By John Paul Stapleton
Quincy,MA – The corner of Ross and Cliveden is host to a huge graffiti mural that reads, “Quincy for the arts” which is fitting for the building that has been alive with creativity this summer thanks to Discover Quincy.
Every Friday this summer, a free pop-up gallery has been open to the public to show how important art is to Quincy, said curator, Megan Marini, who donated her time to this pop-up gallery. The show features live music by various Quincy-local artists, a beer and wine bar, and artwork of all kinds from artists that is for sale with 100 percent of the profit going to the artist.
“The feeling is that Quincy’s personality isn’t portraying like it is,” Marini said. “They need a place to experience the real personality of Quincy.”
When picking the pieces, Marini said she wanted it to be contemporary and be able to make the observer feel something. Being the only criteria for picking these pieces, she created an exhibit that has over 144 pieces of work from over 70 artists of all different backgrounds that has been installed all over the span of the gallery for the social scene to observe “The big picture is to create a network of artists and a community,” Marini said.
Many styles and mediums and are represented throughout this exhibit while still being cohesive and capturing the personalities that make up the Quincy and South Shore arts community.
“Other Kids were Always Suspicious of the Things Jake Brought Home,” an oil painting on wood by Duncan Reed, is an example of a very light and vibrant work that is for sale in this gallery. The fantasy-scene painting shows a young boy on a beach with a large orange and majestic monster floating above attached to a leash in his hands. The monster has claws and huge fangs that would make for a threat if it weren’t for the playfully large and off-center eyes peeking out from above what can only be described as the monster’s attempt at a smile. The details in this painting are sharp from the distinctive and well-formed teeth in the monster’s mouth to the wispy reflection of the pair in the drenched sand they are standing on.
Another standout piece in the collection is a large ceramic vessel created by Michael Roche called “Watering Hole.” The large piece comes up to about waist height and has an opening that makes the piece look as if it were a lung broken from a stem. This bodily look is continued in the glazing of the vessel that is black with vein-like red and blue lines running in a rhizomous structure throughout its surface.
Sarah Michalik, an artist Marini said is known for her glass work, brings another interesting sculpture into the mix with “Never Have I Ever Been.” The small beige body of the sculpture takes on an amorphous bubbly shape has small curls jutting out from the top. This body is tacked on by black assemblages that resemble the spines of urchins, one resembling the sea creature itself. Lastly, the observer will notice sky blue appendages that shoot out from the body in the shape of comet streams coming to a spherical head at their various heads around the body.
This is just a taste of all the work that Marini has collected for the gallery and all can be viewed with accompaniment of live music such as Jazzworks, a four-piece instrumental jazz group, who is just one of many acts that will be present in the space. This amazing exhibit was put together by many volunteers including Marini said Margaret Laforest, director of Discover Quincy. “We recruited a tremendous amount of volunteers,” “Laforest said. “There has been substantial community support.”
The building itself was a donation for the cause from the Galvin Brothers who are the site developers of the location. They allowed Discover Quincy to make the last use of the building be their gallery before it is demolished in September. After the Fourth of July there will be four more Fridays left to attend this event that is taking place on 64 Ross Way in Quincy.
(The Discover Quincy Pop Up Art Gallery, 64 Ross Way, Quincy, will be open each Friday from 6-10 p.m. through July 31. For more information, visit http: