Showing at Highfield Hall and Gardens in Falmouth as part of the Boston Sculptors Gallery’s 30th anniversary is an exhibition of 50 pieces of the genius of these artists, diverse in race, class, gender, styles and media. (Many of the pieces are for sale.) It’s a mind-boggling burst of talent almost too much to take in at one go. You can take an hour’s stroll outdoors through enchanted wild woods and formal gardens, and then cool off indoors for part of the exhibit — which is on two floors of the high ceilinged, antique 19th century Queen Anne mansion. The indoors exhibit ends August 21, the outdoors one on October 30. Starting with an homage to a fallen ancient beech tree by Ed Andrews, constructed of a tower of rusted laddered steel, with live sapling atop, the path takes you past a centerpiece of story-high white aluminum structures by Andy Zimmermann, “Seven Sprouts.” It, like … [Read more...] about HIGHFIELD HALL HOSTS BOSTON SCULPTORS AT 30 IN FALMOUTH
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THE BUSINESS OF ART: NFT’S ON THE MARK?
On March 11, 2021, a 10 second video clip by video artist Beeble, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was sold by Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriquez-Fraile for $69,346,250 in Ethereum Digital currency. He had bought it in October 2020 for $67,000 making quite a nice profit less than a year later. No one to date has bought NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) for their aesthetic value, although Beeble’s work is quite beautiful. “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” a collage of 5000 images produced over 33 years by Beeble, is a unique string of code called a non-fungible token (NFT). Unique to the buyer/owner, it cannot be reproduced or sent to anyone else. Consequently, the artwork can only be viewed by the purchaser, on their computer, or projected on their wall. It carries on the tradition of the Renaissance fresco, only viewable in the Medici or Sforza palace or church, and transferable for … [Read more...] about THE BUSINESS OF ART: NFT’S ON THE MARK?
INTERVIEW: BARBARA ROSE TALKS WITH DON KIMES
I met Don Kimes in the Nineties and have watched his work develop and change over time in response to both personal and artistic challenges. We have had an ongoing dialogue ever since. Recently I saw the work he is including in his exhibition at Denise Bibro Gallery in New York City and we had a chance to talk about how he views his own work and the contemporary art scene in general. Barbara Rose: How Do you feel your work is related to current practice? Don Kimes: Current practice is wide open. Anything, anywhere, without fixed judgement and dependent only upon personal circumstance and acuity. I still tend to wince at the word “practice”, like it’s an out of place interlocutor in the lexicon, though it became commonly used overnight. But it sounds like a nod to the professions, like being a dentist or an attorney, like I should hang a brass shingle outside my studio door with the … [Read more...] about INTERVIEW: BARBARA ROSE TALKS WITH DON KIMES
Pandemic Profile: Universities and Colleges
In universities and colleges nation and worldwide, much has changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week, St. Augustine University’s president died of Covid-19. Notre Dame’s President tested positive for Covid-19 after attending President Trump’s announcement of Alumna Amy Covey Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court on the South lawn of the White House. The University of Chicago’s Business School went completely online because of a party super-spreader event among its students. The University of Florida paused its football program and Kutztown University in Pennsylvania lost 1000 of its 3300 students registered to live on campus to their choice for online courses, and it instituted a furlough policy for faculty. A University of North Carolina Greensboro study, “College, Mobility and the Incidence of Openings” by Martin Anderson noted a 10% greater incidence, resulting in 1.19 … [Read more...] about Pandemic Profile: Universities and Colleges
GOING FORWARD: PEDULLA AND DEVRIES ADAPT TO CHANGING ART MARKET
For artists, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic presented twin problems: how to show work, and how to sell it. The former was, to a degree, out of their hands. Galleries have been sorting out the conundrum through online exhibitions — juried and not — along with expanding their presence on social media and their own websites. As restrictions have eased, galleries have worked out safety restrictions and socially distanced exhibits. But the selling problem still remains, and the problem is persisting, even as the world opens up more and more. Paul Pedulla is a painter based in Massachusetts. His primary medium is acrylic on canvas, and his work has been sold internationally. Pedulla’s paintings often depict coastal settings in a minimalist style; ever-present in the majority of his works is a transfixing blue, assigned to sea and sky, with a depth so imposing that one feels able to … [Read more...] about GOING FORWARD: PEDULLA AND DEVRIES ADAPT TO CHANGING ART MARKET
THE HEARTS FOR HEALTHCARE AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS PROJECT
It can be difficult visiting familiar locations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Well-trodden streets are empty — major avenues, such as Commonwealth Avenue here in Boston, have limited auto traffic to allow more pedestrian and bike access. Local shops and restaurants are running on curb pick-up only, and galleries are just beginning to work out appointment only viewings — all dependent on space and safety. But all over, dotting businesses, apartment windows and sometimes stapled to telephone-poles are handmade hearts. Some are painted on wood. Others made of paper in a style most of us learned in kindergarten. It is a strange, albeit uplifting, sight. The phenomenon is a show of support for essential workers — the nurses, doctors, grocery store staff, MBTA drivers, postal workers, paramedics and others — who have kept daily life running as close to normal as possible during the … [Read more...] about THE HEARTS FOR HEALTHCARE AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS PROJECT