Expo Chicago is a truly international affair with exhibits from 170 galleries, hailing from 75 cities, 29 countries and countless individual artists. A stunning display of modern and contemporary art for sale filled the main hall of Navy Pier, with a strong emphasis on contemporary paintings, drawings, photos and mixed media wall works. Attending with my husband, and “Myth Maker” partner, Andy Moerlein, it was our first time visiting this fair and we enjoyed the scale, scope and variety of the artwork on display. We attended Expo Chicago on opening night and met Lavaughan Jenkins at the gate. He is one of our favorite artists who launched his career in Boston. Jenkins toured us through his new paintings on view at the Vielmetter Los Angeles booth. The way that he layers the paint to build up his figures in low relief is one of the signature techniques of his work, which seamlessly melds … [Read more...] about ROOTED IN TRANSIT: NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS SHINE AT ART EXPO CHICAGO 2024
Issue Articles
MANY LAYERS OF REWARD AT THE FULLER: MCCALL’S BUTTONS ON! INSPIRES CREATIVE CONNECTIONS
In the Spring of 2021, Beth C. McLaughlin, Artistic Director and Chief Curator of the Fuller Craft Museum, responded to an invitation from Beau McCall for a virtual studio visit. In the foreword to the museum’s “Beau McCall: Buttons On!” exhibition catalog, McLaughlin writes that McCall’s story was a great one and as a result, she decided that “a retrospective of this remarkable artist” should happen. She describes her fascination with McCall’s button-centric world of creation, her easy interactions with his partner and curator Peter “Souleo” Wright and the three years of joy and teamwork since their first meeting that made this exhibit happen. When you go, let the exhibit take over your senses, enjoy the greatest collection of buttons that you could ever imagine and how they are placed on fashion and object art. Don’t overlook the “Buttons On! Catalog,” which is rich with essays by 11 … [Read more...] about MANY LAYERS OF REWARD AT THE FULLER: MCCALL’S BUTTONS ON! INSPIRES CREATIVE CONNECTIONS
WELCOME May/June 2024: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW
Happy Spring, Artscope reader! Welcome to our 110th issue, one in which we hope to inspire you to get out and explore the galleries, museums and artist studios of New England — and beyond. We received an email from sculptor Donna Dodson just as she was about to board a plane to Chicago with husband, Andy Dodson, to discuss a future “Myth Makers” project of theirs at the Klehm Arboretum in nearby Rockford, Illinois – and would we like a review of the EXPO CHICAGO international contemporary and modern art exhibition? As we had just been notified that we’ve once again been selected to exhibit our latest issue in the Magazine Sector at Art Basel Switzerland, which takes place June 13 through 16, we were excited about this opportunity to get an advance look at work making waves nationally and internationally. We’ll be represented in Basel by Claudia Fiks, who’ll be reporting on the 2024 … [Read more...] about WELCOME May/June 2024: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW
IMAGINE’S ODE TO FAMILY: THE RITUAL AND DEVOTION OF SNEHA SHRESTHA AT HOLY CROSS
On a brisk night in Worcester, Massachusetts, artist Beatriz Whitehill and I trekked to see “Sneha Shrestha: Ritual and Devotion” at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross. The exhibition is the first institutional solo presentation by the artist who is best known for her large- scale murals and street art under the alias IMAGINE. With the rush hour traffic, it felt like there was a pressing. My mother always said, “There’s a blessing, in the pressing,” which meant that spiritual resistance meant that you are about to experience the dose of exactly what you need. Many things almost kept us away, but we knew they were merely distractions from getting what we needed through art. A beacon on Holy Cross’s campus, Shrestha’s mural called out to us from behind the glass like a pink horizon. There’s a reason that she’s dubbed the “Nepali Sanskrit … [Read more...] about IMAGINE’S ODE TO FAMILY: THE RITUAL AND DEVOTION OF SNEHA SHRESTHA AT HOLY CROSS
DON’T F WITH FAB!: PRESERVING AFFORDABLE SPACE IN SOMERVILLE
Amidst over 2 million square feet of cultural space in the Greater Boston region, there are two unsung heroes in the city of Somerville that aim to preserve and create arts space. In 2019, Somerville adopted a Fabrication District along with an ACE (Arts and Creative Enterprise) requirement when developing. The spirit of the Fabrication District is to preserve these usually 100-year-old-plus former industrial buildings as artist and creative communities for affordable individual artist workspaces. In Somerville, these are Joy Street Studios, Miller Street Studios, Vernon Street Studios, Milk Row Studios and Washington Street Arts Center. Meaning: Somerville, known for being big on arts, saw how the region was changing, and chose to do what it could to keep artists working in Somerville. In the Fabrication District, owners may only develop up to four floors, ultimately de-incentivizing … [Read more...] about DON’T F WITH FAB!: PRESERVING AFFORDABLE SPACE IN SOMERVILLE
“A COMMONPLACE FOR DOING”: MANCHESTER’S MOSAIC ART COLLECTIVE BUILDS COMMUNITY
Manchester, New Hampshire proves to be a difficult city for artists but has the potential to be one of New England’s most accommodating. Stocked with mill buildings lining the Merrimack River and a downtown filled with newly emptied office spaces, the “Queen City” is a cynical gentrifier’s dream. But there are those who argue that fostering a home-grown artistic community would offer a more durable investment than the promises made by fickle tech companies, who come and go with each market bubble. The demise of the New Hampshire Art Institute has been a major blow to the city’s art community. Founded in 1895, the Institute’s final decade was a tumble of failed incorporations and break-in-case-of-emergency tactics, ending in a complete merger with New England College in 2019. It was announced in the spring of 2023 that the Manchester cam- pus — centered around the century-old Emma B. … [Read more...] about “A COMMONPLACE FOR DOING”: MANCHESTER’S MOSAIC ART COLLECTIVE BUILDS COMMUNITY