As expected from the complex minds of Todd Bartel and Jack Massey comes “working PAPER,” an exhibition that counterpoints two visually different styles of collage art, that are the same in their intellectually challenging requirement. In “working PAPER,” Bartel presents his signature mode — substantially worked, layered, beautiful and soulful vintage papers from a variety of literary sources requiring focused and physical reading from the viewer, while Massey does the opposite — engage the viewer with emotive minimalism with carefully and simply collaged mixed media, also worked papers, requiring playfulness and calm contemplation. Bartel bombards the reader with real physical content, while Massey hits his viewers with open-ended questions. Overall, the exhibition theme is landscape: external for Bartel, through direct connective points; internal for Massey, with subtle and private … [Read more...] about WORKING PAPER: TODD BARTEL AND JACK MASSEY AT HERA GALLERY
Current Exhibits
Step into the Studio: SOWA September 21-22
A variety of art from over 200 artists resides in SOWA, the South End’s art district and this sunny weekend, the artists open their doors for an excursion that the whole family can experience. Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 6pm marks the start of the fall season of open studios, where visitors can wander through old factory buildings which have been renovated into artists’ studios. This is a unique event to meet artists behind their craft, whether it be painting, wire art, jewelry making, or repurposed natural materials. Visitors can observe artists in their creative environments and discover the process of a piece’s creation or purchase a piece that speaks to them. In studio 219 of 450 Harrison Ave, Ann Strassman, displays realistic acrylic paintings on corrugated cardboard that reflect everyday portraits of street life. She recycles cardboard in her own way in her wide open studio … [Read more...] about Step into the Studio: SOWA September 21-22
AMERICA REVEALED: LIE OF THE LAND AND STRENGTH IN UNITY AT BOSTON SCULPTORS GALLERY
Christopher Abrams’ “Lie of the Land” and Christina Zwart’s “Strength in Unity” arrive out of our collective anxiety and offer a question: how did we as an American people get ourselves into the political, cultural and economic situation we are in now? For Abrams, the answers are in American history. His mini-dioramas spotlight the elements of American nation-building and the transformation of a constructed identity. For Zwart, the answers are found in cultural understanding, core values, and civilizing actions. Her monumental bundle of painted tree branches function as a communication tool — a warning, telling us how we should behave if we want to survive. Together the two artists encourage an examination of important keywords: Lie and Strength, and Land and Unity. “Lie of the Land” is an installation of five, skillfully crafted, mini-dioramas: “State of the Union,” … [Read more...] about AMERICA REVEALED: LIE OF THE LAND AND STRENGTH IN UNITY AT BOSTON SCULPTORS GALLERY
All Artists, All Abilities: “TechnoGateway” at Gateway Arts Center
Art is a process, a feeling, a place where peace, hope, expression, safety, and purpose live. While kneading thick clay, melting paint into blank canvases, and drawing new shapes on an iPad, over 100 students at Gateway Arts Center in Brookline, Massachusetts call art home. Each of these artists has a disability, but holds a different story within themselves that they use art to convey. The center’s current exhibit titled “TechnoGateway,” based on artwork created or inspired by technology, fills the walls with imaginative creatures and bright color. In Darryl Richard’s Untitled acrylic on canvas piece, a cartoon pear holds a “rock on” sign, a hot dog carries a boom box, and an onion raises a walker above its head in the center, amongst other food part of the crowd. Each piece of food has its own personality and the vibrant color creates energy and movement within the piece. For … [Read more...] about All Artists, All Abilities: “TechnoGateway” at Gateway Arts Center
“Pink Dreams in a Land with No Name. Shahram Karimi & Sara Madandar”
Relating the Sufi story’s words, “her force is in my hands”, Shahram Karimi refers not only to a mother but to his motherland. Her force inspires paintings of the artist from Shiraz, Iran, home to Persian poets Hafez and Saadi and the mystic Ruzbehan. Karimi spoke to me of his paintings filled with music, flowers and village life, in his new show, with the artist, Sara Madandar at Elga Wimmer PCC in New York, September 11-September 24. His paintings in “Pink Dreams: A Land with No Name”, depict veiled women, angels, farmers, horses and clowns, and bright red flowers. His gently moving projections making video paintings draw on his experience as Shirin Neshat’s long-time production designer, envisioning the vibrant colors of her films. Schooled in Stoic philosophy, Karimi paints to change our minds, to see beauty around us. Visions of red and pink flowers slowly unfold a land of … [Read more...] about “Pink Dreams in a Land with No Name. Shahram Karimi & Sara Madandar”
Capsule Previews September/October 2019
“Human Figure,” an exhibition featuring works by Jamie Bowman, Holly Curcio, Erika Hess, Lavaughan Jenkins, Jessica Liggero and Tamar Nelson, artists that use the human figure expressively, “going beyond verisimilitude in order to express inner life through outward appearance,” opens on September 1 and continues through November 8 at the Hess Gallery at Pine Manor College, Annenberg Library, 400 Heath St., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. “They create powerful images of humans for as many reasons as there are artists: to represent an idealized state, to get at the heart of what it is to see and be seen, to look in the mirror and discover what today’s emotional landscape reveals.” Featuring the artwork of Betsy Silverman (lively cityscapes), Suzanne Hodes (expressionist inspired landscapes), and Robert Steinem (microscopic detailed natural paintings), “Refracted Visions” opens September 4 … [Read more...] about Capsule Previews September/October 2019