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Artscope Magazine | September/October 2021

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Visual Arts

SLOW AND STEADY AT VOLTA AS ARTISTS SHARE THEIR VISIONS OF A BETTER AND BRIGHTER WORLD

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

With 69 galleries representing five continents, 50 cities and 40 nations, VOLTA Basel 2021 is showing beautiful work. Evoking nature in several exhibitions, it satisfies my and probably your craving for natural beauty amid the emptiness and depressing devastation of cities during Covid. At Charlie Smith, London, artist Dominic Shepherd paintings are inspired by fairy tales, including “Hedge Witch-2021” and “The King is Dead, Long Live the King 2.” As we have all learned, fairy tales can be both delightful and frightening and Shepherd’s paintings attest to that duality. Iranian artists at three galleries new to VOLTA this year, Bavon Gallery, Mohlsen Gallery and Saradipour Gallery (SARAI), repeat the natural beauty motif. At Saradipour Art (SARAI), Mahdieh Abolhasen’s layers of land and history interacting in her grey, drawings encourage a slow, contemplative connection with … [Read more...] about SLOW AND STEADY AT VOLTA AS ARTISTS SHARE THEIR VISIONS OF A BETTER AND BRIGHTER WORLD

THE ART — IS IT CHANGING? LIGON’S STRANGER A PREVIEW OF BASEL 2021’S PROMISE

// Art Basel Switzerland, Artscope Online, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

The art world has changed, but it is difficult to determine how or how much. The mainstays are still pursuing age-old projects but new forms are appearing in all the fairs currently in Zurich and Basel. The prelude, (with credit to Kaveh Mojtabai for the musical reference) to the fairs at Basel were an hour away by train or car, in Zurich, affording a much smaller venue for galleries often exhibiting at Zurich Art Weekend and Art Basel. Hauser and Wirth’s exhibit at the just ended Zurich Art Fair was exemplary. Glenn Ligon’s “First Contact” large scale diptych from his Stranger Series begun in 1997, printing out excerpts from James Baldwin’s 1953 essay, “A Stranger in the Village,” is relevant not only to the experience of a Black man encountered by villagers who have never seen a Black man before, but also to the present world, where we encounter those different from us. Taking up an … [Read more...] about THE ART — IS IT CHANGING? LIGON’S STRANGER A PREVIEW OF BASEL 2021’S PROMISE

A SENSE OF PLACE: NASHOBA VALLEY ARTISTS & HISTORICAL LEGACY CELEBRATED IN GROTON

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Joni Parker-Roach

There are certain locations around the world that have always attracted artists, and Groton, in the heart of Massachusetts’ Nashoba Valley, is one. The former home of Edmund Tarbell of the Boston School, who fell in love with the landscape; Mary Minifie, who follows in his footsteps; and Paul Matisse, whose Kalliroscope Gallery, in a repurposed old church, is a focal point of Groton’s local art and music scene. The work of these three and more than 20 other area artists will be on display through October 31 in “Sense of Place,” with a celebratory reception at The Groton Inn this Sunday, September 26, from 2-5 p.m. The Inn is also home to two J. D. Poor murals and a working gallery, the NOA Gallery at The Groton Inn, featuring 60 rotating works by New England artists. The exhibit was the idea of Bobbie Spiegelman, former President of the Groton History Center, whose goal was “to … [Read more...] about A SENSE OF PLACE: NASHOBA VALLEY ARTISTS & HISTORICAL LEGACY CELEBRATED IN GROTON

A ‘HOPSCOTCH’ SHARING OF EMOTIONS BRING VIEWERS TOGETHER AT GALATEA FINE ART

// Artscope Online, Theatre, Visual Arts

by Jack Lynch

With the world in an unusual era with society changing rapidly in regards to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is calming to have a means of expressing one’s emotions regarding these events. It is also calming to view something that perfectly surmises the emotions that people share with the work’s creator regarding these events. The artists on view this September in three exhibitions at the Galatea Fine Art gallery, located in Boston’s SoWa District, have used their art as a means of expressing the different emotions regarding society's current need for its citizens to distance themselves from each other. Emotions in regards to the divided climate of today’s society are primarily shown in Jo-Ann Boback’s “An Enigma,” an oil/mixed media on canvas piece work that uses graffiti-like markings to depict two figures next to each other. This piece, and the rest of Boback’s work, is … [Read more...] about A ‘HOPSCOTCH’ SHARING OF EMOTIONS BRING VIEWERS TOGETHER AT GALATEA FINE ART

FOR COMIC AND GRAPHIC ARTISTS, 2021 BOSTON FAN EXPO WAS A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THEIR AUDIENCE

// Artscope Online, Community, Visual Arts

by Jack Lynch

The 2021 Boston FAN EXPO took place from September 3-5 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. During that time, I met with many different comic book artists, both famous and up-and-coming, but all experienced. The most exciting part of this experience was watching one of the Expo’s sketch duels. These events are when three well-known comic book artists who are special guests at the expo all draw the same idea given to them by members of the audience and show their finished work at the end. The ideas given to the artists from members of the audience are generally famous comic book characters performing a specific action. During these events, the artists answer questions from the crowd on their experience in and thoughts on the comic book creating industry while working on illustrating the idea given to them. At the end of the event, a raffle is held to decide which … [Read more...] about FOR COMIC AND GRAPHIC ARTISTS, 2021 BOSTON FAN EXPO WAS A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THEIR AUDIENCE

OUR SHARED HUMANITY: AMY FORD’S IN RELATIONSHIP EXHIBITION AT MCLAUGHLIN-HILLS BARN GALLERY

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Linda Chestney

When you think “portrait artist” and the likes of Leonardo da Vinci (“The Mona Lisa”) or Rembrandt (“Self Portrait”) surface, you’re way off base. If you think Vincent Van Gogh (“Self-portrait in Straw Hat”), you’re getting closer. If you think Gustav Klimt (“Portrait of Adele Block Bauer”) you’re staying on track. But when you say “portrait painting” in the context of Seacoast (New Hampshire/Maine) artist Amy Ford, you need to capture an artistic expression more like Chuck Close (pixelated collages) or Picasso (Cubism and fragmentation). And yet, Amy Ford is none of these. She exudes her own poetic essence via her canvases and boards. Ford’s formal training began in the studio of Italian artist, Silvestro Pistolesi, where he instilled the classical Italian sensibilities and discipline so apparent in his work, and early on reflected in Ford’s work. And while Ford immersed herself in … [Read more...] about OUR SHARED HUMANITY: AMY FORD’S IN RELATIONSHIP EXHIBITION AT MCLAUGHLIN-HILLS BARN GALLERY