Tamar Orell Petler turned — as many of us often do — to nature for solace during Covid, especially when her beloved father, Izack Alkalay, passed at age 102 from the virus in November 2020 in Israel, just before a vaccine was available. She kept taking photographs and found that after over a year, her work could constitute her very first solo exhibit at Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, where Petler is the graphic designer and staff photographer. The photos create a triptych: “Quarantine, Grief, Regrowth” will be in two rooms (the first room with the first two chapters and then a second room around the corner for “Regrowth”). Eight by eight-inch and 8 by 10-inch framed color prints will hang on the walls but also a journey of small photos will be suspended on a line from the ceiling, a bit like a movie. Petler was born in Israel and grew up in Haifa. She studied photography in … [Read more...] about QUARANTINE, GRIEF, REGROWTH: PETLER FINDS COMFORT THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY AT PINE MANOR
Reviews
A SPACE FOR DIALOGUE: HOOD EXHIBITION CONFRONTS DISABILITY BIASES
The Hood Museum at Dartmouth College is home to an innovative program allowing student curators to create an exhibition from concept to realization, producing all aspects of their self-defined project including writing wall text and a brochure, choosing wall colors, frames and object placement, and giving a public talk. With the support of faculty and experienced curators, once a theme has been specified, students have access to the vast collection held by the Hood, with wide-reaching opportunities to choose works which best represent their curatorial intent. The program, known as “A Space for Dialogue,” debuted in 2001 and has brought over 580 works into community and public view. Amelia Kahl is Curator of Academic Programming for the Hood, and oversees A Space for Dialogue. “Working with interns to develop their A Space for Dialogue exhibitions is one of the most satisfying parts of … [Read more...] about A SPACE FOR DIALOGUE: HOOD EXHIBITION CONFRONTS DISABILITY BIASES
A RETURN TO COMMUNITY: KIMBALL JENKINS HOSTS PROVOCATIVE KELLEY STELLING SHOW
In the early days of the pandemic, nearly 18 months ago, I asked artist friends if they were working through the pandemic, perhaps with more time and less resources, or whether they were experiencing a shift in daily ritual and creativity. Most said they were planning on working, but as the days of isolation and lockdown and diminished social contact wore on, I heard a shift in tone. One artist said, “I’ve stopped. I want to see where this is going to go. I don’t want my work to be about this.” Several months later, deep into the pandemic, another artist friend remarked, “I’m sensing nostalgia creeping into everything I do.” After long periods of loss and displacement, it is not unusual to feel a longing for a time before. The very meaning of the word is about returning home nostos and yearning algia. Isolation from social interaction and community can be devastating, and result in … [Read more...] about A RETURN TO COMMUNITY: KIMBALL JENKINS HOSTS PROVOCATIVE KELLEY STELLING SHOW
CULTIVATING THE ART OF WATERCOLORS: CONNECTICUT’S ARTS CENTER EAST TO HOST REGIONAL BIENNIAL
The venerable biennial juried show of the New England Watercolor Society (NEWS) is being held from October 3 through 31 at Arts Center East in Vernon, Connecticut, and its 66 selected works promise to shine light, color and quite possibly the rather elusive gift of hope to people who come to see the region’s reflections. Adjudicated by the renowned wildlife painter, Anni Crouter, the mix of subjects and styles on display reflect New England’s complexity. By electing to mount this biennial in varied locales, NEWS hopes to cultivate both new members and new audiences. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about CULTIVATING THE ART OF WATERCOLORS: CONNECTICUT’S ARTS CENTER EAST TO HOST REGIONAL BIENNIAL
“AN ARTIST’S WORK IS NEVER DONE”: FARRELL’S TEMPORARY ROOTS AT THE KINGSTON
Born and bred in New Orleans, 34-year-old sculptor Louise Farrell was a newly-single mother of two when she arrived in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her path had led from a Catholic women’s college outside Chicago to Omaha, Nebraska, to Boulder, Colorado, and then the Five College area around Amherst, Massachusetts. Along the way, she was a resident artist at Creighton University, campaigned for Eugene McCarthy, started an underground newspaper, married a fellow activist, opened a bookstore and raised prize-winning English mastiffs. Before getting her masters at Mass College of Art in the late 1980s, her figurative forms cast in bronze and polyester resin were already feminist in their themes and environmental in their formal demands. “Fate,” Farrell’s opus of the last three years, will hang floor-to- ceiling at Kingston Gallery in Boston’s SoWa District in September. An imposing … [Read more...] about “AN ARTIST’S WORK IS NEVER DONE”: FARRELL’S TEMPORARY ROOTS AT THE KINGSTON
PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN: AI WEIWEI’S HUMANITARIAN ART ACTIVISM IN SPRINGFIELD
“Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.” — Ai Weiwei The life of Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) speaks to the beauty and resilience of the poetic soul. Born in Beijing, China, Ai Weiwei’s mother is writer Gao Ying. Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing (1910-1996), was a noted poet and intellectual, active under the Communist rule of chairman Mao Zedong. In retaliation for the elder Ai’s perceived political beliefs, the family was sent into exile in northwest China when Ai Weiwei was barely one year old; first to a labor camp, then to Shihezi, Xinjiang, in the Gobi Desert where the family lived until Ai Weiwei was 17. He has described the conditions while in exile as “extremely harsh.” His father was forced to perform hard labor, including cleaning the communal latrines. The family was allowed to keep one book, an … [Read more...] about PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN: AI WEIWEI’S HUMANITARIAN ART ACTIVISM IN SPRINGFIELD