Two of La Galerie Chartier's owners, Jill Treadwell and Russell Chartier, at the gallery in Derby, Connecticut. Not pictured: Paul Botelho.
additional reporting by Amanda Bloom
La Galerie Chartier, a new and innovative gallery and performing space serving the Greater New Haven area, is focused on an under-represented medium in
Connecticut – video. Located at 35 Elizabeth Street in downtown Derby, Chartier is owned by a triage of artists: Russell Chartier, Paul Botelho, and Jill Treadwell,
who also serves as the gallery’s manager.
Marshal McLuhan, a pioneer in communications theory, described video “as a window to the world.” In a time just before technology was used as the primary way
to connect and send messages, visionaries like McLuhan, Nam June Paik – thought to be the world’s first video artist – and Woody and Steina Vasulka – credited
with bringing the first video art exhibits to the Whitney Museum in the 1970s – sought to find the hidden beauty within the shell of the computer and the television.
As a tribute to these video artists and and the 50th anniversary of the birth of the medium, Chartier is organizing the Northeastern United States chapter of the
worldwide video art exhibition, ’100×100=900,’ in August of this year.
’100×100=900′ will feature one hundred videos of five minutes or less, each one meditating on one specific year from the 1900s. The goal is to create a global
narration of the past century via the moving image – the very technology that defined those one hundred years.
“We are teamed with venues from across the globe for this event,” said Chartier in an interview, explaining that the goal of the exhibition is to create a worldwide
archive of video art the can be shared, and grown, collectively. Galerie Chartier, however, is too small a space to accommodate the screening of ’100,’ and the
trio is currently seeking a suitable venue and additional funding via Kickstarter to bring the exhibition to fruition. Those interested in learning more about the
Video Art from the Permanent Collection of Galerie Chartier
Chartier and Botelho combined two individual projects to represent the year 1999 for ’100′; ‘”1999 Deconstructed,” four minutes of Botelho’s moody, delicate piano
and stirring images of roaming lights, numbers, and protest, is currently in broadcast rotation at the Paris-based television network Art Television, viewable online
at oart.tv. “1999″, which Chartier designed not to lead or inform an audience but to encourage diverse and individual reactions, will serve as the finale in the
exhibition.
Treadwell’s interest in interactive media began at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico, where her studies with the aforementioned Vasulkas involved dubbing
archival tapes, introducing her to the edginess of video art and its community. She now works as a writer, poet, and video artist and is currently in the process of
publishing a memoir, The Molecules That Surround Us. Treadwell is also working on an interactive media installation with Woody and Steina Vasulka featuring
her and New Mexico-based writer Melody Sumner Carnahan’s collaborations in writing, poetry, and what Carnahan has dubbed “philosophical noetics” – short,
abstract statements connecting philosophy and technology.” Along with Botelho and Chartier, Treadwell is also collaborator and star of of the internationally
recognized “Devil on A Dam” short animation film, which explores the final moments of a woman’s life as she writes her death note.
Chartier’s focus in video art is in finding the inherent flaws of the medium. His process uses various techniques to create, deconstruct, and reassemble works to
find their hidden beauty. In collaboration, Chartier and Bothelo create audiovisual works based on the principle of synchronicity – during the creative process, both
artists are unaware to the other’s ideas, save for the agreement on the duration of the piece.
While the three gallery owners have a stout passion for video art, visitors to La Galerie Chartier can take in more than the medium of the moving picture; the gallery
frequently hosts live music, spoken word events, and other facets of performance art. Painter Kimberly Joy Sessa is the gallery’s featured artist through April 14
and is sharing the space with photographers Carli Freeman and Jack Petritus and sculptors Andre Tourette and John Allen. ‘PAINTING + DRAWING + LIGHT,’
opening at Chartier on April 20, will feature three-dimensional drawer, painter, and sculptor Alan Neider, along with abstract painting by Ashleigh Kay and radiograph
photography by Guinevere Freccia. Chartier is also now offering a 24/7 video streaming channel for the pieces currently on display at the gallery, viewable at
La Galerie Chartier is open Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 8pm, Sunday from 3 to 6pm and by appointment at 35 Elizabeth Street in Derby, Connecticut. For more information, visitchartieranartsvenue.orgor call (203)376-9243.
"You Smell Like Chaos"by Carli Freeman / Submitted photo
Sessa's graphic paintings spotlight the horror of abuse against women.
Sessa's vibrant oil portrait, "Christine and Katie Mae," immediately caught my eye.
Pictured at Saturday's reception, from left: Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo of Derby, Russell Chartier of West Haven, owner, Chartier An Arts Venue, photographer Carli Freeman of New Haven, portrait artist Kimberly Sessa of Greenwich and Chartier's wife, Jill Treadwell, gallery manager. They are standing in front of one of Sessa's paintings.
My husband and I attended an opening reception Saturday night at Chartier An Arts Venue, an experimental multimedia gallerythat opened in Decemberat 35 Elizabeth St., Derby. It isnext door to the Valley Arts Council's Gallery@37. The photos and artwork now on exhibit there evoke a variety of emotions. Freeman's series of black and white photos, "Me Without You," shows a young woman seemingly lost after a breakup.
