CULTURE ABOUNDS AMID THE LEAVES

by Arlene Distler

At this perennially favorite time to visit Vermont, Brattleboro and vicinity have much to offer alongside the shimmering days of Indian summer and vivid colors of peak autumn. There’s no better time to cruise the countryside, but there’s also a wealth of cultural happenings. Below are some highlights.

BRATTLEBORO MUSEUM AND ARTS CENTER (10 VERNON ST.): has an exceptionally fine group of shows that will be up through Oct. 25.

“Jim Dine: People, Places, Things” explores themes that have preoccupied Jim Dine from his earliest art-making endeavors, yet the show is fresh, filled with seldom-seen work. This is a must-see for fans of Dine, and is also a lovely intro to the artist. Notes curator Mara Williams, ”The commonplace becomes extraordinary in this celebrated artist’s hands.”

“Threaded Dances: Debra Bermingham” consists of glimpsed objects a fragment of a vessel under full sail, a teapot, a moon as if seen through a mist, unmoored from time and place. We have entered an enchanted dreamscape.

“Close to Home: New Pastels by Ray Ruseckas” is a pastel show of uncommon beauty. Living in, and taking inspiration from, the Connecticut River Valley, this artist is (in his own words) “attracted to the subtler beauty — the quiet, subdued, private, even melancholic landscape.” “Art + Computer/Time” (ends Sept. 27) features computer- generated imagery from the Anne and Michael Spalter Digital Art Collection. Fifteen of the most important early practitio- ners of digital art are represented in the exhibit.

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