168th Street with three 2,500-pound seated “Bulls.” Read more at The Morrison Gallery’s website.

We were so happy to see Litchfield County, CT as the subject of The New York Time’s travel column, Frugal Traveler, “Litchfield County, Easy on the Wallet.” As Litchfield County residents, we concur with Seth Kugal’s highlights and only wish he had more space to include even more of Litchfield’s hidden gems. His trusty readers filled in many of the blanks in the pages of comments that follow the article, making the article a must read for anyone visiting during leaf peaking season and even year round. Consider, too, some of our own insider recommendations.

What to do in Litchfield County

Kent Art Walk, Kent, CT

Well known as a destination for art aficionados, Kent offers some of Litchfield County’s best art galleries all within walking distance of each other.

Start your walk at The Kent Arts Association (21 S. Main Street, Kent, CT). There you will find spacious galleries housing representational paintings and inspiring scenes of Connecticut and New England making for a cultural visit. Check their website for upcoming shows.

Morrison Gallery

Next walk to our own Kent Village Barns (6 N. Main Street, Kent, CT ). Kent Village Barns is home to two of the region’s leading galleries–the Morrison Gallery, one of the largest contemporary art galleries in New England and the Ober Gallery known for showing important twentieth century and contemporary Russian art. At Kent Village Barns you’ll also find  an outdoor sculpture garden of works by acclaimed artist Peter Woytuk. There you can also grab lunch at Doc’s Trattoria and Brick Oven Pizza before moving on to the final art stop on your walk.

Continue on to the Heron American Craft Gallery (16 N. Main Street, Kent, CT). Over more than two decades Heron has become a destination for people from all over the North East and beyond looking for a dazzling variety of works shown in an explosion of color, wit and whimsy.

Belgique Chocolatier, Kent, CT

Chocolates from Belgique Chocolatier

A world of chocolate in Kent! In addition to hand-made artisan chocolates and truffles, cappuccinos and lattes this authentic Belgium chocolate shop offers what one local resident calls “the most outrageous hot chocolate that will fill you up for weeks.” Visiting Belgique Chocolatier is as close as one can come to actually visiting a chocolatier in Belgium without leaving the U.S. It is very close to Kent Village Barns.
1 Bridge Street (corner of Routes 7 & 341) Kent, CT

The White Room, Bantam, CT

Copper Pig Weathervane at The White Room

Bantam, a 20 min drive from Kent, has much to offer tourists and locals alike, as the NYTs points out. While there, be sure to check out The White Room — Litchfield’s newest art and antique shop opened by Robert Deyber, a noted pop surrealist artist, and his partner, Robert Graham. In their 10 years together, they have collected a lot of objects worth displaying thus opened their showroom in early June 2011, almost as an afterthought. Housed in the old Connecticut Electric Manufacturing Building on Route 202, The White Room has become an attractive space where unique furniture and décor are displayed, offering a totally unique shopping experience.
931 Bantam Road (Rt. 202) Bantam, CT

The Tollgate Inn, Litchfield, CT

Captain William Bull Tavern

Just 5 minutes from Bantam, Litchfield offers 4,000 wilderness acres managed and protected by the White Memorial Foundation Hiking trails range from 0.2 miles to 6 miles, and a trail map costs $3 at the Conservation Center. Whether you go for the hikes or not, check out the Tollgate Inn a historical building listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Chef Sammantha Tilley  just took over the restaurant–Captain William Bull Tavern– a year ago and turned it into local sustainable delicious healthy food destination.
571 Torrington Rd (Rt 202), Litchfield, CT

Whatever you do when you visit Litchfield, have fun. Savor our natural beauty and historic places any time of year.

CLEVE GRAY at the Morrison Gallery
AUGUST 27th – OCTOBER 16h, 2011

EXHIBIT OF EARLY 1960′s WORKS BY CLEVE GRAY

An exhibit of works from the early 1960s by Abstract Expressionist Cleve Gray will open August 27th at The Morrison Gallery with a reception from 5-7 pm.  The show at the major New England gallery will run through October 16th, and will feature about 20 oil paintings by Gray, who died in 2004.

