Purple, green, pink and turquoise are colors you think you may see on the sharp gem facet edges of North Truro’s colonial houses, because when Mitchell Johnson paints them, they seem logical, not fanciful, but real. Indeed, color and shape seem to be the point rather than the subjects themselves. The houses and landscapes Johnson paints are, in a way, excuses to express colors. One wonders, is he suggesting our world is just color and form? And yet those colors and forms evoke the essence of place: his European vistas are somehow, well, so European. His vistas of New York, are utterly New York; those of San Francisco as from Russian Hill, could only be San Francisco. So, too, his Cape Cod vistas essentialize the Cape. You can inhale the sea and the musty scent of a pearly gray-blue sky. You can see Johnson’s homage to the Cape’s town of Truro at his exhibit, “Sixteen Years in … [Read more...] about SEASONAL WARMTH AT CASTLE HILL: JOHNSON CAPTURES TRURO’S SPECIAL TEXTURES AND COLORS
Artscope Issues
PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN: AI WEIWEI’S HUMANITARIAN ART ACTIVISM IN SPRINGFIELD
“Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.” — Ai Weiwei The life of Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) speaks to the beauty and resilience of the poetic soul. Born in Beijing, China, Ai Weiwei’s mother is writer Gao Ying. Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing (1910-1996), was a noted poet and intellectual, active under the Communist rule of chairman Mao Zedong. In retaliation for the elder Ai’s perceived political beliefs, the family was sent into exile in northwest China when Ai Weiwei was barely one year old; first to a labor camp, then to Shihezi, Xinjiang, in the Gobi Desert where the family lived until Ai Weiwei was 17. He has described the conditions while in exile as “extremely harsh.” His father was forced to perform hard labor, including cleaning the communal latrines. The family was allowed to keep one book, an … [Read more...] about PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN: AI WEIWEI’S HUMANITARIAN ART ACTIVISM IN SPRINGFIELD
RHODE ISLAND I.M.A.G.I.N.E.S PEACE: MELTED-DOWN GUNS MAKE LOUD STATEMENT
“Rhode Island I.M.A.G.I.N.E.s Peace,” curated by Boris Bally, Victoria Gao, Sara Picard and Dianne Reilly, is an exhibition slated for October 7 through 29 at Rhode Island College’s Bannister Gallery. The exhibition features actual guns re-contextualized to stimulate conversation about the topic of gun violence. Imbedded in its title is metalsmith Boris Bally’s anagram: Innovative Merger of Art and Guns to Inspire New Expressions of Peace. Working in metal, Bally has made it his mission over many years to advocate for better gun laws. Here, he collaborates with Dianne Reilly, a metalsmith and professor at Rhode Island College (RIC); Victoria Gao, director of the Bannister Gallery, and Sara Picard, Associate Professor of Art History at RIC to ultimately create an invitational show comprised of 22 artists called upon to re-contextualize guns. Gao oversaw development for the show and … [Read more...] about RHODE ISLAND I.M.A.G.I.N.E.S PEACE: MELTED-DOWN GUNS MAKE LOUD STATEMENT
ROBERTO LUGO AT THE CURRIER: MULTICULTURAL MASH-UPS WITH A 21ST CENTURY TWIST
Roberto Lugo is one of the good guys. He could don the Superman cape and get away with it. Why? Because he’s earned it. The “good guy” title and joy borne of adversity. Born in Philadelphia, of Puerto Rican descent, Lugo’s parents are first generation immigrants. He was brought up in Phily in a time that saw prevalent drug use, gang activity and many houses in his neighborhood abandoned due to the crack epidemic. His mother and father married young. Both had a middle school education — and lots of grit. Maribel Lugo worked in school cafeterias and other part-time jobs to keep the family afloat. Gilberto Lugo was a Pentecostal preacher who would often bike to town for work to generate income for the family. And yet it was a struggle. Marginalized on the outskirts of American culture, Lugo was a quiet child, devoutly Christian, with a thick Spanish accent. He wrestled with … [Read more...] about ROBERTO LUGO AT THE CURRIER: MULTICULTURAL MASH-UPS WITH A 21ST CENTURY TWIST
THRIVING IN THEIR VERSATILITY: FRESH-EYED TOUR OF BOSTON MUSEUMS UNCOVERS SECRETS
Boston is no stranger to incredible artwork — nor has it ever been. Alongside its vast history, its artwork too is constantly evolving, drumming its heartbeat. Artistic representation, formerly a narrow cross-section of the city’s population, is wider than ever. Naturally, as these changes devolve, Bostonians are apt to see an increasingly diverse breadth of artwork — and thank goodness. Now finding homes inside Boston’s greatest museums,artwork from every corner of humanity has the chance to reach a wider audience; themes that were historically taboo, or simply not acknowledged, have finally taken center stage. Summertime is a wonderful season to museum hop; that’s exactly what I did over the course of two weeks, during some of the most sweltering weather Boston has seen in years. To call one of the following museums my favorite is simply impossible; all of them left their own … [Read more...] about THRIVING IN THEIR VERSATILITY: FRESH-EYED TOUR OF BOSTON MUSEUMS UNCOVERS SECRETS
WELCOME September/October 2021: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW
Welcome to our September/October 2021 issue, one planned in a time of optimism in which long- delayed exhibitions finally opened or neared theiropening and annual fall events and their related exhibitions that had to be canceled in 2020 get closer to taking place — even as art organizations and museums’ crucial fundraising events are being postponed — in many instances, for the second year in a row. Safety is foremost on everyone’s minds. As we were going to press, venues were once again announcing masks were required for entry, whether visitors had been vaccinated or not. Most artists and writers with whom we’ve been in contact have been extra cautious over the past year and a half and are overly careful in terms of going out to openings or large gatherings. We put together this issue with the hope you’ll be able to get out and see some of the artwork and exhibitions we’ve … [Read more...] about WELCOME September/October 2021: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW