“Summer Colors,” an exhibition spotlighting the works of photographers Michael Day, Sylvia Hampton, and Caterine Milinaire and multimedia artist Vesna Longton, runs from July 4 through 31 at DeBlois Gallery, 134 Aquidneck, Middletown, Rhode Island. The show “celebrates the vibrant colors and festivals that summer evokes, as the artists seek out beauty and energy in their work.” Wildlifephotographer Day celebrates creatures from Alaska, Antarctica, Argentina, Florida, Illinois, Japan and Rhode Island. Hampton finds endless inspiration in the world around her, bringing shells, flowers, feathers and antique lumber together in her studio. Journalist, photographer and author Milinaire shares work from her ongoing Festive Fiestas pictures project documenting the way people celebrate cultural holidays around the world. Longton’s artistic universe connects with the philosophy of the world through shamanism and cosmogenism using “artosomatics – the power of art to create wholeness and healing.” Events related to the work will be held throughout the month.
Two more shows celebrating our planet’s cultures and natural world open on July 10 and continue through September 12 at Burlington City Arts, 135 Church St., Burlington, Vermont. “Veronica Pham: Dream/Mộng” explores “the ephemeral nature of the human subconscious and the intrinsic fragility of paper as they intersect in imaginative artworks about identity, folklore, and humor.” This diverse body of work ranges from delicate paper collage to wall-mounted sculptures that are enmeshed with Pham’s Vietnamese heritage and cultural traditions. “Leah Barranco: Color & Scale” focuses on the aquatic creatures found within the waterways of Vermont. The visible qualities of moving water mask an elusive underwater realm. Through her paintings, Barranco presents a microcosm that is filled with life, color and radiance – each creature with their own brilliant color palette and unique pattern.
“Like Night & Day: Recent Works by Alexis Trice,” on view through July 30 at Gary Marotta Fine Arts g-1, 162 Commercial Street, Provincetown, Massachusetts, “reflects the subtle ebb and flow of the tides of the time. The deeper you observe, the more beguiling it becomes. It gently reveals itself as the shores recede, subterranean tidepools are exposed, like the hidden worlds kept away.” GMFA will also be hosting “Into the Blue: New Paintings by Maggie Simonelli,” works that “[evoke] devotion, contemplation, and nature” from July 10 through August 13. Simonelli’s signature encaustic “burn-in” technique continually layers colors into wax, brushing on shimmering Chanel Quiet Revolution eye shadow on surfaces of watery blues with imbedded metal twinkling with iridescence. Seeing them, “One feels as if they are floating into the paintings relaxed, playful, serene.”
The latest installment of its “Momentum” exhibition series, Benjamin Spalding: Go Bang!, on view through September 20 at the Farnsworth Art Museum, 16 Museum St., Rockland, Maine, features a sculptural artist who mixes music and art through “rhythm, movement, and the pageantry of the body, blending influences from club culture, sports, and Maine’s local ecology with deeply personal family narratives.” The Portland, Maine-based Spaulding “has long grappled with themes of hybridity and displacement as a half-Hispanic, queer person raised in a small town. His work draws on his Puerto Rican grandfather’s legacy as a big band leader, his mother’s memories of New York City nightlife, and the powerful maternal lineage embodied by his Puerto Rican tías” as well as his time as a club DJ and as an athlete. “Go Bang! invites visitors to step into an immersive environment where art, music, and movement are inseparable, and where Spalding’s story becomes a celebration of belonging,” said Farnsworth Chief Curator, Jaime DeSimone.
“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea,” on view through September 27 at the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts, is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to stand in front of work by a great artist, and in this instance, three, thanks to the 82 works on view that lent from the collections of 26 institutions. Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko first met in New York City and were drawn to Cape Ann by Avery, who first visited in the 1920s. Their time together in Gloucester and beyond sparked creative developments that would define their careers. Their paintings — many never before seen — highlight their shared experiences by the sea, including Avery’s coastal scenes, Rothko’s early seaside figures and Gottlieb’s beach box motifs. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to tell the story of the close friendship among these major artists as they summered together on Cape Ann in Massachusetts from the 1920s to the 1940s, influencing one another’s careers as they went on to garner international renown,” said museum director Oliver Barker.