In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, galleries and cultural institutions found themselves migrating online. The transition to virtual has been a mixed bag: some galleries made the move smoothly, while others have struggled. Many have upped their social media presence and outfitted their websites with new, interactive features. We have watched an entire industry expand beyond brick-and-mortar frantically, out of necessity. Michael Rose, the current gallery manager at Providence Art Club, found himself ahead of the virtual curve. “In the fall of 2019, I think I realized in earnest that in addition to my blog and other assets included on my freelance advising and appraisal website, I could use my platform to create virtual exhibitions.” As an appraiser and art historian, along with his work at the Art Club, Rose was in a unique position, “Because my day job is managing the … [Read more...] about WILL VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS REMAIN ONLINE WHEN GALLERIES REOPEN?
Exhibits
BEST OF ONLINE SHOWS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN ARTISTS MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER’S “FLOATING DREAMS” STRIKES A CHORD
One of four current National Association of Women Artists Massachusetts Chapter (NAWA MA) online exhibitions, “Floating Dreams” is poignant and peaceful — a welcome invitation to reflect and an engaging collection of works. The show explores, in tandem, the realms of the subconscious mind and the physical, tactile world. Full of pieces that one might not immediately associate with its theme, “Floating Dreams” challenges viewers to stay present and inquisitive among each contributing artists’ work. And this seems to be exactly what “Floating Dreams” is about: leaving ample space for interpretation; implying the slightly fantastical or subtly surreal; and allowing us to access our inner dreams, constant within us though scarcely recognized. In viewing the exhibition as a whole, the inspirational force of the natural world becomes clear. A few works feature obvious representations of … [Read more...] about BEST OF ONLINE SHOWS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN ARTISTS MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER’S “FLOATING DREAMS” STRIKES A CHORD
LUCIAN FREUD: THE SELF-PORTRAITS
Two self-portraits by British painter Lucian Freud (1922-2011) are the first works one sees when entering the Museum of Fine Arts Boston’s "Lucian Freud: The Self-Portraits” exhibition. The most recent of the two shows Freud at close to 80 years old, while the other dates towards the end of the Second World War. The self-portrait of the older Freud is a delicious blend of pink and greys that faintly mellows his face. In the one in which he is young, his image is amateur, flat and everything is just ever so slightly out of proportion. His left hand is far larger than the right. His eyes are not level to one another and his mask-like facade is reminiscent of the skulls engraved on colonial tombstones. The exhibit consists of 40-odd self-portraits, ranging from his time in various art academies to shortly before his death nine years ago, at the age of 88. The collection is filled with … [Read more...] about LUCIAN FREUD: THE SELF-PORTRAITS
Catherine Bertulli in Dressed at Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University
“Dressed,” featuring artists Catherine Bertulli, Jodi Collella, Merril Comeau, Mia Cross, Nancy Grace Horton, and Marky Kauffmann, at the Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University through December 29, is another must see exhibition created by curator Jessica Roscio Ploetz. From the curatorial statement, “Dressed broadly addresses materials, imagery, iconography and memory, each artist experimenting with the fluidity of form while acknowledging gendered constrictions placed on the body. To be “dressed” implies a range of situations and experiences. Dressed is about adornment and identity.” Beyond subject, what is important about this exhibition is that it hosts work that is material and process diverse grounded firmly in and exemplifying contemporary aesthetic trends that are influenced by and continue the blending of maximalist versus minimalist approaches. Beautiful … [Read more...] about Catherine Bertulli in Dressed at Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University
Play on a Play: Cattelan does Beckett
The most talked about installation of the day at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019, was Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” (2019, banana, duct tape, paper with text instructions) tacked to the wall of Galerie Perrotin’s booth with grey duct tape including instructions for installing it. Bought by Sarah Andelman, founder of recently closed Parisian concept store, Colette, it is accompanied by a certificate along with the banana and duct tape, including instructions for installing it. Publications from the print edition of the New York Post to the online Art Daily announced the trail of this new work from exhibition to sale (for $120,000 on December 4, during the private days of Art Basel). With Andelman saying, “It really reflects our time” reported by the New York Times on December 4, she and we neglect to acknowledge that this makes all of us artists, furthering the egalitarianism of a buyer … [Read more...] about Play on a Play: Cattelan does Beckett
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 & ART WEEK MIAMI DAY TWO: INSPIRED ARTISTS ADDRESS A THREATENED WORLD
Our second day dawned bright and early on Miami Beach, the morning chill warming up as the day and the dizzying flow of art as we went from one place to another kept the dynamic duo going. It would also hold our first view of the main event, Art Basel Miami 2019, the lollapalooza of art fairs, during its First Choice VIP Preview. Pace Gallery had some great work on display including Fred Wilson’s “Oh! Monstuosa Culpa,” 2013, constructed of Murano glass and light bulbs, that could have been a ringer for Gerhard Richter’s black chandelier painting; an amazing relief sculpture/painting by Loie Hollowell, “Standing in Water,” 2019, oil, acrylic, medium and high density foam on linen over panel; and Lydia Benglis’ “Calypso,” 2017, cast, pigmented polyurethane, looking like a cracked sun that only added to the gothic and sense of impending climatic doom as Venice stands in water and … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 & ART WEEK MIAMI DAY TWO: INSPIRED ARTISTS ADDRESS A THREATENED WORLD