Art Basel is clearly back, with attendees unmasked (but fully vaccinated) unable to socially distance with huge crowds taking up physical space at the fair, restaurants and tables at gallery booths talking about sales and waiting their turn to buy. With galleries from Germany, specifically Berlin, taking up much of the allotted gallery spaces, and the number of galleries from Asia and the United States way down, art was often comical, nature- oriented and lower-priced than before Covid, but selling briskly. Exaggeration ruled as some galleries claimed sales of more pieces than they displayed, but fabrication is part of artmaking and selling. Big work was selling to private individuals, not only museums and large collections open to the public. Installations followed the children’s poem of some being very, very good and some awful. There was an emphasis on scientific explanations of … [Read more...] about MAKING THEIR WORLDS OURS: BASEL WAS A REMINDER OF WHY WE BUY, LOOK AT, ART
Artscope Issues
A MAN OF MANY PLACES: SITKA’S HOME ART GALLERY MOVES UP ON NEWBURY STREET
Sitka approaches us from the back of Sitka Home Art Gallery, his Boston shop that recently relocated to 160 Newbury Street between Dartmouth and Exeter Streets. He’s a bluff, smiling, virile presence who shakes my hand, heartily announcing: “I’m a monster!” I look for reassurance towards Sitka’s wife and business manager, Helaine Gulergun, who hovers nearby smiling reassuringly and, then, to my own wife, Madeleine, who is always reassuring. Reassured, somewhat, I take the seat that Sitka is bringing and accept the glass of water he offers. Trusting, but interrogating my new sense of security, I run though my understanding of the different senses of the word monster: something unnaturally marvelous — a prodigy — of great size and ferocity. The last definition is somewhat unsettling, but on the other hand, my company is still smiling and, to boot, I’ve just scored a parking space … [Read more...] about A MAN OF MANY PLACES: SITKA’S HOME ART GALLERY MOVES UP ON NEWBURY STREET
“WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS”: POWERFUL ART FROM GUANTÁNAMO BAY AT CATAMOUNT
Featuring nearly 100 evocative works, “Art from Guantánamo Bay” features the artwork of six men detained at the United States military prison camp in Cuba for as long as 20 years without being charged or convicted of a crime, all of whom have been cleared for release — although two currently remain in detention. The exhibition has a unique local connection because of the work several lawyers did on behalf of detainees. Artist- detainee Abdul Zahir was a client of St. Johnsbury attorneys Robert Gensburg and David Sleigh, who volunteered for over 10 years with the Guantánamo Bay Bar Association, a nationwide group of lawyers assembled by the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit civil liberties law firm providing legal representation for detainees. Gensburg represented Zahir and helped him earn his freedom as a case of “mistaken identity” after 14 years of captivity; Zahir … [Read more...] about “WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS”: POWERFUL ART FROM GUANTÁNAMO BAY AT CATAMOUNT
BREAKING BARRIERS: COPLEY SOCIETY OPEN CALL RESULTS IN A UNIFYING THEME
Throughout my life, I’ve been curious about the people who I share public spaces with, be it on a bus, train, sidewalk or coffee shop. Rarely do I strike up a conversation to fill in the details of my impressions, instead leaving my own to serve as the backdrop for life’s great show. I’ve gotten greater insight into the lives of others through looking through images of the work that’ll be on display this July and August in the Copley Society of Art’s “Crossing Borders” national show. I’ve found myself captivated by Robert Ortiz’s “Una De Muchas” photograph of faces staring out from a commuter bus or train, Karen Israel’s “Another Passenger” pastel painting of a man on a subway train and Viktoria King’s “In the Passage,” capturing in oil a man walking down a not so wide street, his body language suggesting he is seemingly holding a package, walking in the opposing direction of an … [Read more...] about BREAKING BARRIERS: COPLEY SOCIETY OPEN CALL RESULTS IN A UNIFYING THEME
DRAWN TO WATER: NEW BEDFORD, SOUTH COAST ARTISTS WELCOME VISITORS
The South Coast has a number of self-guided studio tour options to punctuate summer weekends. The artist organized “South Coast Artists’ 19th Annual Open Studio Tour” happens on July 16 and 17 and again on August 20 and 21 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and includes over 30 artists in Westport, Dartmouth, Little Compton and Tiverton. The number of artists involved makes this arguably the largest open studio tour in the region and encompasses South Coast towns in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. “The Art Drive” on August 5through 7 and running from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. is limited to Dartmouth and Westport and is a curated event. The idea of these open studio tours is for audiences to have the pleasure of a summer road trip, intermittently stopping to see art. Presented at each location will often be the equivalent of a one-person show. I particularly like that a self-guided tour can be a great … [Read more...] about DRAWN TO WATER: NEW BEDFORD, SOUTH COAST ARTISTS WELCOME VISITORS
A BOLD EXAMPLE: BELLFORGE ARTS CENTER AIMS TO BE A NATIONAL MODEL
The Bellforge Arts Center, a legacy of the past, a vision of the present, an omen for the future: “If You Build It, They Will Come.” The Cultural Alliance of Medfield (CAM) embarked on a challenging and exciting journey, using the arts as the main vehicle for this ambitious project. The results will change the landscapes of the entire Medfield community, the MetroWest Area, and beyond. Furthermore, it will serve as a national model for community building and economic prosperity efforts. Studies show that when real estate developers and art leaders ally, understanding the principles of community engagement and revitalization through the arts, there is usually a happy ending. When artists are included with urban planners, city councils and policymakers, and have a place at the table from the start of any community improvement project, it is an excellent recipe for success. This is … [Read more...] about A BOLD EXAMPLE: BELLFORGE ARTS CENTER AIMS TO BE A NATIONAL MODEL