Howard Fussiner Mini-Retrospective
BACA Gallery
360 State St.
New Haven
Through Aug. 31
In 2003, famed Connecticut painter Howard Fussiner created Flye Point I, an oil painting of sand, water, clouds, and an array of small rocks, all forming satisfying orb-like shapes. Over 20 years later, on Thursday afternoon, 18-month-old Musa toddled through the halls of 360 State in New Haven, chasing after the Flye Point I’s curves and colors.
Fussiner passed in New Haven in 2006, but his work lives on to guide new generations in a mini-retrospective at the downtown apartment building’s lobby, which doubles as an art gallery for the Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance (BACA).
Late-night wanderers looking for something still open in the wee hours and early birds trying to start their day right will be pleased to learn there is no such thing as too early or too late for the 360 State St. gallery; it’s open 24/7. You just need to ring the bell, greet the lobby concierge, and enjoy the paintings.
Fussiner taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta and created work that would find a home in the National Gallery in D.C. Local artists might know him better from his 28 years teaching art at Southern Connecticut State University. He was part of the local arts community, even opening the public into his home for Citywide Open Studios.
“I definitely love seeing the pictures. It’s amazing,” Musa’s father Ayoub said of Fussiner’s work. He talked about the feeling of coming back from work and re-entering home life by way of BACA gallery’s colorful hall.
The boundaries of Fussiner’s shapes vibrate with acknowledgment of the environments around them. A figure’s pale blue, abstracted face in Fussiner’s undated work By the Sea reflects the green of a shirt below and suggests shadows for the eyes and neck in brighter cyan. A rich lavender line makes up the jawline, vibrant but not definitive.
Down by the bottom of the piece, the same figure’s feet seem to melt into the sand below, illustrated with an almost pointillist mix of strong colors applied sparingly.
In these nature-heavy works, painted boundaries bleed into colors on either side, often accompanied by the glow of multiple layers overlapping in imperfect swathes. Thick ridges of paint form strokes that pass color boundaries without seeming to take notice — indicating, perhaps, the existence of extensive underpainting. The result is a highly textured feel, evoking fabric arts like weaving or the uniform static of analog TV.
The paintings pull together a sense of calm, with figures paused in simple, illustrative poses. Their lack of facial definition flattens out any gap in detail between them and the rocks and sand of the background, making them background‑y as well and elevating the importance of the outer edges of the works.
Years from now, will Musa remember learning to walk against the backdrop of Fussiner’s paintings? All I’ll say is, if he ends up with muddled memories of beachgoers and parade oddities in fuzzy green outlines walking alongside him in those early days, we know which visionary Connecticut painter to thank.
Fussiner’s mini-retrospective will be on view at BACA’s New Haven gallery at 360 State St. until Aug. 31. The art is for sale.
