A Special Art Exhibit Featuring Her Sons’ Work
New Canaan, CT, November 20, 2025 – When most people reach a milestone birthday, they dream of travel, luxury, or a special event. For Lea Allen Gebauer, a resident of The Inn, Waveny LifeCare Network’s independent living community, her wish for her 90th birthday is far simpler and more meaningful: Lea wants to see the art and design work created by her two sons, Hale and Harry Allen, presented in the gallery at The Inn, the place she calls home.
Waveny is proud to honor Lea’s wish by displaying this artwork. It celebrates not only her 90 years of life but also the creativity she has inspired in those around her. It also marks the first time the brothers have shown their work together. Residents, families, friends, neighbors, and community members are invited to come see the artwork between December 8th through January 30th, 2026. Visitors are welcome to view the art exhibition between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm daily. For more information about this special birthday celebration, please contact Katerina Tchakarov at (203) 594 5333.
A Mother’s Influence and a Sons’ Tribute
For Lea, this exhibition is more than a birthday gathering. It is a profoundly personal celebration of creativity, family legacy, and a lifetime of inspiration. Lea herself is a painter, ceramicist, and arts educator. She studied undergraduate at Vassar College and later received her Masters in Childhood Education from Rutgers University. All the while she studied art including many years studying ceramics at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey and since moving to New Canaan in 2000, at Silvermine Arts Center.
About Hale Allen
Hale Allen, a painter and visual artist from Philadelphia, will present new work from his Wire Series. Hale studied with sculptor Joe Moss and landscape architect Ted Browning at the University of Delaware. He continued his training at the Art Students League in New York City and at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts where he studied with master artist James McGinley.
Hale earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 1994. His work has appeared in many shows. He was featured in The Edge Effect at the Katonah Museum of Art in 2020, in the Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences, and in the Art in Abstraction exhibition at the Maryland Federation of Art. Please visit haleallen.com.
About Harry Allen
Harry Allen, is a celebrated industrial designer who lives in Pound Ridge. Harry trained at Pratt Institute and gained wide attention in 1994 for the interior design of Moss, a design store in New York City. His work includes interiors, furniture, lighting, packaging, and accessories. He has become most well-known for his Reality collection for Areaware, including the Bank in the Form of a Pig. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and many other museums. More information can be found at harryallendesign.com. For this exhibition, Harry will present work from his new ceramics project called Fuse.
About Waveny LifeCare Network
Waveny LifeCare Network is a nonprofit provider of senior services based in New Canaan, Connecticut. Waveny proudly serves older adults and families across Fairfield County and has done so for more than fifty years. Waveny offers a full continuum of care including independent living, short term rehabilitation, long term care, assisted living/ memory care, home health, hospice, the Navigator Alzheimer’s Program, and a state certified nurse aide training program. Please visit www.waveny.org for more information.