A solo exhibition combining crab and oyster shells collected from Long Island Sound with imagery inspired by the Chinese New Year of the Snake opens at YWCA Greenwich's Gertrude White Gallery in September, with a free public reception on Saturday, Sept. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m.
The show, titled "Wood Snakes by the Sea," is the work of Fairfield-based mixed-media artist Nicole Cantore Koester. It will be on view for the full month at 259 East Putnam Ave. Residents can call (203) 869-6501, extension 100, to arrange viewing times.
Koester works across ceramics, sculpture and painting. The Fairfield Arts Commission featured her in its Spotlight Series on May 27, describing her as "a local artisan specializing in mixed media" who has been creating since childhood.
The exhibition merges two threads of her recent work. Her "By the Sea" series incorporates shells she gathered along the Sound, while the snake motif draws on the Chinese zodiac year that began in January 2025, Greenwich Free Press reported. Koester holds a BFA in Communications Design from Syracuse University and previously co-founded Hand Painted, a ceramics studio in Fairfield.
Twenty percent of each purchase is tax-deductible. That's a standard feature of the Gertrude White Gallery's monthly exhibition program, which hosts rotating shows with Saturday afternoon receptions open to the public at no charge, according to YWCA Greenwich.
Upcoming:
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 2–4 p.m. — Free reception for "Wood Snakes by the Sea," Gertrude White Gallery, YWCA Greenwich, 259 East Putnam Ave.
- September — Exhibition on view by appointment; call (203) 869-6501, ext. 100.
