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Artscope Magazine | May/June 2023

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Visual Arts

Audrey Goldstein’s “Intimate Toxicities” at Gallery Kayafas

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Suzanne Volmer

Painterly relief constructs by Audrey Goldstein in her show “Intimate Toxicities,” on view through June 10 at Gallery Kayafas in Boston’s SoWa District, build upon benchmarks in contemporary art, creating a dialogue of continuum. Her “Conversation Quilt” has kinship with Robert Rauschenberg’s combine sensibility notably “Ram” (1959) and “Interloper” (1982). Goldstein’s approach toward poetic balance, roaming exploration of quintessential American landscape and the world, relates to his thinking, but a difference is Goldstein’s aesthetic lens is trained on recent global ecological disturbances dramatically re-shaping the ideal. The centerpiece of Goldstein’s show, “Conversation Quilt,” is her largest combine and is presented in a dedicated exhibition room at Gallery Kayafas. Physically attached to the wall, it has a large protuberance of quilted unbleached muslin that pushes out onto the … [Read more...] about Audrey Goldstein’s “Intimate Toxicities” at Gallery Kayafas

A DELIGHTFUL EXPLORATION: “FRONTIERS OF IMPRESSIONISM” AT WORCESTER ART MUSEUM

// Artscope Online, Visual Arts

by Beth Neville

Impressionism! Everyone’s favorite style of painting! Gorgeous, elegant women at play, sun-dappled seascapes, white fluffy clouds, exotic places and foreign people with nary a care in the world. “Frontiers of Impressionism” at the Worcester Art Museum is a delightful exploration of the reach of Impressionism beyond the core of French inventors of the style. Many American painters are included; Winslow Homer, Frank Benson, Thomas Cole, DeWitt Parshall, Edmund Charles Tarbell and others. WAM’s curator, Claire C Whitner, searched through the museum’s holdings to find these gems. She broadened the definition of “Impressionism” to include artists who were not French but who painted outdoors in an immediate fresh manner, often using a lighter paint palette, brushy paint strokes and casual contemporary subjects. Thus, Winslow Homer’s 1892 masterpiece, “Coast in Winter,” is included alongside … [Read more...] about A DELIGHTFUL EXPLORATION: “FRONTIERS OF IMPRESSIONISM” AT WORCESTER ART MUSEUM

HOPSCOTCH. CARE TO PLAY?

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Claudia Fiks

Curated by Marsha Nouritza Odabashian and Jennifer Jean Okumura, the artists of the ongoing “Hopscotch” exhibition take us back to familiar places bringing smiles, happiness and hope to our current daily lives. Traced back to 500 BCE in prehistoric India, prohibited by Buddha and played by Roman soldiers for building strength, this darling childhood game has been hopping geographically throughout centuries and is currently in the virtual realm. “Hopscotch” includes 10 contemporary artists confidently making their marks in various mediums: paper, oil on canvas, video, poetry and sculpture. The works claim collective and individual memory in relationship to places we choose to be grounded, either permanently or fleeting. It’s most recent showing at Lasell University’s Wedeman Gallery concluded on October 29; its curators are looking for new venues to host the collection of work. Guest … [Read more...] about HOPSCOTCH. CARE TO PLAY?

PHILIP GUSTON’S TRUE COLORS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Elizabeth Michelman

In this era of re-examining our values in the face of increased social tensions and existential threat, Philip Guston’s sour yet exuberant late paintings promise to tell us who we are and what beliefs we must cling to in order to go on. Guston, a giant of 20th Century painting, scandalized the New York art world in 1970 by turning his back on the prevailing trend of pure abstraction. He embarked instead on an inspired journey creating politically-infused, tragic-pop canvases that exploited a wacky cartoon-style imagery. Although these works failed to sell in his lifetime, they changed the dialogue of painting. He stood by his vision, supporting his family by teaching at Boston University, and produced the bulk of his oeuvre in this new style until his death in 1980. The retrospective “Philip Guston Now” displays 100 works at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts through September 11. … [Read more...] about PHILIP GUSTON’S TRUE COLORS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

Kim Bernard, “Treehugger,” 100 plastic sustainability words, made of upcycled #2 plastic milk, water and juice jugs, on view at Highfield Hall & Gardens in Falmouth, Massachusetts till October 30 in the Boston Sculptors Gallery 30th Anniversary exhibition.

HIGHFIELD HALL HOSTS BOSTON SCULPTORS AT 30 IN FALMOUTH

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Exhibit Openings, Exhibits, News, Visual Arts

by Lee Roscoe

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

EXIGENCY ON FULL VIEW: PEOPLE OVER TECHNOLOGY PREVAILS AS ART BASEL 2022 OPENS

// Art Basel Switzerland, Artscope Online, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

Arriving Tuesday morning, unfortunately missing the initial press and VIP preview days at Art Basel 2022 in Basel, Switzerland, I became part of the larger crowd vying for the attention of artists and gallery owners at the revived fair following Covid interruptions and re-schedulings. Art was selling at multiple booths, but, and this is the caveat: the best pieces were selling quickly while those of lesser quality and often merely picking up on jokes of the past languished. The animal covered with bananas recalling an old joke was ignored. I found multiple pieces, however, that made me smile, incorporating bright colors and ingenious forms. Resulting undoubtedly from the Covid prohibitions on traveling, much of the work reflected the artist’s own community and place. From Leonardo Drew’s gathering of stuff from around his home, collaged into a massive work at Galerie Lelong’s booth to … [Read more...] about EXIGENCY ON FULL VIEW: PEOPLE OVER TECHNOLOGY PREVAILS AS ART BASEL 2022 OPENS