Monadnock Music Supper Club
Join the Monadnock Music Supper Club!
MM offers special events, meet & greets, private concerts for its Supper Club members to foster conversation and camaraderie among music lovers. All Members at the "Sponsoring" level and above ($500+) are automatically part of the club. If you are a Supper Club member, consider hosting an event in your home where you can invite your friends to join for a special evening centered around our common love of music!
Contact laina@monadnockmusic.org to host an event!
2022 Summer Season Supper Club Events
Pre-Concert Soiree
prior to the Dublin Village Concert
Saturday, June 25, 5:30-6:30pm
FORAY Studio ~ 174 Main Street, Marlborough, NH
Menu:
Charcuterie Cones
House smoked trout
Horseradish. dill. caper. crème fraiche
Homemade potato knish
Duck and sweet potato croquette with tarragon grilled grape and shallot jam
Roasted strawberry tarts with fresh whipped ginger cream
A selection of delicious wines, beers and cocktails will be available for purchase
Supper Club
following the Town House Extravaganza concert
Sunday, July 17
The Apothecary ~ Depot Square, Peterborough, NH
Musician Meet and Greet
Come check out this new Depot Square business and all the wonders it brings to Peterborough!
Wine and snacks will be served.
An Evening with Artist Alexander Gassel
Saturday, August 6, 5pm
At the home of Jerry & Susan Bird ~ Adytum Hill, Dublin, NH
(address disclosed upon ticket reservation)
An Evening with Artist Alexander Gassel
Harmonious, elegant, and moving, his art consistently garners international attention and appears in many public and private collections, including that of the Vatican.
Join us for an evening of conversation in a private home where several of Gassel's pieces will be on display. A musical performance, champagne and appetizers will be enjoyed. This event comes with complimentary tickets to the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA, for all Supper Club Members.
www.alexandergassel.com
Experience the contemporary paintings of Russian-American artist and designer Alexander Gassel - blending the avant-garde with traditional Russian iconography and combining ancient symbols with contemporary subjects, Gassel creates surrealist works that reflect his cultural heritage alongside his experience of life in America.
Alexander Gassel was born in Moscow, USSR in 1947, and graduated from Moscow Institute of Arts and Graphics in 1970 with an MA in Fine Arts. From 1970 to 1980, Gassel worked at the Grabar Center for the Restoration and Preservation of Art in Moscow, restoring and copying medieval tempera paintings, as well as collecting and assessing icons that, at that time, were being removed from churches across the USSR and brought to Moscow for conservation and display.
Influenced by this experience, the artist began to create his own original paintings – for the most part personal interpretations of Biblical events. His own painting style is derived as much from icon painting as it is from his discovery of the suppressed early 20th century Russian master painters such as Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, and Kazimir Malevich. During the Soviet period, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and other stylistic European trends were suppressed. Gassel describes seeing the works of Chagall and Malevich surreptitiously in storage areas of Soviet museums. At that time, it was absolutely forbidden in the Soviet Union to exhibit contemporary religious paintings.
Gassel immigrated to the United States in 1980 with $10 in his pocket and no knowledge of the English language. He was not allowed to bring any of his artwork with him because by law no religious art could leave the country. He found work as a draftsman for a railroad company and painted on weekends. Eventually, he had an exhibition where he sold enough paintings to quit his job and once again work as an artist and icon conservator full-time.
In his work, Gassel uses ancient techniques employed in the creation of icon paintings. He paints with egg yolk tempera, making his own color pigments by grinding natural stones and minerals, such as malachite, cinnabar, or lapis into powder, which he then mixes with egg yolk. The artist often applies gold or silver leaf on the paintings. Blending the avant-garde with traditional Russian iconography, combining ancient symbols with contemporary subjects, Gassel creates surrealist works that reflect his cultural heritage alongside his experience of life in America.
Alexander Gassel now lives and works in the United States where he continues to create his amazing paintings. He is also an icon conservator at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton. It should be recalled that the Museum houses more than 1,000 religious icons and artifacts that are of great value not only to Russian but also to world culture.
