Al Miner, assistant curator of contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, reviewed almost 800 images before selecting the 75 pieces on view in the South Shore Art Center’s “Works on Paper” exhibition. Oviedo, Florida’s Kevin Haran (for “UFO 3,” which Miner wrote shows that “No computer graphics program can replace the strength and elegance of great draftsmanship”); Bedford, New Hampshire’s Patricia Schappler (whose “Mary,” a charming portrait of a young woman, “beautifully and sensitively captures her simultaneous innocence and budding sexuality”); and Pembroke’s Becky Haletky’s “Art Deco Gone Wild” (that “celebrates the well-deserved conservation” of an early 20th century movie palace), all took home top honors in the show that continues through December 21 at SSAC, 119 Ripley Road, Cohasset, Mass.
“Modern Spin: CONtemporary TEXTiles in an Historic Mill” honors the Fall River area’s ongoing connection to the textile industry with a 34-artist exhibition housed in the former warehouse of the American Printing Company, which used to be the largest producer of printed cloth in the world. The show, jurored by Jules, founder of Providence’s Heron Pond Studio, runs from November 7 through December 27 at the Narrows Center for the Arts, 16 Anawan Street, Fall River, Mass. The one-of-a-kind handcrafted works will be complemented by “historical information about the industry, contributing jobs and economic growth to the area, and the people who came to work in the industry and how they contributed to the ‘fabric of America.’”
Nelson Smith and Jemison Faust dug into the fabric of other’s lives and surroundings, then drew on those relationships to build the foundation for their contributions to their collaborative “In the Eye of the Beholder” exhibition that opens on November 11 and continues through December 5 at Krause Gallery at the Moses Brown School, 250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island. Faust was well-prepared for the exercise, having worked as a personal organizer for 30 years. “During this journey through someone’s home, there is always a part of me making connections to my life as an artist and looking for ways to express visually what I see and feel in this rich and complicated world,” she said. Meanwhile, in his artist statement, Smith noted that he paints schematic languages developed from research of landforms, communities, culture and mythologies: “A vocabulary of objects, as a parallel set of dramatic relationships, are imposed into the work in a way that can reinforce the charts/schematics or conflict with them. These relationships exist within a space fluctuating between the physical painted surface and ambiguous illusion.” Added gallery director Kristin Street, “This show acknowledges the way they each sift through the stuff of life, developing a lively dialogue on the surface of the canvas to pay tribute to ‘The Eye of the Beholder.’”
The first of two group exhibitions for Honorable Mention Recipients of the 3rd Annual Juried Competition at the Milton Art Museum in Residence at Massasoit Community College, 900 Randolph Street, Canton, Mass., featuring Bryoney Benzly, Helena Hsieh and Lydia Martin, continues through November 18. Figurative artist Benzly spent her formative years submerged in the colorful and vibrant life of Chinese and Indian cultures, resulting in the imagery and colors constantly recurring in her work. Hsieh, who is attracted to the most ambiguous moments from cinema, photography and life, said her work “addresses the quiet, the silence, the intimacy and the immensity of a single point in time.” Realist painter Martin strives to capture “something extraordinary in the ordinary,” creating technically detailed work full of light, rich shadows, color and texture. Canvases from her “Loteria” series are featured in the show.
The second group exhibition, featuring Lisa Bailey, Barney Levitt and Erick Ingraham, opens November 19 and continues through December 23. Artscope publisher Kaveh Mojtabai, who juried the shows, selected the artists from over 165 submissions from New England, New York and Florida; Sammy Chong of Brighton, featured in our September/October issue, was selected as the competition winner.
Five highly-accomplished female Dominican artists — Rosalba Hernandez, Isabel Yepez, Aurora Diaz, Patricia Gamundi and Mirna Ledesma — are featured in “Fuera de la Isla (Out of the Island)” through December 12 at the Essex Art Center, 56 Island Street #1, Lawrence, Mass., a show brought together by Edward Telleria and Mory Espaillat, who enthusiastically hope you’ll turn out to experience Hernandez’ drawings and paintings that pay tribute to the demented, transients and everyday citizens who she captures through her psychological and social study; Yepez’s paintings capturing the fragility and the nature that surrounds the feminine human form; Gamundi’s interpretive paintings of the dreams, games and activities of youth and their symbiotic relationship with Caribbean nature and the almighty sea; Diaz’s artistic renderings molded by her love of poetry, fashion modeling, jewelry designing, book illustrating and window decorating, and producing, editing and hosting a television show; and Ledesma’s abstract paintings and drawings made of oil, acrylic and mixed media.
Featuring approximately 30 images from a three-decade-plus career, “Lynn Swigart: Favorites,” on view at the Trident Gallery, 189 Main Street, Gloucester, Mass., from November 28 through January 4, will feature the photographer’s favorite color and black-and-white prints. “He has an eye for abstract beauty which does not compete with the human reality of the scene,” said gallery director Matthew Swift. “His vision gives us moments of beauty and meaning in which solitude and cherished connections with others and with nature have become united and indistinguishable. `You, too, have this beautiful world passing before you,’ say these photographs — a cherubic face with an infectious smile, a discovered moon in an industrial scene, a cobbler at work, a ride on an empty carousel.” Noting that he believes, “A photographer’s job is to have vision for other people,” Swigart hopes his images inspire others to enjoy their visual worlds more deeply. As you’ll see, they certainly do.
Over 300 works by 48 artists will be on view and available for purchase at Art 100 Boston’s debut exhibition from December 5 through 21 at the Piano Craft Gallery, 793 Tremont Street, Boston. All works are for sale for $100. “My goal is for everyone to feel entitled to an original piece of artwork and for Art 100 Boston buyers to go through the process and feel the excitement of selecting an original piece of art, meeting the artist, learning about the artist’s inspiration and technique and feeling the financial capability to enter the art world,” said curator and organizer Pares Mallis. Each participant, including painter and collage artist Ekua Holmes, Sara Reilly (coquettish girls and anthropomorphized animal paintings), Goce Davidov (clay reliefs) and abstract painter Kaitlin Thurlow, has created six to ten pieces specifically for the show. Doors will be open Tuesday through Sunday from noon-6 p.m.
Endicott College’s Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts, 376 Hale Street, Beverly, Mass., is hosting three worthy-of-your-time, end-of-the-year shows. A solo exhibition of drawings and paintings on canvas by Giovanni DeCunto, whose highly prolific work “features hints of classical, cubist and pop techniques all imbued with a strong sense of catharsis” is on view through January 8. “The Photographic Works of Steven Liss,” who recently joined the Endicott faculty and had a long career with Time magazine that included six presidential campaigns and award-winning documentations of runaway youth on the streets of Hollywood and Mississippi Delta poverty, spotlights his photojournalist achievements and can be seen through January 13. “Clint Fulkerson: Points in Space” features the Maine contemporary artist’s hand-drawn geometric abstractions on paper as well as large-scale murals — one which will be created during the exhibition’s opening week — through January 15.
For more exhibition previews and reviews, please visit zine.artscopemagazine.com.
Brian Goslow