Welcome to our summer 2025 issue,
In reviewing the images of artworks our writers submitted to accompany their stories, I realized that this issue would be, unintentionally, abstract and laid back, cool and mostly non-confrontational, something I think most, if not all of us, need at this time.
We’re all looking for inspiration; look no further than our opening “Cornered” feature spotlighting 99-year-old Carmen Cicero, who talked with Lee Roscoe about his lengthy career and his current shows at the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown and the Cape Cod Museum of Art.
Roscoe also spoke with Joe Diggs, recently named the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod’s Artist of the Year, interviewing him about his abstract paintings of the magical landscapes and hidden places in nearby Cape Cod towns and his own backyard in Osterville, where his family has resided for several decades
I’m always on the lookout for exceptional artists with exceptional stories. Last year, several friends went out of their way to tell me about “this amazing woman from China” and her exceptionally detailed paintings. For almost four decades, Xiang Li was a Master Artist at the Forbidden City in Beijing; now based in Massachusetts, Li’s complete collection of “Chinese Empresses” is on view through August 24 at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. “It shows us that art, like an empress, is most potent when it quietly shapes the world around it,” writes Claudia Fiks, previewing the show.
While a foot injury didn’t allow Fiks to attend this June’s Art Basel, she stayed in touch with contacts in Switzerland to compile a report on how one of the art world’s biggest international festivals fared in an uncertain world.
Elizabeth Michelman traveled to the Center for Maine Contemporary Artto experience Carlie Trosclair’s “the shape of memory” installation in-person, while also examining Nicole Wittenberg’ supersized paintings and sculptor Elizabeth Atterbury’s carvings, casts and constructions of found natural and manufactured objects. She also visited Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum to see its “Dürer to Degas and Beyond: The Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon Collection” exhibition that’s on view through August 17 and to get the story behind how this phenomenal collection ended up in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
With “From the Vault: Collecting Tapestries,” the Worcester Art Museum once again presents work from its vast, well-preserved archives, giving visitors a rare look at tapestry weavings from different eras and cultures. In her review of the show, which includes how its curator and staff assembled the works on display, Beth Neville notes that this is a must-see show for fiber artists and lovers of the era of Knights of the Round Table.
In pitching her review of the “Sean Landers: Lost at Sea” exhibition at the Newport Art Museum, Heather Stivison noted the show’s links to Herman Melville piqued her interest as she noted she was a bit obsessed with Moby Dick, adding, “As a former museum director, the idea of an exhibition of contemporary art in dialogue with art history appeals to me.”
In reviewing the “Famous & Family: Through the Lens of Trude Fleischmann” exhibition at the Fairfield University Art Museum, Connecticut correspondent Lexie Gondek shares, “These unique works offer a behind the scenes look at Fleischmann’s remarkable life and legacy, making this a must-see event for both photography and history lovers.”
Many of us grew up on Ralph Steadman’s illustrations that complemented the journalistic adventures of Hunter S. Thompson in the pages of Rolling Stone. This summer, the Museum of Art at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine is hosting “And Another Thing … ,” a huge retrospective of his wonderfully warped psychedelic and psychoanalytic works that are reviewed here by J.M. Belmont.
Copley Society of Art members Margaret Sheldon and Meghan Weeks have been busy at work on “A Shared Space: One Studio, Two Views,” a show that opens in mid-July and will “showcase all the beautiful seasons in New England and farther — mainly Europe, and yes, including winter.” We get a preview from Isabel Barbi, who visited them at their SoWa Boston studio.
Asked if she’d be interested in writing about the “Fragments of Memory: The Art and Legacy of Varujan Boghosian” exhibition at the Armenian Museum of America, Rachel Flood Page responded, after seeing images from the show, “I am completely blown away by Varujan Boghosian’s work! What an incredible mix of Dada/Hannah Höch, Mughal Paintings, Joseph Cornell, found objects, so many things.”
Artists looking for unique materials to work with and wanting to make a statement on how much environmental waste we create — be it twine and broken boat parts from the shoreline or discarded litter alongside our roads — have inspired many others to do the same. For instance, the 43 artists featured in “Recycled: Trash and Treasure: Rediscovered” at the Menino Arts Center, where Carolyn Wirth found recycled art veterans joined by artists whose creations expanded on what could be considered found object art.
Suzanne Volmer visited the newly opened Angell Street Galleries in Providence — “a space with multiple gallery rooms showcasing unique creative approaches by artists ranging from conceptual abstraction to text driven to sculptural ceramics to wildlife paintings and more.” She shares its early history while looking at its current summer show — and plans for long-term survival.
One year ago, as part of her #ARTSTAYSHERE series on the challenges arts communities have staying in their workspaces, Ami Bennittreported on how artists at Cottage Street Studios in Easthampton, Massachusetts had been stunned by a 35% increase in their rent. In this issue, Marjorie Kaye reports on how those artists, many of whom have had to find new locations to create their work, have stayed together to protect their long-running community.
Having purchased a painting by curator Nancy Gruskin a few years back, Madeleine Lord was perfectly placed to review “Object Lessons,” a Gruskin-curated show showcasing various artistic interpretations of vessels, be they flower-holding vases or teapots, on view at Concord Art at the Concord Center for the Visual Arts, Massachusetts.
If you’re traveling on Route 3 or 3A going to or from Cape Cod, stop off in Norwell, Massachusetts, to see the “Summer Daze” exhibition of works by Jen Kelly, Jess Hurley Scott and John Vinton, three artists that, in his review of the show, Sawyer Smook-Pollitt notes, have “distinct styles that make up a complementary patchwork of summertime scenes” at Savage Godfrey Gallery.
One of the annual highlights of the New England summer arts season is the League of NH Craftsmen Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort, which includes 700 contemporary and traditional craft artists. Linda Sutherland introduces us to three artists whose booths you should seek out should you attend — 23-year-old Leo Reinhard and his kinetic copper metal sculptures; Donna Zils Banfield and her wood bowls; and Colby and Jane Smith, whose uniquely New England door knockers would make for a beloved home warming gift.
Wherever you find yourself in New England this summer, please try to visit the exhibitions and venues featured in this issue — and let them know you heard about them in Artscope Magazine.