By Lindsey Davis Boston, MA – Two girls stretch atop ladders with bright colors on the ends of their brushes, carefully filling in morphing feathered sections of wall at the Kingston Gallery. Another girl stands to the left painting thick black lines that trace a projected outline, a slide created by Sophia Ainslie that combines her drawings into one mural design for this entire wall. Ainslie has been working on this drawing series for the past four years, combining two sources of inspiration to represent the color and lined counterparts that dance and combine on an otherwise blank background. The dark lined spaces contrast with the color and emptiness that surrounds them. The left side of the mural is left empty compared to the colorful busy right side that greets you as you enter the gallery. Ainslie explained that this kind of balance was important, a kind of fading that … [Read more...] about Sophia Ainslie: “in person” at Kingston Gallery
Exhibits
David Thomas: Canyon Passages at UForge Gallery
By Lindsey Davis Jamaica Plain, MA - “Canyon Passages” sits along the back wall of the UForge Gallery, inviting you in from the sidewalk through the clear glass. There are eight paintings in all, completed with deep dripping reds and oranges that expose passages of canyon wall without ever revealing the canyon itself. It’s both a study and a celebration of nature, each identically shaped canvas showing a completely different formation of fault lines and indentations, shadows and weather marks. By zooming in and placing the rock out of context, you find yourself looking for shapes in the lines. Some find organic abstract compositions and others have more purposeful outlines that resemble figures or faces often hinted at in the title. “Horse Canyon #2” shows a passage of sharp jagged rock with dark deep-cut crevices that run horizontally across, resembling the surreal skeleton of a … [Read more...] about David Thomas: Canyon Passages at UForge Gallery
Upsodown at the New Art Center
By Lindsey Davis Newton, MA - It’s like walking into the mind of an eccentric New Orleans witchdoctor. Thick paint is coarsely hurled onto canvases in rough outlines of people, and cow skull and plaster form ritualistic-looking tikis that resemble overdone voodoo dolls. The New Art Center in Newton’s new exhibition, “Upsodown,” features work by 10 different artists, all created with a kind of raw, free expression — a boldness that reflects a reinvention, the kind of freeing liberty that accompanies the spirit of Carnival. The gallery is intended as a reflection of all the different forms this holiday takes in each culture, and the carnality that comes with absolute freedom manifests as a powerful barbarism in these artworks. Tara Sellios’ dual photographs “Lessons of Impermanence” feature the arranged remains of a seafood meal — an image of orange lobster shells strewn beside empty … [Read more...] about Upsodown at the New Art Center
Copley Society of Art’s New Members’ Show 2013
By Lindsey Davis Boston, MA - In 2012 more than 100 artists applied to become members of the Copley Society of Art, whose choice location on Newbury Street offers exposure to the talented artists with developed individual styles we might not have seen yet. Thirty artists were selected from those 300 applications, and one work from each is now represented in the Copley Society’s New Members’ Show that opened last Saturday, sprinkling their Upper Gallery in both large and small-scale selections, each individually characterized by its own distinct creator. The work represented here comes from the hands of artists whose ages nearly span a half-century and although the subject matter is comparable, the style of each landscape or portrait finds an individuality that springs from a sense of realism. All of the still-lifes present an ordinary collection of tools or jars but saturated with … [Read more...] about Copley Society of Art’s New Members’ Show 2013
Capsule Preview: Ron Fortier at Colo Colo
New Bedford, MA - “Ron Fortier: Fado — Fatum: fate, destiny, doom and all that …” opens this Friday, January 18 at the Colo Colo Gallery, 29 Centre Street in New Bedford. “Fado — Fatum is a theme, a jumping off point,” Fortier writes. “It reflects the struggle of creative individuals balancing their obligations which are stitched to and, synonymous with their fate, their destiny and ofttimes their dashed aspirations. “The work in this exhibit is the result of a continuing journey which began with my first explorations of calligraphic line many years ago. It has evolved into an attempt to redefine the horizontal form through the concept of the music staff; five horizontal lines with four spaces. It also became a tribute to my mother, a singer of fado, who chose to fulfill her obligations, of which I was one, rather than pursue her aspirations.” “Fado — Fatum” continues through January … [Read more...] about Capsule Preview: Ron Fortier at Colo Colo
Lindsey Davis: On Newbury Street, Boston
(artscope is happy to introduce you to Lindsey Davis, who is serving an internship with us for the next three months. She’s well versed in covering the visual arts, having been writing her “things worth describing” blog in New York City while attending NYU. With the goal of fine-tuning her craft, she’ll be contributing to artscopemagazine.com with her observations and reviews of Boston area exhibitions and artists twice weekly in the months ahead.) By Lindsey Davis BOSTON, MA - Moving from New York to Boston, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the art scene here; I just knew I had been really spoiled before. But as I walked down Newbury Street for the first time, I was almost as overwhelmed as if I’d been on Manhattan’s West Side, and after a few hours of gallery hopping, my eyes and brain were worn out well past their art intake threshold. The galleries blended seamlessly with … [Read more...] about Lindsey Davis: On Newbury Street, Boston