Eco-art is en vogue. The renaissance of the form has cropped up in conjunction with broader social movements dedicated to and demanding action on the now lived reality of climate catastrophe. The young Zoomer generation has a voice through the Sunrise Movement. The Green New Deal is a heated policy point in this year’s Democratic primary. Passages from the long eco-political poems of Walt Whitman and Edward Carpenter are popping up regularly in certain circles, and from time to time, one finds the odd quote from Thoreau’s “Walden” in their Instagram feed. The actuality of climate change and its effect on our daily lives has become ubiquitous. “WILD,” on view through March 14 at Cambridge’s Gallery 263, is a honing of this invigorated energy. It brings together the work of 28 artists from across the country and was juried by Jane Winchell, director of the Peabody Essex Museum’s Dotty … [Read more...] about WILD AT GALLERY 263
Visual Arts
TELLING THEIR STORY – 50 PALESTINIAN WOMEN LET THEIR ART DO THE TALKING AT PALESTINE MUSEUM US
Since its opening two years ago, the Palestine Museum US, in Woodbridge, Connecticut, just outside New Haven, has given ample space to women artists. The prominent artist Samia Halaby, for example, has supported this remarkable institution from the beginning with loans of her paintings, and an exhibition of her searing drawings of the Kafir Qasim massacre is planned. Halaby’s large abstract paintings will be shown along with paintings, drawings, sculptures and textiles from 49 other female Palestinian artists from the Palestinian homeland and far flung places in the Diaspora from five continents in a massive exhibition of more than 150 works. “Telling the Palestinian Story,” which opens on March 8, will be the first curated exhibition the museum has mounted, and it is an opportunity to interrogate directly the very concepts of Palestinian identity that the museum was formed to … [Read more...] about TELLING THEIR STORY – 50 PALESTINIAN WOMEN LET THEIR ART DO THE TALKING AT PALESTINE MUSEUM US
JOHN POWELL: NEON SHADOWS AT HOWARD YEZERSKI GALLERY
Where do we find neon lighting nowadays? They still glow out of liquor store windows and behind bars. They illuminate luxurious, minimalist stage designs at the theater. We sometimes see them in contemporary films that try to capture a mood of the past, while not necessarily being set in the past. Neon is dreamy, holds a shrewd kind of longevity, and is rather expensive. (Like the resurgent mad love for vinyl records, neon is a touch of analogue in an ever more digital, pixelated world.) “Neon Shadows” is John Powell’s latest exhibition of new work. It is also his final. Powell passed earlier this year at the age of 73. That his final show is at the Howard Yezerski Gallery is fitting, as Powell had had a long relationship with the gallery. Hiding around the space are a few of his works on permanent display, including a touching neon tribute to his spouse titled “Shed … [Read more...] about JOHN POWELL: NEON SHADOWS AT HOWARD YEZERSKI GALLERY
SHANE NEUFELD: OTHER WORLD AT ALPHA GALLERY
Two images. One is a photograph of an immaculate kitchen. The design is sparse and clean; the wood of its cabinets is light tan. Everything is linear and the palate is neutral, with the exceptions of a navy fruit bowl and a creamy-mint shaded vase high up on the shelf. The other image is a canvas that is filled with a forest scene that is blurred, abstract. It holds at least a half a dozen shades of green, the trunks of the trees are colored blush, there’s a rich topaz sky between the canopies. The architect of the first and the painter of the second is the same artist, Shane Neufeld, whose show, “Other World,” is exhibiting now at the Alpha Gallery in Boston’s SoWa District. Neufeld is a man of two artistic minds. In one, he works as an architect, based out of Brooklyn, New York. In the other, he is a serious painter, with an eagle-eyed look for landscapes. His firm — L/AND/A … [Read more...] about SHANE NEUFELD: OTHER WORLD AT ALPHA GALLERY
SWEAT AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE THEATER
“Sweat,” Lynn Nottage’s lauded 2015 play, is difficult — in the best possible ways — for two reasons. First is the adulation it garnered following its 2017 transfer from the Public Theater to the Broadway house Studio 54. The play was grasped onto as an answer for all the political uncertainty levied by the election of Donald J. Trump. It was seen, in some cases shallowly, as a “how-to” in understanding the disaffection of Midwestern working class white voters. It won the 2017 Pulitzer for drama. The second difficulty sits beyond the platitudes and awards: “Sweat” is a play about the alienation and distress inflicted on the majority of Americans whose annual income comes in under six figures. It is a small, specific tile that helps to complete an uncomfortable mosaic of similar struggles an incredibly large number of Americans face every day. In “Sweat,” Nottage guides us … [Read more...] about SWEAT AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE THEATER
WIDENING THE SCOPE: ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Artscope Magazine had the pleasure of showcasing our November/December issue to the over 70,000 visitors of Art Basel Miami Beach 2019, an international fair bringing together artists, collectors and gallerists for five days of eating, sleeping and breathing art. For the first time, we had the opportunity of having our own booth in the Magazines sector decorated with a variety of work from East Coast-based Artscope artists, rather than our presence in the collective booth in previous years. Paul Pedulla’s “Beyond the Coral Sidewalk” magnetized guests to the booth with its rich colors and one-point perspective of Ocean Drive, free from cars and tourists. The acrylic painting acted as a window to the outdoors underneath Artscope’s logo on the wall, where trees lined the greenway beside Miami’s iconic pink sidewalks that trail out to endlessness. Pedulla voiced that this painting was … [Read more...] about WIDENING THE SCOPE: ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH