Dear Artscope reader,
100 issues.
We’ve reached this landmark issue thanks to you, our longtime loyal readers, many that still like to hold a physical copy of a magazine in their hands and who have subscribed to get their copies delivered by mail or electronically delivered onto their iPads or reading tablets.
We can’t thank the artists we’ve covered through our 16 and a half years enough — who’ve been our biggest supporters, telling their fellow artists and friends about Artscope, spreading the word on our behalf to new audiences and sometimes, when necessary, helping us rise above the politics that can take place in the region’s art industry.
We hope you’ll continue to mention Artscope to any gallery, museum or arts-related store or organization that you visit and suggest they partner up with us to attract more collectors for your work and attendees to your — and their — exhibitions.
We’ve always believed that the more people that are involved in the arts, the more artists can thrive, local and small businesses can be supported, and that with successful arts and cultural tourism taking place, it will result in the added benefit of helping area restaurants, cafes, hotels and bed and breakfasts.
Since our first issue, our goal has been to share information that helps collectors and art lovers discover new favorite artists, introduce artists to other artists they may not have known about to form new networks, and to support our galleries, museums and arts and cultural organizations with the hope we would all support each other in return.
The support we’ve gotten from you is why we’re here with our 100th issue.
We open this issue with my recent visit to the city that’s hosted us throughout our existence — Quincy, Massachusetts — and how it’s used the arts as part of revitalizing its downtown district.
I also returned to the Danforth Museum of Art at Framingham State University to see, for the first time in almost a half-decade, its annual juried exhibition that, traditionally, has served as an invaluable opportunity to see what artists, both familiar and those whose work I was seeing for the first time, were working on.
While artists have slowly been returning to their regular studio schedules at 450 Harrison Ave. in Boston’s SoWa District since early 2021, it wasn’t till this summer that the crowds of the past really started reappearing for its Sunday market and open studios. Claudia Fiks worked her way through all four floors of the SoWa Artist Guild Building for her look at how the neighborhood is fairing as we head into fall 2022. She also previews the “Art Therapy: Meclina and Amy Ford” exhibition that will be on view over the next two months as the nearby Beacon Gallery.
Elizabeth Michelman shares a fabulous conversation she had with art collector Joan Quinn while looking at the works featured in the “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection” exhibition that’s at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, Massachusetts.
Two more icons are featured in this issue. Marguerite Serkinexplores the history behind the “Card Tricks: Salvador Dalí and the Art of Playing Cards” exhibition that’s at the Springfield Museums; Beth Neville went to the Newport Art Museum for the rare and exciting experience of seeing the work of Georgia O’Keeffe in person but found herself equally excited, if not more, about the “Donnamaria Bruton: From Sense to Soul” show, both of which can be seen through October 16.
Neville also visited the Sandwich Glass Museum, where its “Innovations in Glass” were just that, pushing the limits of what glass art could be.
Earlier this year, we spoke with Katharine French about the legacy she was leaving behind at Catamount Arts; in this issue, Linda Chestney looks at two shows French curated at Maine’s Ogunquit Museum of Art — “John Walker: From Low Tide to High Tide” and “Sue Miller: Personal Voyage” and the remarkable careers of the artists behind them.
We’re always on the lookout for interesting stories to tell. Marjorie Kaye continues to familiarize herself with her new hometown of North Adams by visiting several Berkshire-based studios and sharing news on the work being created within while Elayne Cliftcaught up with Edward Kingsbury III to talk about his September exhibition at Brattleboro’s Gallery in the Woods.
Sometimes, it’s the creators of an idea who are the best to write about it. Beth Van Gelder and Linda Hoffman tell how Old Frog Pond Farm in Harvard, Massachusetts is once again being transformed for its annual outdoor sculpture show; “Wondrous Creatures” is its 16th early fall celebration. And who doesn’t like fresh apples and Mother Nature’s latest foliage work?
Lee Roscoe partook in the gala celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill — now expanded to include space at nearby Edgewater Farm — and then set out to write a story on its history, one that has so much more to be written.
Kimberly Henrikson, the executive director of The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP), took time out from the end of her summer vacation to talk with longtime Artscope contributor Suzanne Volmer about “Text Messages,” CCP’s upcoming exhibition; the interview is an informative look at the genre and what goes into curating a strong exhibition.
Volmer also spoke with multi media artist Mark Cetilia about his “Pretty Meaningless Things” exhibition and performance that will take place at the Chazan Gallery at Wheeler in Providence, Rhode Island.
I’ve worked, in my role as managing editor, with Dan Mills as the museum director at Bates College, but this issue is the first time I’ve worked with him as an artist — one who exhibits widely and is represented by Boston’s Howard Yezerski Gallery and Chicago’s Zola/Lieberman Gallery — when he proposed a story on his travels to show his work in Alaska.
“After learning about the Anchorage Museum and its remarkable collections, exhibitions and programming, I wanted to share my experience there with the cultural community of New England, especially those considering a trip to Alaska,” Mills said.
Indeed, since our first issue in March 2006, we’ve aimed to encourage you, our readers, to get out and experience art wanderlust in New England and beyond. We hope that’s led to more than a few memorable adventures over the past 16-plus years and that the shows featured in this issue will cause you to head out, once again, on your next set of art adventures.
Brian Goslow, managing editor
bgoslow@artscopemagazine.com