A free exhibit of French art from the Westport River Gallery in Westport, is underway at the Villa Gourmet, 11 River St., Milford.
The exhibit, which runs through December, includes art by internationally-rated French artists including Jean-Pierre Dubord, Dominique Dorie, Elisabeth Estivalet, Henri Lapetit, Corinne Vilcaz, Jacqueline Duvoisin, Kerfily and others.
Located in downtown Milford, the Villa Gourmet is a specialty food store featuring French and other imported gourmet foods and cheeses. It also offers a line of giftware for cooking and entertaining. Services include gourmet gift baskets, custom cheese platters, boxed picnics, and special orders. Villa Gourmet is owned by Linda MacIntyre, and is open Monday to Wednesday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.
Subjects range from the poppies, lavender fields and landscapes of Provence, south of France, to old European streets. Work by Kerfily is of the Greek islands, and there are also several hand crafted glass bowls by Mundy Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn’s nephew.
Dominique Dorie was born in Versailles in 1958. At 16 he began working in the Louvre as a restorer of sculptures. He enjoyed studying the masterpieces hanging on the walls of the great museum and felt impelled to sketch them. He had several small " exhibitions " by hanging his work in the evenings on the fences of the church of St. Germain des Pres. 1977 marked a turning point. At 24, he decided he needed surroundings with greater calm and quiet, so he moved to a small village on the edge of the sea in Normandy. In 1985 Dorie exhibited his work in the Salon de Criel and in the Salon d'Orly. He was awarded the Prix du Salon in the latter exhibition. He is collected worldwide and has won many awards.
Born in Brussels in 1956, Henri Lapetit has bagged spitting cobras in the Ivory Coast when he was only 13 to fighting in a Squadron of the S.A.S! With skydiving an ongoing hobby he has been a world adventurer who has extracted every possible emotion from his incredibly varied lifestyle. Art has always had a dominant place in his life and this natural talent means that from the early age of 16 he paid for many of his world trips by selling his works en route.
Westport River Gallery offers European, American and Asian fine art, working with all levels of art collectors, corporate clients & decorators. Artists are selected based on their reputation, level of credentials, style & distinctions. Styles include impressionistic, realistic, abstract and modern. Artists are from France, United States, England, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Poland, China, Tibet and Quebec.
