The Shelburne Museum, best known regionally for its extensive collection of American arts from the last two centuries, is about to redefine the very term American by establishing an important home for Indigenous art as part of its Native American Initiative. “Built From the Earth: Pueblo Pottery from the Anthony and Teressa Perry Collection,” currently on view at the Shelburne, is the first glimpse into the vast collection from the Museum’s own holdings as well as the addition of more than 240 examples from the Perry Collection recently donated to the Museum. The exhibit consists of 23 large-scale water jars, dough bowls and grain vessels, all from the Southwest, mostly from communities in New Mexico. Unique to this exhibit is the active involvement of members from the eight tribes represented, who worked with Museum staff and the curator to contextualize the examples on display. For … [Read more...] about RE-DEFINING AMERICAN ART: SHELBURNE’S PUEBLO POTTERY SHOW IS THE FIRST STEP
Reviews
GREATEST OF ALL TIME?: ‘WATERCOLORS UNBOXED’ ASKS THE QUESTION IN WORCESTER
Who is the “GOAT” watercolor artist, Winslow Homer or John Singer Sargent? (For non-sports fans, “GOAT” is the acronym for who is the “greatest of all time.”) No other painter has ever come close to their Olympian heights for mastery of devilishly tricky watercolor, their ability to capture an immediate moment with a drawn line, their diversity of subject matter, nor their depiction of light and shadow in nature. In addition to Homer and Sargent’s watercolor skills, they were masters of oil painting. Spoiler: I’ll argue that Homer is “GOAT” over Sargent every time because Homer addresses alienation and loss, the major human problems of our modern age. Curator of “Watercolors Unboxed,” Nancy Kathryn Burns places paintings by Homer and Sargent side-by-side with similar topics, therefore, the comparison between the two is easy to make. To add to the competitive fun, “The Rope” by … [Read more...] about GREATEST OF ALL TIME?: ‘WATERCOLORS UNBOXED’ ASKS THE QUESTION IN WORCESTER
THE LIVING THING: CULTIVATING PLANT ART AT THE GARDNER
Nowadays, synthetic paints rule all. Sweeping landscape oils in baroque 18th century splendor can be inexpensively achieved through imitation paints which keep away fade and degeneration, at the cost of polluting the ecology they vividly capture. Though the push for the eco-friendly continues, albeit at a terminal pace, plant-based paints and dyes tend to be bundled in boutique packaging, listed at ungodly prices. In a bucking of the artificial, this summer the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offers an exhibition that goes beyond the chemical-laden. “Presence of Plants in Contemporary Art,” which runs through September 17, is an exhibition that breathes, bringing the organic indoors. As its title suggests, “Presence of Plants” lays out a roster of seven international artists who carefully manipulate and center thriving verdure into works that speak to our shared existence, our … [Read more...] about THE LIVING THING: CULTIVATING PLANT ART AT THE GARDNER
A WELL-STITCHED STORY: THE RED DRESS ARRIVES AT SOUTHERN VERMONT ARTS CENTER
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
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
CROSS-POLLINATION
The annual “Arts in Bloom” exhibition at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA) has been one of its landmark events since its debut in 2005. For its “18th Annual Arts in Bloom” exhibition, HCA asked Kaveh Mojtabai, Artscope Magazine’s Founder and Publisher, to serve as its juror. Entrants were asked to follow the theme of “shift” — “a slight change in position, direction or tendency” in submitting hanging 2D media and freestanding 3D artwork, while encouraging them to think beyond depicting only floral plants in their pieces. “We are constantly in transactions with beauty; experiment with techniques, colors, design and subject matter,” Mojtabai said, in explaining what he was looking for in reviewing the works for an exhibition in a facility that not only features a gallery, but a performance art space for dance, theater, spoken word and film, along with classrooms for a variety of … [Read more...] about CROSS-POLLINATION