The Cushing Building at the Newport Art Museum is overflowing with artwork — sculptures of glass, stone and plastic are strategically placed throughout the space and myriad other works line the walls. Over 250 artists submitted 850 paintings, photographs, sculptures and multimedia works to be considered for the 2022 Newport Biennial. Sixty-nine artists were selected for the exhibition by guest juror Dr. Kimberli Gant, the McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. The Biennial exhibition, formerly known as the Newport Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition, has been a showcase for regional artists for over 30 years. Gant selected works that were “dynamic and inspiring, as well as [those that had] a thoughtful message.” And in that goal, she succeeded. There is no way to capture the entirety of the Biennial in one article. Therefore, much … [Read more...] about DYNAMIC AND INSPIRING: NEWPORT BIENNIAL PROVIDES MESSAGES, IMAGES OF HOPE
Issue Articles
A GLORIOUS TRADITION: MODERN SYMBOLISM AT THE MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ICONS
Enjoy a break from winter-gloom and visit the colorful, calming, enlightening exhibit, “Icons for Our Time.” So much for you and your kids to see and do! Make a do-it-yourself icon! Children and adults may use paints, wood blocks, brushes and other equipment to make an icon of their own. An educational display explains the “12-steps to icon making.” Each wood square represents one step toward the completion of an icon. A TV screen has didactic videos about icons. If you are hungry, take home a print-out of recipes from the Russian Orthodox feast tradition. There are recipes from Egypt, Ethiopia, Japan and Bulgaria. All this information is of importance to American audiences because the history of the Greek and Russian Orthodox religious and cultural traditions are rarely taught in our colleges and schools. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location … [Read more...] about A GLORIOUS TRADITION: MODERN SYMBOLISM AT THE MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ICONS
A PAINTER OF WATER: EDER’S LARGE ABSTRACT CANVASES HEAD TO HALLSPACE
Sailors, swimmers, rowers, divers, fishers, snorkelers and surfers stare into the watery depths, dreaming, struggling, tossing and rolling on the surf. Who has not spent a summer day floating on the blue and green, diving down to see the sandy bottom, the crabs, and the watergrass? Michael Eder is a painter of water in all its strange shapes. Look down into water’s mystical depths. See the sunshine through the water. Look deeper, deeper down, past the reflections of sky and sand, shoreline rocks; down past the seaweed, the crabs, the wading birds, the shells and the driftwood bits. Michael Eder, painter of water, takes us down into the deep sea. Sometimes the sea thickens with ice flows. Sometimes it churns with stormy gales and foam and flotsam. Sometimes sea creatures rise to the surface, flickering with gold flecks in the sunlight. Sometimes we dive so deep the water is … [Read more...] about A PAINTER OF WATER: EDER’S LARGE ABSTRACT CANVASES HEAD TO HALLSPACE
A GLOW FROM WITHIN: DIANNA VOSBURG’S VISUAL COMPLEXITY AT KINGSTON
Dianna Vosburg’s studio is gently lit by diffused sunlight filtering down from old mill-building style windows. The eye wanders from a shelf of books to racks of canvas yet-to-be painted; on the far wall is a mysterious source of light — a row of oil paintings that seem to glow from within. Whether it be points of light peeking through writhing fabric or a vibrant cosmic glow — Vosburg’s artwork has an eye-catching visual complexity and depth that is matched by the concepts behind her work. Soon to be on display at Kingston Gallery in Boston from March 30 through May 1, the “Arrival” series takes ideas of revelation and revolution and abstracts them in a way that bridges the gap between the physical and conceptual. Vosburg is fascinated by how a painting on canvas can reflect the human experience back on the viewer. “A painting recapitulates our condition,” she said. “Because it is … [Read more...] about A GLOW FROM WITHIN: DIANNA VOSBURG’S VISUAL COMPLEXITY AT KINGSTON
MORE THAN WORDS: FOUNTAIN STREET’S INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE SHOWCASE
In the Biblical tale of the Tower of Babel, the Hebrew God punishes proud humans who build to the heavens, scattering and cursing his would-be rivals to chatter henceforth in a welter of tongues. Modern linguistics takes the more appreciative view that evolution bestows on our species a chameleon-like capacity for languages. We are born into language with a brain equipped to learn it, and each child matures within a particular culture through the medium of its language. “Beyond Words,” a survey of visual art engaged with language, gathers 35 works in many media by both local and international artists at Boston’s Fountain Street Gallery, on view through March 27. Juror Gabriel Sosa, who teaches “Con(text)ualized Drawing” at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, wisely resists a Western-centric emphasis on written “text.” He delivers an inclusive overview of the diverse ways language … [Read more...] about MORE THAN WORDS: FOUNTAIN STREET’S INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE SHOWCASE
DYNAMIC AND TRANSFORMATIVE: DIVERSE MEMBERSHIP REJUVENATES ATLANTIC WHARF
“Change is constant, and art is a journey from the moment we wake up, and the moment we fall asleep, and everything in between.” A statement from the organizers of “Changing lives, Changing future” from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Women Artists is an apt introduction to the dynamic and transformative group show at the Atlantic Wharf Gallery, on Congress Street. Located in the first floor gallery and flowing up the stairs to the second-floor landing, “Changing Lives, Changing future” is a collection of 52 works from a wide range of artistic styles and backgrounds. In a time when we are still continually disappointed by the lack of visibility our local artists must endure due to the ongoing pandemic crisis, this show is rejuvenating. A striking example of one of the many mixed media and collage artists featured in the show, and one of the first works … [Read more...] about DYNAMIC AND TRANSFORMATIVE: DIVERSE MEMBERSHIP REJUVENATES ATLANTIC WHARF