Supreme Court hosts Calais painter’s ‘Animal, Mineral’ exhibit

July 29, 2026  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

A summer exhibition of Calais artist Heidi Broner’s paintings at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery has a reception set for Friday, Aug. 7.

Presented by the Vermont State Curator’s Office, the exhibit is titled “Animal, Mineral,” featuring paintings by Broner. It opened on July 14 and runs through Sept. 25 inside the Vermont Supreme Court building next door to the Vermont State House at 111 State Street in Montpelier. 

Granite Rider by Heidi Broner is part of an exhibit at the Vermont Supreme Court.

A self-taught artist, Broner’s interests have led her to work in a wide variety of media. In addition to painting, she has illustrated books, designed and painted murals, created puppets, masks, and set pieces for the opera “Frida.” She’s worked for many years with Bread and Puppet Theater as a painter and performer. 

Broner has spent two decades working in granite sheds alongside stone craftsmen, where she has gained an appreciation of the skills and talents of people in the trades.

A colorist by nature and a keen observer of the natural world, Broner says she has lately focused on the beauty and complexity of rock formations. 

“Stone contains far more time. The many millions of years that formed it and changed it are there in something that can be seen and touched. I have a stone that I found in which one of the creatures fossilized in it was extinct when another in that same stone was alive. They are both there—time contained in something I can hold in my hand,” she said. 

Broner utilizes an “on-the-fly” photographic process to capture spontaneous compositions which are often used later in her process as foundational blueprints from which she crafts her paintings. The subjects, whether human or animal, at times are staged in urban landscapes or the rocky coast of Maine. 

Broner’s show, “Animal, Mineral,” brings together a colorful body of work spanning 20 years. 

The free Aug. 7 reception at the Supreme Court will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. with artist remarks at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served. 

The Supreme Court gallery is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed 12-1 p.m.) See more about Heidi Broner at heidibronerpaintings.com.