There are few things in life that photographer Frank ArmstronglovesmorethanheadingoutfromhisWestBoylston, Massachusetts home and driving the backroads of America at 35 miles an hour in search of a unique piece of Americana, drawn by the curiosity of what he might find. “Nothing else but curiosity. I’m just nosey,” said Armstrong prior to the opening of his “American Roadsides: Frank Armstrong’s Photographic Legacy” exhibition at the Fitchburg Art Museum. “I just like to get out there and see what’s there. Once I got out there, I found there was interesting stuff.” Featuring photographs taken between 2012 and 2021, and chosen by Fitchburg Art Museum Director Nick Capasso, who curated his portion of the exhibition, Armstrong shares the spotlight with six of his former students at Clark University (where he has taught analog and digital photography since 1999) and one from the … [Read more...] about HAVE CAMERA, WILL TRAVEL: ARMSTRONG, STUDENTS REUNITE ON FITCHBURG WALLS
Visual Arts
International Poster Gallery’s Depiction of the History and Significance of the Art Form
Boston’s SOWA District is home to multiple fantastic galleries including the incredibly unique International Poster Gallery. When one goes inside International Poster Gallery, one can see how it reflects the history and significance of posters in the art world through the large variety within its collection. The gallery features 10,000 fine original vintage posters, all from the periods they were made (i.e. not reproductions) which makes it one of the largest collections in both price and style. The gallery’s beautiful posters and related items are as little as $100 and many above $5,000. They are also interested in working with new collectors and finding posters for their more sophisticated collectors. An example of a new arrival for new collectors would be the extremely hard to find poster “Bianco e Nero” by Marcello Dudovich. I had recently spoken with the owner, Jim Lapides, who told … [Read more...] about International Poster Gallery’s Depiction of the History and Significance of the Art Form
LIGHT & LAYERS: SUSAN WAHLRAB’S “GARDEN IN THE FOREST” OFFERS RESPITE
Mark and Angie Setevdemio, founders of Creative Connections Gift Shop & Gallery in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, have known Vermont artist Susan Wahlrab since she was their art professor at Framingham State College 30 years ago. Fast forward, and they are now hosting her exhibition, “Garden in the Forest,” in their second-floor gallery space. “We’ve been admirers of Susan’s work since we were in college,” Mark said. “We were taken with her printmaking at the time, and later her dramatic use of light and overlapping swirls of color in layered concentric circles that use an unusual visual technique of varnished watercolor on archival clay board.” It’s a labor-intensive method that Wahlrab developed over time, requiring a good deal of patience, as layer upon layer dries before each subsequent layer is added. The result is engaging color and form on works that range in size … [Read more...] about LIGHT & LAYERS: SUSAN WAHLRAB’S “GARDEN IN THE FOREST” OFFERS RESPITE
HIGHLY PERMEABLE BEINGS: ROZENMAN, GERSTEIN & ROTHSCHILD ALIGN AT BRICKBOTTOM
I’m in the atelier of Alexandra Rozenman in her Joy Street Studio in Somerville just beyond Union Square, its majestic length filled with the mostly quiet energy of artists of all persuasions working industriously in their brick studios. Joy Street ends at the appropriately named Brickbottom Building where on January 27, Rozenman will be featured in their lobby gallery space, along with two other artist/ colleagues, in a month-long exhibit entitled “Space ←→ Color ←→ Movement: Lyrical Realism into Poetic Abstraction” with each word of the title joined to the other with a two-headed arrow to illustrate how in the process of painting, in deft hands, all these elements are joined in tension and harmony. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about HIGHLY PERMEABLE BEINGS: ROZENMAN, GERSTEIN & ROTHSCHILD ALIGN AT BRICKBOTTOM
INSTINCTIVE, PLAYFUL, METICULOUS: RODRIGUEZ USES HER ART TO OVERCOME PAST TRAUMA
To experience the dream of another is something that many regard as an impossible feat. The closest we may come is by being immersed in the extraordinary video installations of Cuban-American interdisciplinary artist Allison Maria Rodriguez at the Nesto Gallery at Milton Academy. “There is power in creativity, there is strength in imagining,” Rodriguez said, noting that imagination is a force encouraged in childhood and suppressed in adulthood. Her exhibition, “Worlds Within,” is comprised of several digital animations from Rodriguez’s ongoing series, “Legends Breathe.” The subjects of Rodriguez’s stunning installations are female-identified and nonbinary creatives in her community, invited by the artist to share visually detailed descriptions of their childhood fantasies. These fantasies are dreams and stories her subjects created during childhood in order to overcome traumatic … [Read more...] about INSTINCTIVE, PLAYFUL, METICULOUS: RODRIGUEZ USES HER ART TO OVERCOME PAST TRAUMA
COMPLEMENTARY AESTHETICS: TRUONG AND SELVAGE EXPLORE LIGHT AT BOSTON SCULPTORS
At Boston Sculptors Gallery, audiences have the opportunity to see “Bespoke” by Kenson Truong by simply parting a curtain and walking into a pitch-black gallery. The idea is to stand in that space shining a flashlight at any one of the four walls to see text printed in red and blue, which is visible only when using the high intensity black light provided. Viewers in the dark connect with the text as they search for narrative revealed with the radial glow cast by their flashlights. In this way, not too much of the narrative is shown at any given moment. There is mystery. Audiences enveloped in darkness can absorb at their pace. In this seemingly liquid environment Truong hones a metaphor of the unconscious creating a story of innocence, treachery, mortality, angst and the will to survive. I talked with Kenson Truong by phone. He described his technique for screen-printing text … [Read more...] about COMPLEMENTARY AESTHETICS: TRUONG AND SELVAGE EXPLORE LIGHT AT BOSTON SCULPTORS