As a child, Aaron Slater watched a PBS documentary film about glass artist Dale Chihuly. Soon, he was melting beer bottles and breaking glass in the basement, fascinated by what he had seen in Chihuly’s early work. That led to taking a variety of art classes in school. Later, he discovered the work of Rick Satava, whose glass jellyfish are known worldwide, and Paul Stankard, famous for his glass paper weights. He was also inspired by American glass pipe makers who pushed the art of flameworking forward in the early 2000s, when he began his own career as a glass artist. For a time, writing diverted Slater’s attention and he earned a BFA in creative writing with a minor in film at Emerson College, which led to him reading scripts in Los Angeles before he returned to glass art. He never looked back and began teaching himself glass art. “Being self-taught was not easy,” he admitted. “I … [Read more...] about BALANCING NATURE AND ART: GLASSMAKER AARON SLATER RESETTLES IN VERMONT
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LIFELONG PROJECTS: INVALUABLE COWANS AND SILVER PHOTOS AT FAIRFIELD
When New Englanders talk about summer getaways, few mention Connecticut as a destination point, seemingly unaware of its breathtaking shorelines and winding roads hugging its seawalls or the old-time camp feel based around its approximately 3,000 ponds, lakes and reservoirs. Since 1973, when he relocated to Westport, Connecticut, from Greater New York, Larry Silver has been photographing and documenting his home state, in what he calls, “A lifelong project.” Highlights from that work will be on view in “13 Ways of Looking at Landscape: Larry Silver’s Connecticut Photographs,” which will be on view from March 25 through June 18 at the Fairfield University Art Museum. He dedicated himself to being a lifetime photographer as a teenager. At the age of 15, as a photography student at the High School of Industrial Art (now the High School of Art and Design) in New York City, which he … [Read more...] about LIFELONG PROJECTS: INVALUABLE COWANS AND SILVER PHOTOS AT FAIRFIELD
A GRAND, POWERFUL REOPENING: FRENCH LEAVES CATAMOUNT GROUNDED FOR FUTURE SUCCESS
Who would expect a small corner at the very northern part of Vermont to be the place to find the finest examples of art from Vermont and regional artists? I would. I haven’t missed the annual Juried Exhibition for the last several years. The pandemic, of course, put a roadblock in that endeavor. But now, the 2021 show is finally on and in addition to an excellent online virtual tour, it is open to the public! Catamount Arts is one of those treasured places you don’t want to miss — even if it means putting some miles on your car — 50 miles or so north of Burlington. Small cafes, terroir style restaurants and handmade chocolate shops line the road up there, and the somnolent winter landscape is breathtaking. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about A GRAND, POWERFUL REOPENING: FRENCH LEAVES CATAMOUNT GROUNDED FOR FUTURE SUCCESS
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