Our first wave of video artists, (those who were part of the opening) have been published in a compilation of modern video artists. The goal is to add video artists in subsequent editions and create a collective of modern video artists. (the book is currently free so all
video artists please download it within the next 5 days if you would like a copy, If you miss it and
want a copy I will buy one and send it to you)
A collection of Modern Video Artists from the perm. Collection of Galerie Chartier
A Media Arts Gallery, experimental music and performance venue serving the Greater New Haven, CT area.
Chartier is a Media Arts Gallery and performance space created by Russell Chartier, Jill Treadwell and Paul
Botelho which supports video art exhibitions and musical performances. The space serves as a traditional
gallery displaying mixed-media modern Art from a wide array of regional and international artists.
The gallery appeals to New Haven's diverse artistic community and draws crowds for the established artists
Chartier an Arts Venue is currently aligned with an international network of New Media Arts venues including: Superintendence for the PSAE and the Museums of Naples, ITALY, VIDEOPLAY, Argentina, NAPOLI FILM FESTIVAL, Italy, LAB-YI, Beijing China, and Centro d'Arti e Ricerche Multimediali Applicate, Italy, Athens Video Art Festival, Greece.
"A great project Russell.
I had a peek earlier and have to say it looks impressive. Big congrats on starting it. Best wishes on its success."
"With the rapid movement of new and better technology and the enthusiasm of artists, photographers, and all
creative thinkers, plus throngs of art/design lovers locally and globally, you may be on the verge of throwing the
doors open a must-visit spot in Greater New Haven! I am certain that the community will support this project on
opening and into the future. Bravo to your entrepreneurial skills for sure!"
-Solomon Walker (Founder/CEO at MUSEUM OF DIGITAL FINE ARTS) Toronto, Canada
"This is an exciting new venture,that is of value to the community,and the "art community"at large."
" I am finding great interest,now that the world seems to be shrinking for "cross cultural" and"cross disciplinarian"work. Of course,
I still believe in the great value of the specialist, and honor their work.Maybe because I have been in the business world, the
non-profit museum world of fundraising,am also a collector and now a historic preservationist, that I tend to look at the "big
picture"but relying heavily on the specialist to help my vocation. Keep up the good work!"
- John Mcann ( Historic Preservation: Asia and the Middle East)
"Russell J. Chartier and Paul J. Botelho, who where shortlisted due to their inspiring use of contemporary
film making and their unique interpretation of the dual identity." - Nottingham Playhouse UK
He suggested those unfamiliar with video art should “visualize an abstract painting that moves. It’s like a moving canvas, a
montage of images.”
“A video arts movement, much like the experimental film work that swept Europe in the 1920s, is happening in Derby.” Artists such as Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and Sergei Eisenstein played a part in that avant-garde film scene, mainly in
France and Germany, DiCarlo said. -Rich Dicarlo (CTValley Arts Council President)
DERBY — Downtown will soon be home to a media arts gallery with the arrival of Gallerie Chartier.
West Haven resident Russell J. Chartier and his wife, Jill Treadwell, have been reviving a vacant storefront next door to the Valley Arts Council’s Gallery@37 on Elizabeth Street.
Gallerie Chartier, at 35 Elizabeth St., will display experimental video art created by artists from around the world. It will also provide space for performance art.
“We feel like video is not represented in the New Haven area, so we are (going to be) the ones to bring top, cutting-edge video artists to this area,” Treadwell said.
Chartier said he plans to create “an ongoing loop” of an archived collection of international video artists to display in the window. He has already played a video loop in the window, causing
comment and sparking the imaginations of passers-by, Treadwell said. She and her husband majored in moving image arts at Santa Fe University of Art and Design in New Mexico.Treadwell has worked in marketing and advertising and at several galleries, both in Sante Fe
and in Connecticut. Chartier studied broadcast engineering in addition to video art, and works as a broadcast operations supervisor.
Chartier experiments with his video art. His biographical information says “many of the images in his works are distorted and manipulated.”
Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo said he’s thrilled the video art gallery has moved into Derby.
“The arts council always welcomes artists and their ideas,” he said. “Russell, Jill, and Paul are taking things to a new level with Gallerie Chartier. Artists who work in the digital medium don’t have a place to reach the public unless they do a show,” DeCarlo said.
He suggested those unfamiliar with video art should “visualize an abstract painting that moves. It’s like a moving canvas, a montage of images.”
“A video arts movement, much like the experimental film work that swept Europe in the 1920s, is happening in Derby.”
Artists such as Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and Sergei Eisenstein played a part in that avant-garde film scene, mainly in France and Germany, DiCarlo said.
A grand opening celebration for Gallerie Chartier will be held 8-11 p.m. Dec. 15. For information, contact Treadwell at 203-826-6262 or jtreadwell@chartiernanartsvenue.org gallery's co-owner is composer and musician Paul Botelho, an assistant professor of .The
music at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. The two have worked together since 1996.
Dedicated to the Valley Arts Council, its members and supporters.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
Arts council welcomes next-door neighbor to town
Gallerie Chartier to hold grand opening Dec. 15
Russell J. Chartier and his wife, Jill Treadwell, are getting ready to open their media gallery at 35 Elizabeth St., Derby, Ct. The grand opening celebration will be held from 8-11 p.m. Dec. 15.
Treadwell stands next to a video still of her eye that Chartier created. The image is on display at the gallery.
Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo said there is an arts movement going on in downtown Derby. He's working to get the word out to inspire artists and residents alike to get involved in it.
Chartier...an arts venue is located at 
