During the downtime forced by COVID-19, the Guild of Boston Artists, longtime mainstay of Newbury Street, renovated its entire gallery space with new furniture, carpets and LED lighting – features that have always allowed collectors and buyers the opportunity to see what an artist’s work would look like in their own home or office. On the eve of the opening of its 2020 New England Regional Juried exhibition that opened on August 29 and continues through September 26, Artscope Magazine’s managing editor, Brian Goslow, checked in with Guild of Boston Artists director Alexander Ciesielski to talk about the show and how the gallery adjusted for the current guideline restrictions. The gallery is now open to the public for its regular operating hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:30 a.m.—5:30 p.m.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE WORK IN THE SHOW AND DOES SOME OF IT REFLECT THE SOLITUDE OF THE PAST SIX MONTHS — OR DOES IT CAPTURE WHAT WE’VE MISSED MOST?
The work is really very strong and I think that is a testament to the resilience of the artists. Art keeps going. So many of the artists I have spoken to have been struggling to paint, either due to COVID-related closures or the mental and emotional disturbances and uncertainties that come with the current state of affairs. The desire is not diminished, but increased by these difficulties. And the work really seems to speak to the artist’s therapeutic need to create.
I hope it will nourish a similar need for art in our viewers. Largely, the work is reflective of all the things we are missing right now — the portraits emphasize an empathetic engagement with our fellow man, the still-lifes are filled with both nostalgia and possibility, and the landscapes in the show are peaceful and focused on light…