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
Reviews
GOOD VIBES, UNAPOLOGETIC LOVE: EVERSLEY & FRIENDS INSPIRE AT HOPKINTON ARTS
Can making art or looking at art help us to better understand our fears, challenges and have an impact on life choices? This summer, the Jamaal Eversley-curated “Eversley & Friends: Bold & Beautiful” allows us to understand the role of the arts in healing processes. As a young boy, Eversley was criticized for not coloring inside the lines. As a young adult, he became a multidisciplinary artist. His mission is to inspire others, spread love and boost people’s self-esteem. Eversley’s artwork is layered with messages of peace, empathy, compassion, friendship and cooperation. Influenced by the West Indian island of Barbados, his work presents lively and bold colors, abundant creativity, good vibes and unapologetic love – Eversley’s main brand. In elementary school, Eversley was teased and associated with “Steve Urkel,” a made-up sitcom character, the quintessence of a geek or … [Read more...] about GOOD VIBES, UNAPOLOGETIC LOVE: EVERSLEY & FRIENDS INSPIRE AT HOPKINTON ARTS
PAAM’S TASTEFUL COUNTERBALANCE: ZEHRA KHAN SOLO SHOW COMPLIMENTS DE GROOT COLLECTION
The natural world is fully celebrated in two glorious shows at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) this summer. “Art of the Garden: Selections from the Pat and Nanno de Groot Collection” are on view through July 24. “Your Everyday Myths,” a solo exhibition by Zehra Khan, runs through August 28, with a public reception on July 22. “Art of the Garden,” curated by PAAM CEO Christine McCarthy, centers on the work of Dutch-born Nanno de Groot (1913-1963). He started making art in 1948 at 35 years old, (take heart, late bloomers.) Self-taught, de Groot wrote in his artist statement that “in moments of clarity of thought, I can sustain the idea that everything on earth is nature, including that which springs forth from a man’s mind and hand. A Franz Kline [painting] is nature as much as a zinnia.” De Groot considered himself an American Abstract Expressionist as he came … [Read more...] about PAAM’S TASTEFUL COUNTERBALANCE: ZEHRA KHAN SOLO SHOW COMPLIMENTS DE GROOT COLLECTION
AN ABOVE AVERAGE SUCCESS RATE: TRIENNIAL OF CHANGE AT DECORDOVA & FRUITLANDS
Switching their usual Biennial presentation gears due to pandemic impediments, the curators at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts decided instead to develop “New England Triennial 2022.” The result, on view through September 11, is a dual exhibition created in participation with Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts. These venues are under the umbrella of the Trustees of Reservations. According to deCordova Chief Curator Sarah Montross, they had been looking to partner on something and the Triennial was that opportunity. They are roughly 20 minutes apart by car and upon arrival, visitors encounter stunning landscapes at both locations. Except for one individual artwork, the “New England Triennial 2022” unfolds inside the museums’ buildings where audiences encounter visual statements that explore diversity, environment and issues of … [Read more...] about AN ABOVE AVERAGE SUCCESS RATE: TRIENNIAL OF CHANGE AT DECORDOVA & FRUITLANDS
FROM PALESTINE WITH ART: A COLLATERAL EXHIBITION OF SURVIVAL AT LA BIENNALE D’ ARTE, VENICE
“From Palestine with Art,” an official collateral exhibition at La Biennale d’ Arte, “The Milk of Dreams” in Venice, Italy opened for the private days on April 19, 2022. Continuing until November 27, the packed show at Palazzo Mora takes the opportunity to show the world art community the excellence of artists of Palestinian heritage from Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora. Nancy Nesvet, curator of the exhibition sponsored by the Palestine Museum US, where she is head curator (as well as Artscope Magazine’s national correspondent), told me it was an intentional decision to display paintings, photographs, sculptures and installation focused on the beautiful Palestinian landscape and people, largely ignoring the documented atrocities and violence displayed on social media and television worldwide. The message rings out that the people and land portrayed should not be destroyed. That … [Read more...] about FROM PALESTINE WITH ART: A COLLATERAL EXHIBITION OF SURVIVAL AT LA BIENNALE D’ ARTE, VENICE
‘MY PICTURES TAKE TIME’: HAMMERSTEIN’S IMPROVISATIONAL TONES AT MILLER WHITE
To appreciate the beauty of life is to see it change over time. A sunset morphs from beginning — when the sun first starts to dip and the sky comes alight with mesmerizing hues — to end, as the sun finally lowers out of view and the sky becomes dark. In his artwork displayed in “Time and Space: Boundless,” at Miller White Fine Arts, Oscar Andrew Hammerstein sets out to capture every phase of life’s tantalizing moments all at once. “My pictures take time,” said Hammerstein in a phone conversation. “That’s as close as I can describe it. I seem obsessed with time and space and trying to make one do the other.” In his paintings, Hammerstein follows the modernist tradition with touches of futurism sprinkled throughout. In doing so he attempts — and succeeds at — distilling a series of moments into a static image. In his 2020 painting, “False Regret,” a haze of multi-colored circles … [Read more...] about ‘MY PICTURES TAKE TIME’: HAMMERSTEIN’S IMPROVISATIONAL TONES AT MILLER WHITE