Embroidery, as a decorative textile skill, has been valued for centuries. During the Middle Ages in Europe, it was considered a craft and was largely under the purview of craft guilds. It was also a tradition almost exclusively the domain of female practitioners. In agrarian cultures, women were responsible for picking and processing cotton and linen, spinning wool from sheep, collecting natural sources of pigments to dye their materials and constructing the wearable items. It was after the mechanization of textile production that needle arts — embroidery among them — entered the realm of craft leisure. By the 1950s, textile artists emerged and the debate over craft or art ensued. That discussion continues today. The current exhibit at Southern Vermont Arts Center will not settle that debate but will offer viewers a broad spectrum of embroidery techniques and styles, as well as a … [Read more...] about A WELL-STITCHED STORY: THE RED DRESS ARRIVES AT SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER
Artscope Issues
ENHANCING THE MALL EXPERIENCE: NORWALK ART SPACE BRINGS ‘THE MEANING OF US’ TO SONO
Norwalk art is on the rise and The Norwalk Art Space (TNAS), the brainchild of founder Alexandra Davern Korry and Executive director Duvian Montoya, is at the heart of it. Through TNAS, Korry, who passed away in 2020, hoped to “create a space that would enhance educational opportunities for under-served students, promote under-represented local artists, and provide the public a welcoming space to enjoy art and music.” This multi-dimensional arts mecca headed by Montoya currently lives out Korry’s final wish by “offering free art and music education and mentorship... sponsoring and promoting local artists through our Resident Artist program and Korry Fellow exhibitions and providing the public an exciting venue to explore art and music, all free.” What a wonderful mission and what better place to put it into action than Oyster Town, Connecticut. One recent initiative The Norwalk … [Read more...] about ENHANCING THE MALL EXPERIENCE: NORWALK ART SPACE BRINGS ‘THE MEANING OF US’ TO SONO
TO LIVE IN A HOLY PLACE: MIXING ART & POETRY ‘NO SMALL THING’ AT GEORGE MARSHALL
Poetry is its own art form. I’ve been writing poetry since high school. I draw inspiration from many sources that speak to me. The turtle in peril crossing the road. My 15-year-old dog at the end of her journey. Spaghetti at midnight. Similarly, Kate Rasche, the director for The George Marshall Store Gallery in York, Maine, also draws inspiration from that which is around her. And this time it happens to be poetry. Rasche, a local York girl and trained artist herself, perfectly married the subject of the poem, “Spring Tide” with the theme for her current show, “No Small Thing.” She said that “No Small Thing” is a love letter to the Maine landscape. During the deepest part of winter, as she impatiently waited for warmer weather, she happened across the poem by poet, educator and environmentalist Nancy Nielsen. The poem speaks to the deliberate pace and path of nature, of accepting … [Read more...] about TO LIVE IN A HOLY PLACE: MIXING ART & POETRY ‘NO SMALL THING’ AT GEORGE MARSHALL
ENHANCED BY THE ENVIRONMENT: THE MOUNT’S SCULPTURENOW EXPANDS THE OUTSIDE EXPERIENCE
Within every outdoor sculpture exhibition, there is a synchronic event happening — the merging of the sculpture itself with the venue that supports it. Usually, the natural environment is an integral part of the whole, lending itself to a conversation with the curated work within it. Sometimes thework is dispersed among city structures, creating focal points within an angular backdrop. Very often one finds the work embedded in nature. At The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts, trees and rolling lawns provide a gracious complement to the mostly large sculptures. Everything comes alive with the anticipation of what lies around any given corner. Founded in 1993, “SculptureNow” has had a long presence in the Berkshires and has had a symbiotic relationship with The Mount (Edith Wharton’s Home) for 10 years. Its collaboration with The Mount has given the event the ability to extend its reach in … [Read more...] about ENHANCED BY THE ENVIRONMENT: THE MOUNT’S SCULPTURENOW EXPANDS THE OUTSIDE EXPERIENCE
WELCOME July/August 2023: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW
Summer already? I was in the final stages of preparations before we started on the production of this July/August 2023 issue of Artscope Magazine when I received an email from Jessica Roscio, the director and curator at The Danforth at Framingham State University, alerting me that its 2023 Annual Juried Show had been fully hung earlier than expected and that I could see it that afternoon. I had already started to write about the show from its well-compiled digital catalog and had found myself questioning my ability to give everyone a fair shake from that standpoint alone. I’ve learned — and I suspect those selected to jury exhibitions from digital submissions have as well — that regardless of how good of a job that artists have done photographing and documenting their work and entries, there is always going to be a few that steal your heart or underwhelm you on the digital screen that … [Read more...] about WELCOME July/August 2023: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW
WELCOME May/June 2023: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW
Welcome to the 104th issue of Artscope Magazine. Now in our 18th year, we put this issue together knowing that it would be on display and available at Art Basel’s Collective Booth in Switzerland from June 15 through 18, representing not only ourselves as a publication at the international art fair, which features over 4000 artists from over 250 galleries from around the world, but all of the artists, galleries, museums and collectors covered in it. We first traveled to Basel in 2015. In reporting from that initial visit, Clara Rose Thornton wrote, “The tenuous process of creating art mirrors life’s path: projection, uncertainty, connection then disconnection, and navigating surprise. Thus, it makes sense to look to collections of contemporary art and individual pathways through the market as vibrant manifestations of a zeitgeist, the mime’s shadow we cannot see.” In recent months, … [Read more...] about WELCOME May/June 2023: FROM BRIAN GOSLOW