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New England's Culture Magazine

Artscope Magazine | May/June 2023

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Capsule Previews

CAPSULE PREVIEWS: May/June 2023

// Capsule Previews, May/June 2023

by Brian Goslow

Using the second chapter of author Lewis Carroll’s beloved “Alice in Wonderland” as a starting point, “because of its tumultuous activity, the frenzied movement of the figures of Alice and the crowds of birds, and the allure of the small sea created by her tears of anger and frustration,” Patty Adams created her “On the Strangest Sea: Alice and the Pool of Tears” series of paintings that will be on view from May 3 through 28 at Bromfield Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave., Boston, Massachusetts. “As I went on with this theme of chaos and new rules ordering her reality, the scene began to be infiltrated by the new social reality around me,” wrote Adams in her show statement, noting, “To add to the drama and meaning of the confrontation, I used devices from the practice of abstract painting.” “Soaring,” the third solo exhibition of works by Ani Babaian, will be on view from May 13 through May 26 … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: May/June 2023

CAPSULE PREVIEWS: March/April 2023

// Capsule Previews, March/April 2023, Uncategorized

by Brain Goslow

In her solo show, “The Skies Cried as my Fathers Died,” Rhode Island artist Rachel Brask, who has a studio in East Providence, displays her paintings of rainy skyscapes that express the complexity of grief and of mourning the loss of two fathers in the same year, while also seeking beauty and light in the dark. This new series of oil paintings, created in 2022, will be on exhibit from March 1 through 30 at the Preservation Framer Churchwood Gallery, 31 North Washington St., North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Shared Habitat Earth (SHE) continues its collective efforts to save the planet through two exhibitions featuring over 30 artists in Massachusetts on March 10 through April 30 at the Belmont Gallery of Art, 19 Moore St., Belmont, and March 18 through April 23 at QArts Gallery, 1229 Hancock St., Quincy. “At a time when life on our planet is in imminent danger, the artists have made it … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: March/April 2023

CAPSULE PREVIEWS: January/February 2023

// Artscope Issues, Capsule Previews, January/February 2023

by Brian Goslow

“Flora & Fauna,” an exhibition featuring encaustic artists Debra Claffey, Patricia Gerkin, Kellie Weeks and Charyl Weissbach, will be held from January 7 through February 18 at The Brush Art Gallery & Studios, 256 Market St., Lowell, Massachusetts. Claffey focuses on the plant world, celebrating its beauty of form, shape, and infinite color. Gerkin challenges viewers “to note that space where two worlds meet—outer and inner” with her intuitive process allowing her materials (paint sticks, encaustic, metal leaf and disparate materials), to organically lead the way. While using encaustics “for their insurmountable quality, depth and brilliancy,” Weeks also incorporates dry pigments, metal leaf, shellac and other mixed media as vehicles to develop a whole lexicon of imagery. Weissbach, painting with pigment sticks and encaustic, explores nature’s vastness and the details found … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: January/February 2023

CAPSULE PREVIEWS: November/December 2022

// Artscope Issues, Capsule Previews, September/October 2022

by Brian Goslow

“Artists for Ukraine: Transforming Ammo Boxes into Icons,” a powerful installation of three Ukrainian icons painted on the boards of ammunition boxes by Oleksandr Klymenko and Sofia Atlantova, a husband-wife artistic team from Kyiv, Ukraine, will be on view from November 3 through February 13, 2023, at the Museum of Russian Icons, 203 Union St., Clinton, Massachusetts. They’re part of the ongoing “Buy an Icon — Save a Life” project originally created in response to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine after Klymenko found empty wooden ammunition boxes from combat zones and noted their resemblance to icon boards (doski). By repurposing the panels, the project strives, in the artist’s words, to “transform death (symbolized by ammo boxes) into life (traditionally symbolized by icons in Ukrainian culture). The goal, this victory of life over death, happens not only on the figurative and … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: November/December 2022

CAPSULE PREVIEWS: JULY/AUGUST 2022

// Capsule Previews, July/August 2022

by Brian Goslow

“Who We Are: Celebrating Diversity” remains on view through July 31 at the Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios, 122 Western Ave., Lowell, Massachusetts. The exhibition “is a showcase of art from those who are traditionally overlooked in New England and Greater Lowell including BIPOC, LGBT+ and non-binary communities” as selected by juror Gwendolyn Lanier, an artist at Lowell’s Brush Art Gallery and Studios and a teaching artist at the Essex Art Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts, whose artwork has been exhibited at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and the Painted Bride in Philadelphia. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon-5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from noon-4 p.m. The show’s opening reception takes place on July 2 from 3-5 p.m. Joe Caruso’s “Movers and Shakers” will be on view from July 9 through August 20 at HallSpace, 950 … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: JULY/AUGUST 2022

CAPSULE PREVIEWS: May/June 2022

// Artscope Issues, Capsule Previews, May/June 2022

by Brian Goslow

“A fun silver lining of the pandemic has been the opportunity to witness the shift of wardrobes from traditional business casual to a more casual style filled to the brim with unique, personal expression,” which has led to a two-month exhibition of masculine works, including couture leather jackets, uniquely printed t-shirts, jewelry and belts, made by over 20 Maine craft artists. “Hey Handsome! A Show of Rugged Attire & Accessories” runs from May 6 through June 26 at Maine Craft Portland, 521 Congress Street, Portland, Maine. “The ability to work from home allowed many people of all genders to find and experience the freedom to experiment in the creation of their own personal style with a new flare, often through more sustainable means.” For over 39 years, Phyllis Kornfeld has been working with incarcerated men and women across the country in prisons and jails that offer art … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: May/June 2022