An annual tradition upended by a move to a new home on the Framingham Center Common, an April 2018 merger with Framingham State University and a worldwide pandemic, the 2022 return of the Danforth Annual Juried Exhibition is much needed both as a place where artists can show their work and as a place for both artists and art lovers to get out and see each other again. Featuring 72 works by 72 artists, the show was juried by Jessica Roscio, director and curator of the Danforth; Brian Bishop, professor of art at Framingham State University; and Juliet Feibel, executive director of ArtsWorcester. Most of the entries came from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The show is a diverse collection of artists and styles that took three days to install until it had the right feel, so it’s only right to give installers Tim Johnson and Frank Graham a shout-out, because the end result is an … [Read more...] about A WELCOMED RETURN: DIVERSE DANFORTH ANNUAL CONTINUES TO BREAK GROUND
Artscope Issues
TEXT MESSAGES AT CCP: A CONVERSATION ON PRINTMAKING WITH KIMBERLY HENRIKSON
Kimberly Henrikson, the executive director of The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP), curated its autumn exhibition “Text Messages,” that opens on September 11 and runs through October 30. I recently spoke with Henrikson about her curatorial choices for this show and the blue chip and emerging artists that reflect today’s text-based trends including Ben Beres, April Bey, Mel Bochner, Robert Cottingham, Lesley Dill, Shepard Fairey, Glenn Ligon, Edie Overturf and Lucas Samaras. Two of the names are of past CCP Resident Artists: April Bey (2019) and Edie Overturf (2021). “I am always scouting fairs and galleries to see what’s current, who is doing what — and to bring new ideas and artists to the community at CCP,” said Henrikson, talking about the excitement of first seeing prints by Ben Beres at Satellite Print Fair in New York City in 2019. “Davidson Galleries had the … [Read more...] about TEXT MESSAGES AT CCP: A CONVERSATION ON PRINTMAKING WITH KIMBERLY HENRIKSON
BETWEEN THE SPEAKERS: CETILIA BRINGING SOUND AND VISION TO CHAZAN GALLERY
“Pretty Meaningless Things,” a solo exhibition by Providence- based multimedia artist Mark Cetilia, will be presented from September 15 through October 15 at Chazan Gallery at Wheeler. Recently, I had a series of conversations with the artist about artwork for the show and his career. He had finished the 3D graphic modeling for visuals to be included in the exhibition and was in the midst of completing the analog/digital sound compositions he planned to incorporate into the show. Cetilia said that he expects to create a relationship between the external sound recordings and each video. His plan is that the gallery will be darkened with the only light being that of his large-scale video projection. He expects that the overall feel will be immersive. Cetilia’s 3D computer generated imagery (or CGI forms) were created using Rhino and Cycling 74’s Max software, which he designed and coded … [Read more...] about BETWEEN THE SPEAKERS: CETILIA BRINGING SOUND AND VISION TO CHAZAN GALLERY
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT: DEFINITION OF GLASS ART STRETCHED IN SANDWICH SHOW
Glass: utilitarian, sensuous and decorative. Glass can be blown, molded, melted, fused, cut, sanded, carved, slumped and polished. We can drink out of it, see through it, wear it — and we couldn’t live modern life without it. Have contemporary glass artists/artisans pushed glass- making technological experimentation so far that their work is no longer “glass art?” This question is raised in the brilliant small exhibit, “Innovations in Glass,” at the Sandwich Glass Museum. Wayne Strattman’s construction, a glass pillar with LED lights bolting through it, comes close to eliminating glass as the main component of his work. His glass cylinder is merely the container for the light-bolts. Strattman’s “Dream Engine” is the most extreme example of technology overpowering the sensuous qualities of glass-art. “Unbroken Hands of the Vine” is another example. In a tour de force of … [Read more...] about CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT: DEFINITION OF GLASS ART STRETCHED IN SANDWICH SHOW
TERRAIN OF THE MAGICAL: WONDROUS CREATURES BRING MYSTERIES TO OLD FROG POND FARM
When Linda Hoffman moved in 2001 to an old farmhouse on a 25-acre parcel of land in Harvard, Massachusetts, Old Frog Pond Farm was born. While some people’s creative musings never go further than lucid dreams, Hoffman’s vision for her new home was built on a solid philosophical foundation — the interweaving of agriculture, art and community. When people come together for a common purpose, a vibrant community of kindred spirits is often the result. Hoffman, artist, writer and orchardist (and co-author of this article) and her multi-talented husband, Blase Provitola, have created a diverse, ever- growing community of artists, art lovers, writers, poets, storytellers, musicians, naturalists and spiritual seekers. Arriving at Old Frog Pond Farm is entering the terrain of the magical. The farm is a place of pastoral serenity with rows of organic vegetables and fruit trees, and wooded … [Read more...] about TERRAIN OF THE MAGICAL: WONDROUS CREATURES BRING MYSTERIES TO OLD FROG POND FARM
ART AND MEDICINE: MECLINA & FORD’S HEALING ART AT THE BEACON
Artists are defining new ways to cope and reorganize emotional traumas while strengthening the relationship between health and creative expressions. Can we assume that when it comes to art forms and artists, specific psychological and physical stresses can navigate through artists’ creative process which will work as an antidote for these states and as a gift to viewers? But if artists don’t have to commit to portraying realistic images or responses, can we say that, in this case, the creative process is a very sensible response? “I cannot get rid of my illnesses, for there is a lot in my art that exists only because of them,” said Edvard Munch, famous for the painting, “The Scream.” There has been significant interest in research on the power and capabilities of the arts as a healing method. Famous visual artists, including Frida Kahlo, Yayoi Kusama and Andy Warhol, have been … [Read more...] about ART AND MEDICINE: MECLINA & FORD’S HEALING ART AT THE BEACON