Ridgefield art exhibition ‘Coming of Age’ highlights artists over the age of 60

Her idea spawned the “Coming of Age” exhibition, the latest show put on by the Ridgefield Guild of Artists that opens April 9 and runs through May 8. The exhibition explores “what happens to the passion, vision and creative drive of visual artists as they age,” and features the work of more than 70 artists who are all over the age of 60.

“There seems to be sort of a mandate … among galleries and museums …. that young and edgy is the way to go. What happens is that artists of a certain age begin to feel irrelevant.” – Nancy Moore, curator of the “Coming of Age” exhibit

Returning for her fourth show with the Ridgefield Guild, Moore said she’s grateful that the organization “has taken a risk every time on some of the subject matter” of the art shows. 

“The first show that I curated was on the gender identity continuum,” she said. “They just opened up their doors and their hearts and just said, ‘Come on ahead. This is what we’re all about,’ and they’ve been true to their mission for decades.”

Moore believes having her latest show dedicated to older artists pushes boundaries yet again and rebuffs the typical focus on art’s younger generation. 

“There seems to be sort of a mandate — whether spoken or unspoken — among galleries and museums and other public institutions that young and edgy is the way to go,” she said. “What happens is that artists of a certain age begin to feel irrelevant and also that they have to contort themselves and their practices into something that’s more palatable for showing to a wider audience….This show is proof that there’s a vibrant, relevant crew of passionate, working artists out there who are actively making and exhibiting their work, and they’re immensely talented.”

The show features over 100 pieces of art that were produced by these artists and range in size and medium. Works include abstract and representational art, photography, ceramics and fibers, among others. The exhibit also features known artists — such as Meredith Bergemann, the sculptor behind a women’s rights monument in Central Park — along with those not yet widely known, Moore said. All works on display from the artists will be available for purchase. 

Accompanying each work is a written piece from the artist describing their experiences as “artists of a certain age,” Moore said, for which some of the artists were “digging deep to talk about how they feel.” While the art itself is not about aging, age is the common thread that binds together the artists and the exhibit as a whole. 

“It shows that we’re not invisible as older artists, that we’re here and we have something to say,” she said. “Our passion is undiminished and our capacity is not diminished.”