Editor's note: This version adds an exhibition details box at the end of the story.

Rivers divide the regions of Greater New London and bridges connect them — and art can be a powerful way to entice people to cross those bridges and come together as a community of artists and art lovers.

New London’s Hygienic Galleries recognized this a decade ago by creating “Crossing the Bridge,” an annual juried art show that has grown every year with artists working in diverse styles and mediums coming from as far as Providence, New Haven and Hartford.

D. Samuel Quigley, who became director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in 2014, juried this year’s show. Quigley previously worked at several prestigious art institutions, including Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard University Art Museums, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Quigley’s job was to choose the more than 60 works in the Hygienic show from about 150 submissions, select the winning art, and decide how the work should be hung to create interesting juxtapositions and pairings based on color, shapes, style and mood.

“It was a really enjoyable challenge to be given the opportunity to choose the art, winnowing it down to about half of what was (submitted) and then to try to arrange it in a way that made sense,” he says. “I was quite impressed with the level of some of the work that was done here.”

“I enjoy being in a place where people are really experimenting and pushing forward without already having an established name,” Quigley says of the Greater New London art scene. “When you go to a big museum, when you’re working in New York or Chicago, you’re led to the people who are already pre-ordained, And you can sort of feel like an expert because when you go into a museum you know you ought to see this, this, and that — the canon of the museum.

“What I like and I’m thrilled about here in New London is having to rely on one’s own eye — the canon doesn’t exist,” he continues. “The mantel of respectability and honor has not yet been bestowed upon everyone, but in fact there’s some great work that’s being done. So it’s a special challenge that we individually and collectively have to make our own decisions about this and I find that very invigorating.”

Quigley points out that there is quite a bit of artistic diversity in the towns that make up Greater New London.

“An example of that is we have half a room with highly figurative, nautical themes — a lot of these nautical ones came from Stonington, Lyme,” he says. “Whereas some of the more edgy and contemporary work comes from the New London and Groton area. There’s a terrific dialogue between the different groups of residents. And they’re all, I think, very talented.” 

WINNING WORKS

Quigley stresses that it was hard to choose the award recipients among such strong work overall.

He gave Sylvia Malizia of New London First Place for her mixed media piece titled “Surfacing.”

“I found this work to be full of great beauty,” he says. “I love the colors, the textures, the mix of the different elements of the work: the verticals, the horizontals, the torn paper. It has a lot of activity going on with no narrative that’s apparent to me. It’s a beautiful, visual piece and I found it very pleasing and joyful to look at.”

Second Place went to Brian P. DeVantier of Norwich for “Late Afternoon,” acrylic on photography paper.

“One could call it very dark, and, in fact, I found it somehow spoke to me like an Anselm Kiefer canvas — a very tough German painter. It’s got a lot of life even though it’s black and white. I love black and white. I get drawn into it, the perspective; almost a very worrisome state. There’s a lot going on and yet there’s no direct story.”

Another New London resident, Matthew Parker, took Third Place for “Green Secrets,” an acrylic on canvas.

“I just found this to be enchanting,” Quigley says. “This piece has a lot of life with multiple shades of green. It’s really strong, very beautiful.”

Heather Liebensohn of Shelton received an Honorable Mention for “Under the Great Gray Bridge,” a woodprint.

“I felt this is so strong in its perspective and its simplicity of form, but also beautiful, accurate rendering and attention — and then to have it (printed) on this wood, I found it just immediately grabbing me.”

The other Honorable Mention went to Joe Mitotic of New London for “Midnight,” charcoal/painters tape.

“It’s really intriguing; a very straightforward but enigmatic use of gray scale and white,” Quigley says. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“This is a come one, come all kind of event, but you know there’s this community that’s making art out there,” he adds. “And I hope people will come and take a look at it.”

WHAT: “Crossing the Bridge” exhibition

WHERE: Hygienic Galleries, 79 Bank St., New London. Most of the artwork is for sale.

WHEN: An opening reception will be held tonight, April 25, from 7 to 10 p.m. The show runs through May 23. The Hygienic is open Tues.-Thurs., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sun., noon to 3 p.m.

INFO: Call (860) 443-8001 or visit hygienic.org