“Designing the Dream State” is a solo exhibition by Hartford Art School’s inaugural Whitney Artist-in-Residence Chiraag Bhakta. The show will be held in the Joseloff Gallery from February 23 to March 25. Bhakta, a Hartford Art School  graphic design alumnus, is an artist and designer who works in “archival research, storytelling and collaboration in a variety of media” to unveil “the history, legacies and ongoing impact of western imperialism in our everyday lives.” “Designing the Dream State” addresses empire building and the evolution of South Asian-American identity. Bhakta takes on modern U.S. immigration policies, which brought highly educated South Asians to America in pursuit of the “American Dream.” Very much a multidisciplinary artist, Bhakta includes new works of video, sculpture, screen-printing and assemblage in the show. He also expands upon his ongoing photo-documentary … [Read more...] about FLIPPING TRADITION ON ITS HEAD

Lisa Houck’s solo exhibition at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Massachusetts, features her prolific and vivid versatility, with about a dozen watercolors, small (6” by 7”) to large (50” by 20”), around 40 framed mosaics ranging from (8” by 8” to 30” by 12”), a smattering of linoleum block prints and one oil on wood, three panel folding screen: “Unusual Bird Behavior Confounds Scientists.” The title typifies her themes, as well as the theme of the exhibition, which is “Botanical Explorations.” All these mostly new works are based on her “interest in plants and trees, the way plant forms take on personalities,” Houck said. Houck grew up in Ohio but stayed in Boston after attending the Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied printmaking. She’s lived in Cape Elizabeth, Maine since 2020. “I love to make things, I want to understand materials, that’s why I move between … [Read more...] about MOSAIC MASTERPIECES

Recently I visited sculptor Nora Valdez at her studio at Humphreys Street Studios in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to get a preview of her upcoming exhibition “A Common Thread,” which takes place from March 1 through April 2 at Boston Sculptors Gallery. During our studio visit, Valdez carefully reached into a portfolio taking out vintage-looking garment pieces on which she had drawn with black ink. Her idea was that these drawings would soon become part of an installation for the show. What Valdez had done was deconstruct white cotton shirts that she then pressed flat before drawing on the surfaces. I noticed there were depictions of the human heart, which she said “represented love and sometimes the missing of love” in her life. I also saw images of lush trees with deep roots, boats and other things exploring thoughts about life’s transitions. Valdez is an accomplished sculptor and … [Read more...] about BECOMING ONE

New England’s legacy of textile and innovation relives its heyday. Its fiber art time! We have seen a resurgence of fiber art, and the trend is rising. Historically most associated with a feminist movement and today no longer restricted to gender, fiber art has been shaking the art world, while defying the limits and boundaries of art technology. The textile evolution continues to impact all areas of art, business and economy worldwide. Textiles secured prominent value in museums, biennials, art fairs and among academic subjects and research topics. Textile literature is vastly available, and the skills and techniques required to manipulate these materials have been recognized as a force in art. Textile and fiber art cross all geographic and cultural borders, reaching and impacting our everyday life. Contemporary artists, the merchants of fiber art, have been experimenting with … [Read more...] about A REMARKABLE COLLECTION

The 30-foot-long wall of Stephen LaPierre’s Rocky Neck studio is covered from top to bottom with paintings of clowns. LaPierre’s oldest clown painting, the impetus for this wacky yet cerebral series, hangs at the room’s far end. Featuring a low-lit bar filled with face-painted patrons, the piece is darker and cruder than its more contemporary companions. Visitors to LaPierre’s studio would be hard-pressed not to notice another stark difference between “Clowns at the Bar” and the other works surrounding it: these clowns’ eyes look at one another, or the beers in their hands, rather than into the screens of cellphones. The latter such paintings form the bulk of LaPierre’s clown collection, several of which will be on view from April 1 until June 2 in a show called “Cirque du LaPierre” at Groton School’s de Menil Gallery. Works in the collection primarily feature brightly-clothed clowns … [Read more...] about THE ART OF THE CLOWN

For the second-ever exhibition in their newly constructed Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville, Maine, the Colby College Museum of Art is showcasing the thought- provoking interplay between the thematically connected work of two otherwise utterly distinct artists. This exhibition, “Ashley Bryan/Paula Wilson: Take the World into Your Arms” — guest curated by Jennifer R. Gross, the inaugural executive director of the Hauser & Wirth Institute and founding director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design — brings together these two extraordinary artists for a fascinating look at their dynamic creative pursuits. “This exhibition introduces Wilson to Maine audiences,” stated Gross, “and offers a new perspective on Bryan, an artist who was beloved for his children’s books but is insufficiently … [Read more...] about WILSON’S INSPIRED WORKS AT COLBY