Jamestown, RI - On July 23, Alex Bandoni interviewed Peter Marcus for the Artscope Podcast Series. In this episode, (which you can listen to here: https://soundcloud.com/ascopemagazine/peter-marcus-interview), Peter discusses his “The New American Family” exhibition that’s at the Newport Art Museum through August 11 and how the pieces for this exhibit came together. In addition, he explains how his work has changed over the years, his expansive teaching career and where he is headed in regards to his future artistic endeavors. The Newport Art Museum is located at 76 Bellevue Ave., Newport, Rhode Island; for more information, call (401) 848-8200. … [Read more...] about Peter Marcus for the Artscope Podcast Series
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Donna Dodson: The Chinese Zodiac Series & William Kendall paintings at Colo Colo Gallery
By John Paul Stapleton New Bedford, MA – Donna Dodson’s contemporary and characterizing interpretation of the Chinese Zodiac is currently on view at Colo Colo Gallery. “The Chinese Zodiac Series” was installed in collaboration between Dodson and Colo Colo owner and curator Luis Villanueva. While this is her solo exhibition, Villanueva has also installed a series of abstracts by William Kendall that coexist with her sculptures. “My work has a level of abstraction,” Dodson said. “So I like being paired with an abstract painter.” Upon entering the space, one will find that all 12 of her Zodiac sculptures are arranged in a circle facing inwards on tall white bases, bringing them to an easily observable level. On the walls behind all of the sculptures are Kendall’s abstract paintings that compliment the wooden sculptures with their earthy color palette. Dodson said … [Read more...] about Donna Dodson: The Chinese Zodiac Series & William Kendall paintings at Colo Colo Gallery
Ethan Murrow at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
By John Paul Stapleton Boston, MA – Being a coastal city, the idea of changing sea levels is a real worry for Boston and many of its harbor side buildings. Ethan Murrow vamped on this as a topic of conversation to accompany his piece for the Art Wall at the Institute of Contemporary Art. “I wanted to root the drawing in the location of the museum,” Murrow said in a recent phone interview. “The museum is hanging over the Ocean. I knew I wanted to do something aquatic and architectural.” This inspired Murrow to create another one of his photorealistic wall installations, in which the image is cropped to a circle. In the case of this image, the circle makes the framing of the image resemble that of a seaside window, appropriately giving distance to the scene. The observer gets the sense that they have nothing to do but question as the focus of the image, Saint … [Read more...] about Ethan Murrow at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Sarah Meyers Brent: Salvaged Garden at Kingston Gallery
By Becky Shea Sarah Meyers Brent’s “Salvaged Garden” inhabits its own space at Kingston Gallery through August 2. This sectioned off room is more preferable for Brent because she is able to encompass all four walls with paintings and installations. Her installation, “Salvaged Garden,” stretches across one entire wall and the tips of the vines and running paint lines touch the floor. She had sketched a shape of “Salvaged Garden” on the wall before hanging it. On the other three walls are paintings. Brent paints by placing the canvas on the ground and working on top of it. These paintings certainly do not come across as flat when hanging on Kingston’s white walls. The flowers, vines and mounds of dirt are three-dimensional fixings that reach out to the viewer in this enclosed space and bring them closer to the beauty of Brent’s work. Once these flowers, vines and mounds of dirt lure … [Read more...] about Sarah Meyers Brent: Salvaged Garden at Kingston Gallery
Bear Kirkpatrick: The Human Diorama at 555 Gallery
By John Paul Stapleton 555 Gallery is currently host to a photography exhibit that goes beyond the present to explore the depths of human nature. In “The Human Diorama,” Bear Kirkpatrick, has brought together portraits and other pieces from his many series to show how people interact with — and adapt — to the natural world.“We are all a learned thing — an ever-gathering and ever-adjusting animal,” Kirkpatrick explains in his artist statement. “It is those traits that I use my camera to find, if only for 1/200th of a second. They are the ghosts of presence and memory, the vestigial elements we carry within and about us as invisibly as spirits.” These portraits, as the name of the exhibit suggests, are Kirkpatrick’s response to the dioramas he was fascinated by as a kid, but they are displayed, for the most part, on the body of his subject. Now, instead of creating images that … [Read more...] about Bear Kirkpatrick: The Human Diorama at 555 Gallery
The Isles Arts Initiative
By James Foritano Boston, MA - I enjoy sun, but as we ferried from Boston to George’s Island on a sunny Saturday afternoon, on July 11, even with a broad-brimmed hat, I felt like I had over-stayed my welcome on the top deck despite stunning views of Boston’s cityscape. I was onboard for this nautical adventure to take in the Isles Arts Initiative intended to call attention to the Boston Harbor Islands through its summer long public art series on George’s and Spectacle islands. (A counterpart exhibition at the Boston Sculptors Gallery from July 22 through August 14 will capture the intrinsic beauty of the 34 harbor islands.) In a mere 45 minutes, I was back on land to look at art outside on green parade grounds of George’s Island and inside a fort that was state-of-the-art when it was completed in 1863. The insides of Fort Warren are, in peace-time, blessedly dark and deep. One … [Read more...] about The Isles Arts Initiative