Cleve’s early 60’s work reflects a transition in style, employing techniques of contemporaries Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. He began to produce large paintings using a variety of application methods – pouring, staining, sponging, and other nontraditional techniques – to create compositions combining expanses of pure color and spontaneous calligraphic gestures.

American artist Betty Parsons described Gray as, “A painter who jumped the romantic fence into an ancient field of signs and symbols.”

Cleve Gray was born in New York on Sept. 22, 1918 and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton with a degree in art and archaeology. While at Princeton, he studied Chinese art with the noted scholar George Rowley. Following Army service in World War II, where he sketched wartime destruction in Europe, he began informal studies with the French artists André Lhote and Jacques Villon. He had his first solo exhibition at the Jacques Seligmann Gallery in New York in 1947, and his work is now included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and many other museums.

The Morrison Gallery is a 7,000 square foot space in the historic Old Barn section of Kent and is home to an on-going schedule of exhibitions by prominent local and national artists.

For more information call the gallery at: 860.927.4501

Kent fitness expert and owner of the personal training studio, Fitness Matters Kent, Dr. Marilyn Gansel offers her tips for being fit!  “Far too often fitness is presented as complicated and confusing,” she says on her blog. According to Dr Gansel, “nothing could be farther from the truth.” Being fit comes from living simple everyday practices including a few of our favorites that we listed here.

Dr. Gansel’s Tips for Fitness

1. Throw out your big dinner plates. Using small plates at home effortlessly reduces calorie intake and promotes weight loss.
2. Make exercise a regular part of your life. Create a network of accountability with workout partners or by working with a fitness expert.
3. Know what you want to accomplish. Visualize the end result of your hard work.
4. Believe in you. I know that you CAN accomplish your goals.
5. Don’t be a wimp. Keep the intensity high during your workouts. Remember that you don’t want to kill time; you want to burn calories and strengthen your body through intense exercise.
6. Drink water all day long.
7. Know when to ask for help.

Visit Dr Gansel’s blog for more fitness tips. There you will find her definitive list.

Fitness Matters is a private studio that integrates holistic lifestyle coaching, fitness, and post-rehabilitation as part of their ‘Train for Longevity’ wellness program. Fitness Matters is passionate in promoting optimal health, progressive in exercise design, and professional as a holistic lifestyle coach. To learn more, visit FitnessMatters.com.

Fitness Matters Kent is located at the Kent Village Barns.
14 Old Barn Road, Unit #4
Kent, CT 06757
Phone: (860) 927-4555
Fax: (860) 927-7913
Studio Hours: By appointment only.
Email: info@fitnessmatters.com

Calm & Peace in Kent

Tips for peace of mind from certified Yoga teacher and Kent Yoga & Bodyworks owner, Alina Hernandez.

I feel so lucky to have my yoga practice. In fact, yoga has saved my life.  My yoga practice is like coming home and putting on my pajamas after a long and stressful day, and finding that inner comfort.  It teaches me, that no matter what is taking place around me, all the worries and preoccupation of life and being human, that I can use my physical body as a gateway for finding my inner home.  I always have that ability to create that inner space no matter what.  I just need to look.  When I am doing my poses I am focusing on my alignment, my balance, my breath, and stability on a physical level and I start to feel the possibilities of finding the inner stability and balance of my mind.  As long as my mind is aware of what is taking place in the present, it has no time to focus on all the distractions and worries of the phantom past and future. 

Need to Center Your Mind? Try This.

Lay on your back with the whole  back of the leg resting on a chair.  Place your head on a support. Arms in a comfortable position.  Just be aware how your physical body feels and start to imagine all the tension of your large and small muscles releasing from the ceiling towards the floor. 

Next, scan your body from your toes to the crown of your head and visualize that part of your body release down with your natural exhalation.  See yourself falling deeper and deeper into that vast inner space. Peace.

