The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre was closing a very short run here in Boston, only four performances at the Boch Center Wang Theater from April 28-May 1 when my wife Madeleine and I sat together on aisle seats, row L for the Sunday matinee. It was a gorgeously warm and sunny spring day as we walked down Tremont Street from the Park Street Red Line stop, savoring views of Boston Common budding into a feast of green as troops of students were passing us by in gossamer spring dresses with gossamer youth gaiety. It was no sacrifice at all to enter the indoor spaces of a theater since we’d already had a very pleasant walk and Alvin Ailey Dance is always a rare, complex pleasure. They always have so many layered artistic impressions that they always make it seem, to this writer, as though he’d have to have a suite of hands all typing at once to articulate his … [Read more...] about ALVIN AILEY THEATRE KEEPS AMERICAN DANCE MOVING; “LET’S DANCE BOSTON!” CAPS CELEBRITY SERIES SEASON
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“THE POWER TO ELICIT A VISCERAL RESPONSE”: THE CAMBRIDGE ART ASSOCIATION’S 2022 MEMBER’S PRIZE SHOW
This year’s 2022 Members Prize Show provided by Cambridge Art Association is held at Kathryn Schultz Gallery in Cambridge, MA as well as online. The exhibit presents artwork from members of the Cambridge Arts Association — from artists and associate artists to students — to win the members prize and also offers viewers the chance to take home priced artwork to add to their collections should they fall in love with a piece. The exhibit is presented in two parts: although Show 1 has passed, there is still a chance for you to see the artists presented in Show 2, which is running until April 16 and open to the public free of charge. Independent curator and art consultant Beth Kantrowitz, juror for the show, wrote in the show’s introduction, “I found myself naturally sorting submissions into two groups of works. I did not separate the works into traditional categories such as landscapes, … [Read more...] about “THE POWER TO ELICIT A VISCERAL RESPONSE”: THE CAMBRIDGE ART ASSOCIATION’S 2022 MEMBER’S PRIZE SHOW
A TRIBUTE TO A CELEBRATED PUBLIC ARTIST AND SCULPTOR: NANCY SCHÖN
Newton Community Pride relying on the power of the arts, promoted a captivating way to bring art lovers and supporters together in this transitional, almost post-pandemic world. On March 30, friends, artists, Newton's representatives, guests and families celebrated Nancy Schön's extensive artistic career and outstanding accomplishments. Newton-based legendary artist Nancy Schön continues to brighten the scene. Nancy welcomed her audience with her unique, well-known warmth and charisma by sharing insightful stories and highlights of her life as an artist, dedicated mother and beloved grandmother. Best known for the charming, iconic landmark, “Make Way for Ducklings” sculpture located at the Boston Public Garden since 1987, Nancy's work can be seen all over Boston, New England and in Moscow, where the only replica of the ducklings stands as a gift from United States First Lady Barbara … [Read more...] about A TRIBUTE TO A CELEBRATED PUBLIC ARTIST AND SCULPTOR: NANCY SCHÖN
WOMEN CAN HAVE IT ALL — A CELEBRATION THROUGH THE ART OF Zeynab Movahed AT High Line Nine Gallery
Running from April 5 through 18, Roya Khadjavi Projects brings Iranian woman artist Zeynab Movahed to High Line Nine Gallery 9.1 in New York City. Movahed’s work celebrates women’s freedom in moving about her day, including social and family commitments in the Tehran metropolis of her residency by women clearly in control of their present and future. Reflecting the unstable societal situation present in Iran and worldwide, the artist takes us on a Joycian tour of places where women socialize in Iran. Realizing that a reflection can be a memory of the past or an immediate vision of the present, that cellphone reflection becomes a past vision as soon as it is recorded or sent, with the present taking over immediately afterwards. The paintings show the artist’s reflection in her cellphone image and society’s reflection of her. By painting women together and alone in cafes, Movahed … [Read more...] about WOMEN CAN HAVE IT ALL — A CELEBRATION THROUGH THE ART OF Zeynab Movahed AT High Line Nine Gallery
THE 59TH VENICE BIENNALE, A TEASER
“Biennale de Arte, The Milk of Dreams” opens this April in Venice. The curator is Cecilia Alemani, the first Italian woman to hold the position, and she previously curated the Italian Pavilion. After two years of a pandemic, the buzz, the very breadth and need for art, is fierce. Our need to see art is bursting at the seams, at the edges of our Zoom windows, we see new collaborative projects and culinary ventures to stay sane. The biggest art party in the world shall open with some expected, and not so expected, changes and shifts. The Russian Pavilion will be closed. It was a noble choice from the curator Raimundas Malašauskas and artists Alexandra Sukhareva and Kirill Savenkov. The Ukrainian Pavilion was on the fence to close; Poland has stepped up heroically and plans to take on the responsibility of shipping the Ukrainian artists’ work. There are artists representing countries … [Read more...] about THE 59TH VENICE BIENNALE, A TEASER
THE BOOK OF WILL HAS LYRIC STAGE COMPANY AUDIENCES LAUGHING
With characters that seem to echo every facet of Shakespeare’s era — boisterous, sensual, quicksilver passionate, vengeful, generous, jealous, the Lyric Stage Company’s presentation of Lauren Gunderson’s “The Book of Will” is hilariously enjoyable. It’s impossible not to join in, tentatively, at first, even wonderingly — asking yourself, “who are these people” — then you grasp that they are not only “The Kings Men,” a company of outstandingly dedicated actors but their own men, never really off stage, and never more onstage than when they are playing, often along with Shakespeare himself, the bard’s own realistic fantasies. A handful plus of “The Kings Men” and their women are most often gathered around a wooden trestle table. With the Globe Theatre in the background, they lean in with their elbows on the table top — except when lifting them to quaff from a full tankard — which is … [Read more...] about THE BOOK OF WILL HAS LYRIC STAGE COMPANY AUDIENCES LAUGHING