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Artscope Magazine | September/October 2023

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F. Murray Abraham in The Merchant of Venice

Theatre Review: ARTSEmerson presents The Merchant of Venice

// Theatre

By James Foritano BOSTON-In Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” Venice is a frenetic, even a mad world. It spews up and swallows merchant princes and their hangers-on, gilded heiresses and their pursuers. In director Darko Tresnjak’s staging, the ornate Cutler Majestic theater turns high-tech. Players of all stripes scurry back and forth, cell-phones to ear, dancing on multiple levels of scaffolding to the tune of getting and (excuse the expression) lending. Three flat screens stream numbers, or, alternately, picture an unquiet ocean where fortunes are afloat. Serenissima, or the Queen of the Adriatic, might cultivate airs of aristocratic leisure, but she is a world “on the make,” of deals, clasped with a warm handshake — or not. So, Bassanio tells his friend Antonio, who, in case you didn’t know, is the merchant of Venice, that he is, well, somewhat “our of pocket,” but, has … [Read more...] about Theatre Review: ARTSEmerson presents The Merchant of Venice

Theater Review: The Grand Inquisitor

// Theatre

By James Foritano BOSTON --- In celebration of the stagecraft of legendary director Peter Brook, ArtsEmerson is producing “The Grand Inquisitor,” which opened March 24 at the Black Box Theater in the Paramount Center and runs through April 3. The play is based on a passage from Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov,” and was adapted by Marie Helene Estienne. The concept of the play is that Christ is strolling the streets of Seville on a sultry evening during the most terrible time of the inquisition in Spain, sometime in the 1500s. Around 100 heretics, give or take, have been “burned at the stake” just the other evening, so there is unusual activity in the streets. Nevertheless Christ himself is easily recognized by the citizens who not only acclaim him, but also urge him to perform a miracle — which he does. The Grand Inquisitor, played by Bruce Myers, happens on the scene and has … [Read more...] about Theater Review: The Grand Inquisitor

From Moscow, With Love…

// News

by SARA FARIZAN CLINTON- What was supposed to be a fascinating look at Russian works of art is being cut short by Russian’s Minister of Culture who has decidedly issued a “force majeure”, ordering 37 paintings and artifacts, on loan to the Museum of Russian Icons, be returned immediately to Moscow. The Museum of Russian Icons is located in Clinton Massachusetts with 400 pieces of Russian art, the largest private collection outside of Russia and one of the biggest collections of Russian works in North America. Many of the works on display have significant historical meaning and the collections itself spans six centuries. The Treasures from Moscow exhibit was scheduled to be dismantled this morning though the exhibit was to be displayed until July, 25th. The pieces to be returned are on loan from the Andrey Rublev Museum and curator Oxana Smrinova has been sent to the U.S. to … [Read more...] about From Moscow, With Love…

“Clouds” an Art Installation of Fantastical Proportions

// Exhibits

by SARA FARIZAN PROVIDENCE-Something extraordinary is coming from artist Suzanne Volmer and she would like you to go on her journey with her. Volmer is a renowned artist having exhibited her works in art galleries, museums and private collections in the United States and Europe, but her latest art installation “Clouds” is almost too grandiose and fantastical to describe. Volmer has had a diverse career with artistic credentials of great merit including countless awards and having taught at the Rhose Island School of Design. It is Volmer’s passion about her art however that ignites audience participation and her desire to create interactive pieces. Her last outdoor project installation, “Aquatic” was exhibited at the GASP Gallery of Brookline in 2007 which had cymbals that looked like lily pads and lit up ponds of her own making, almost as though one were in a dreamlike zen garden. … [Read more...] about “Clouds” an Art Installation of Fantastical Proportions

Bolt and Trepiccione at the StoveFactory Gallery

// Exhibits

by SARA FARIZAN CHARLESTOWN- If you are in the Charlestown area this weekend, treat yourself to the works of photographer Russ Bolt and painter Joe Trepiccione as they exhibit their gorgeous pieces at the StoveFactory Gallery. Both artists are members of the Artist’s Group of Charlestown but their works could not be more different. Bolt’s photographs are natural, observing aspects of Boston and creating a majestic type of reflection within buildings and cityscapes that Boston dwellers may tend to overlook in their day to day commutes and business dealings. With natural lighting and calculated composition, Bolt views Boston as an uncharted territory that the viewer has yet to discover. Bolt’s most recent book Chamber Lights, a look at the inside of Fort Warren on Georges Island in the Boston Harbor, was exhibited in the Mayor’s Gallery at Boston City Hall in 2010. Trepiccione is a … [Read more...] about Bolt and Trepiccione at the StoveFactory Gallery

Scott Holloway at Secret Society Review

// Exhibits

by J. FATIMA MARTINS WORCESTER-Scott Holloway’s “Ides of March” solo exhibition at Secret Society, 116 Water Street in Worcester, Mass. from March 4 through May 7, is an intimate showing of new iconographic paintings within his signature oeuvre: dismembered limbs and internal organs imbued with messages associated with Spring — the tensioned balance between life and death, sin and redemption, and the hope for renewed transformation and love. The new work is a continuation and expansion upon concepts found in his previous major series, the contemplative and reductive: “Holy Relics, Adam, and Sacred Heart.” The new paintings include “Ides of March” an image of a realistically depicted human heart in posterior view penetrated with military dagger that references the concept of betrayal and love, a theme extending from the “Sacred Heart” series that is deeply personal to the artist. The … [Read more...] about Scott Holloway at Secret Society Review