Alina Hernandez

ALINA HERNANDEZ | is a certified teacher with Yoga Alliance (R.Y.T.). She has been teacher certified by renowned instructor Rodney Yee, by Richard Rozen, contributing editor for Yoga Journal, and Jimamukti trained Collen Saidmain.  Alina has a background in dance, she began her career with American Ballet Theater. After 12 years with ABT she joined the Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera. She is the owner of Kent Yoga & Bodyworks, a premier exercise and wellness center in the Kent Village Barns.

We love this recipe for elegant summer entertaining! Delicious & nutritious beef carpaccio from the owners of Doc’s Trattoria in Kent, Connecticut.

Doc’s Trattoria lived in New Preston, CT for nine years before moving to the Kent Village Barns in 2008. The local favorite is co-owned by Roberto and Paulette Pizzo, a husband and wife, front-of-the house, back-of-the-house team. Together with their staff, the Pizzos serve up authentic Italian fare, inspired by Roberto’s Sicilian childhood. Summers, they invite residents and visitors to come sit on their Kent patio, listen to some live jazz, and dine on fine Italian cuisine.

Here,  from their kitchen to yours, a rare treat!

BEEF CARPACCIO RECIPE

Beef Carpaccio at Doc's Trattoria

Ingredients
-6 oz. beef tenderloin (whole)
-2 c. baby arugula
-I tbsp. grated parmigiana reggiano cheese
-I tbsp. extra virgin olive oil mixed with 1 tbsp. lemon juice
-capers
-2 tbsp. crushed sea salt & black pepper

Preparation
Coat a large pan with extra virgin olive oil, crushed salt & pepper. Dip whole tenderloin in coated pan enough to wet all sides. Pan sear each side in a hot skillet. Let tenderloin cool at room temperature for about one hour. Wrap tenderloin in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Presentation
Slice the marinated tenderloin paper thin (for best results, freeze for 1 hour prior to slicing). Divide sliced beef between two plates. Garnish each plate with 1 cup arugula. Top each dish with 1/2 tbsp. of reggiano cheese. Sprinkle with capers. Drizzle each carpaccio with 1 tbsp. of lemon & olive oil dressing.

Visiting Doc’s Trattoria at Kent Village Barns
Location: 9 Maple Street, Kent, CT
Phone: (860) 927-3810
Menu: Modern flair on old Italian classics. Specialties include: zuppa di pesce, vitello salt in bocca, penne vessuviana and brick oven pizza.

Reservations are recommended. Visit their website: www.docstrattoria.com.

If you’re looking for live innovative jazz in Litchfield County, read on. Critically acclaimed New York saxophonist Daniel Bennett who has recently shared concert stages with national artists like Bill Frisell, Charlie Hunter, James Carter, Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Jerry Bergonzi, and David Fiuczynski will be performing at Doc’s Trattoria at Kent Village Barns in May and June. Described by the Boston Herald as “exploratory folk jazz,” and as “a mix of jazz, folk and trance” by the Boston Globe, the Daniel Bennett Group’s music is known for being innovative, yet accessible to a wide listening base. Here he is talking about his landmark work, and performing live in NYC. You can catch the trio live at Doc’s Trattoria, 9 Maple Street, Kent, CT next Thursday, May 29, 2011 and Thursday, June 9, 2011.

Kent, CT has long been known as a destination for art aficionados. Continuing in that tradition, Kent Village Barns is home to two Litchfield County’s most prominent galleries–the Morrison Gallery, and the Ober Gallery–and is a close walking distance to several others. Here, a roundup of must-hit galleries for an art-filled stroll near the Housatonic.

Start your walk at the The Morrison Gallery at 8 Old Barn Road, Kent, CT (pictured below). This 7,000 square foot contemporary art gallery is one of New England’s largest, and a Litchfield County sensation. “The scale, the architecture, the openness and the natural light are perfect for showcasing the most monumental of paintings and sculptures,” says owner Billy Morrison.

Next on your walk, visit the Ober Gallery, 6 North Main Street, Kent, CT (pictured below). Founded in 2006 by Rob Ober, the gallery shows contemporary artists from New York, New England, and Russia, and has a reputation for showing important twentieth century and contemporary Russian art.

When in the area, be sure to stop by the Kent Arts Association at 21 S. Main Street and the Heron American Craft Gallery at 16 Main Street.