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New England's Culture Magazine

Artscope Magazine | January/February 2020

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Visual Arts

SHANE NEUFELD: OTHER WORLD AT ALPHA GALLERY

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Visual Arts

by J. M. Belmont

Two images. One is a photograph of an immaculate kitchen. The design is sparse and clean; the wood of its cabinets is light tan. Everything is linear and the palate is neutral, with the exceptions of a navy fruit bowl and a creamy-mint shaded vase high up on the shelf. The other image is a canvas that is filled with a forest scene that is blurred, abstract. It holds at least a half a dozen shades of green, the trunks of the trees are colored blush, there’s a rich topaz sky between the canopies. The architect of the first and the painter of the second is the same artist, Shane Neufeld, whose show, “Other World,” is exhibiting now at the Alpha Gallery in Boston’s SoWa District. Neufeld is a man of two artistic minds. In one, he works as an architect, based out of Brooklyn, New York. In the other, he is a serious painter, with an eagle-eyed look for landscapes. His firm — L/AND/A … [Read more...] about SHANE NEUFELD: OTHER WORLD AT ALPHA GALLERY

SWEAT AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE THEATER

// Artscope Online, Theatre, Visual Arts

by J. M. Belmont

“Sweat,” Lynn Nottage’s lauded 2015 play, is difficult — in the best possible ways — for two reasons. First is the adulation it garnered following its 2017 transfer from the Public Theater to the Broadway house Studio 54. The play was grasped onto as an answer for all the political uncertainty levied by the election of Donald J. Trump. It was seen, in some cases shallowly, as a “how-to” in understanding the disaffection of Midwestern working class white voters. It won the 2017 Pulitzer for drama. The second difficulty sits beyond the platitudes and awards: “Sweat” is a play about the alienation and distress inflicted on the majority of Americans whose annual income comes in under six figures. It is a small, specific tile that helps to complete an uncomfortable mosaic of similar struggles an incredibly large number of Americans face every day. In “Sweat,” Nottage guides us … [Read more...] about SWEAT AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE THEATER

WIDENING THE SCOPE: ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

// Art Basel Miami Beach, Artscope Online, Visual Arts

by Olivia MacDonald

Artscope Magazine had the pleasure of showcasing our November/December issue to the over 70,000 visitors of Art Basel Miami Beach 2019, an international fair bringing together artists, collectors and gallerists for five days of eating, sleeping and breathing art. For the first time, we had the opportunity of having our own booth in the Magazines sector decorated with a variety of work from East Coast-based Artscope artists, rather than our presence in the collective booth in previous years. Paul Pedulla’s “Beyond the Coral Sidewalk” magnetized guests to the booth with its rich colors and one-point perspective of Ocean Drive, free from cars and tourists. The acrylic painting acted as a window to the outdoors underneath Artscope’s logo on the wall, where trees lined the greenway beside Miami’s iconic pink sidewalks that trail out to endlessness. Pedulla voiced that this painting was … [Read more...] about WIDENING THE SCOPE: ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

Catherine Bertulli in Dressed at Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by J. Fatima Martins

“Dressed,” featuring artists Catherine Bertulli, Jodi Collella, Merril Comeau, Mia Cross, Nancy Grace Horton, and Marky Kauffmann, at the Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University through December 29, is another must see exhibition created by curator Jessica Roscio Ploetz. From the curatorial statement, “Dressed broadly addresses materials, imagery, iconography and memory, each artist experimenting with the fluidity of form while acknowledging gendered constrictions placed on the body. To be “dressed” implies a range of situations and experiences. Dressed is about adornment and identity.” Beyond subject, what is important about this exhibition is that it hosts work that is material and process diverse grounded firmly in and exemplifying contemporary aesthetic trends that are influenced by and continue the blending of maximalist versus minimalist approaches. Beautiful … [Read more...] about Catherine Bertulli in Dressed at Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University

Play on a Play: Cattelan does Beckett

// Art Basel Miami Beach, Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

The most talked about installation of the day at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019, was Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” (2019, banana, duct tape, paper with text instructions) tacked to the wall of Galerie Perrotin’s booth with grey duct tape including instructions for installing it. Bought by Sarah Andelman, founder of recently closed Parisian concept store, Colette, it is accompanied by a certificate along with the banana and duct tape, including instructions for installing it. Publications from the print edition of the New York Post to the online Art Daily announced the trail of this new work from exhibition to sale (for $120,000 on December 4, during the private days of Art Basel). With Andelman saying, “It really reflects our time” reported by the New York Times on December 4, she and we neglect to acknowledge that this makes all of us artists, furthering the egalitarianism of a buyer … [Read more...] about Play on a Play: Cattelan does Beckett

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 & ART WEEK MIAMI DAY TWO: INSPIRED ARTISTS ADDRESS A THREATENED WORLD

// Art Basel Miami Beach, Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

Our second day dawned bright and early on Miami Beach, the morning chill warming up as the day and the dizzying flow of art as we went from one place to another kept the dynamic duo going. It would also hold our first view of the main event, Art Basel Miami 2019, the lollapalooza of art fairs, during its First Choice VIP Preview. Pace Gallery had some great work on display including Fred Wilson’s “Oh! Monstuosa Culpa,” 2013, constructed of Murano glass and light bulbs, that could have been a ringer for Gerhard Richter’s black chandelier painting; an amazing relief sculpture/painting by Loie Hollowell, “Standing in Water,” 2019, oil, acrylic, medium and high density foam on linen over panel; and Lydia Benglis’ “Calypso,” 2017, cast, pigmented polyurethane, looking like a cracked sun that only added to the gothic and sense of impending climatic doom as Venice stands in water and … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 & ART WEEK MIAMI DAY TWO: INSPIRED ARTISTS ADDRESS A THREATENED WORLD