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New England's Culture Magazine

Artscope Magazine | January/February 2020

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Visual Arts

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 DAY ONE: A SHOW FOR THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION

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

by NANCY NESVET

Kaveh Mojtabai, Nancy Nesvet and friends escaped the snowy north to land in chilly South Beach for a week of art gazing, talks and shows at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019 and the shows of Miami Art Week 2019. “The Art of Listening: Under Water,” sponsored by Audemars Piquet, maker of fine watches, featured the sound installation of Jana Winderen, a Norwegian environmental artist. In a large circular space, the quiet crowd listened intently for the sounds underneath Arctic Waters, disturbed by the dripping noise of glaciers melting and their gradual cracking. Fish swimming underwater, inundated by crashing ice into the Barents Sea, juxtaposed the sounds of underwater life recorded in the Miami Harbor, underlining the diverse places suffering the effects of climate change. The absence of visual stimuli only led to a more concentrated listening experience never experienced before, and a … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 DAY ONE: A SHOW FOR THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION

DENIS O’HARE SHINES IN “AN ILIAD” ON EMERSON MAJESTIC’S ORCHARD STAGE

// Artscope Online, Theatre, Visual Arts

by James Foritano

In a near faultless production, actor and mime Denis O’Hare enacts, in a solo performance, the agony and ecstasy of Homer’s ancient epic of the Trojan War in a modern condensed and critiqued version on the Emerson Paramount Center’s Robert J. Orchard Stage. Homer’s epic poem, a recasting of oral fragments, come down through the ages to be, finally, written in the new Greek alphabet, a celebration and questioning of the fury of war and the heroic tradition that seems to perpetuate war beyond any rational goal. The genius of “An Iliad" lies in its modern focus on the futility of war whereas with Homer both the celebration and the questioning seem about equal. This was, after all, the heroic age of Greece, when the favorite sport of kings and heroes — and Gods, war, could be questioned only so far. O’Hare, though, is a Homer come down through the ages to present-day Boston. He … [Read more...] about DENIS O’HARE SHINES IN “AN ILIAD” ON EMERSON MAJESTIC’S ORCHARD STAGE

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 PREVIEW

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

by Nancy Nesvet

Artscope Magazine’s presence at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019 is not the only enterprise growing there this year. Our growth to a booth in the magazine sector mimics that of the international art fair itself. Its latest addition is Meridians, the new sector located in the Grand Ballroom of the Miami Beach Convention Center, Art Basel Miami Beach’s home. With 33 monumental works inside and one outside, Meridians was created to house large-scale installations that Art Basel’s website admits, “can only fit in a museum or art warehouse.” Having reported for Artscope on Art Basels in Miami Beach and Switzerland for the past three years, on the last two Venice Biennales and the Cleveland Biennale, I agree that most collectors do not have room for these large works, so they must go to museums or art warehouses awaiting new owners, governmental or private. Because art collectors and museum … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2019 PREVIEW

FLORALISM AT COASTAL CONTEMPORARY GALLERY

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Suzanne Volmer

Barbara Owen, Alicia Renadette and Kate Blacklock are the artists included in “Floralism” at Newport’s Coastal Contemporary Gallery. Continuing through December 8, the exhibition is a clever exploration of botanical excess and blooming. Gallerist Shari Wechsler approaches the topic as a feminist platform acknowledging nature’s ability to flourish and prevail. As a whole, the content includes fascinating statement art that is also certainly intimate enough for audiences to take home. For client convenience, Wechsler offers the option of purchasing with Art Money that advertises itself as a vehicle to “buy now, pay later.” Before the exhibition, I made a point to visit Alicia Renadette’s studio at Atlantic Mills in Providence specifically to watch the artist and art dealer select for “Floralism.” It was impossible not to notice the volume of materials organized and ready to be … [Read more...] about FLORALISM AT COASTAL CONTEMPORARY GALLERY

DISCOVERING KITH + KIN: FRIENDS AND MENTORS OF LESLEY MFA

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Olivia MacDonald

An art mentor is someone who motivates and inspires a fellow artist to experiment, to sketch out their goals on an empty canvas, painting their dream lives in all colors. Their creative minds blend together and connect and at Lesley University, the Art and Design school is celebrating its 30th graduating class from its low-residency Visual Arts MFA program, where mentors and visiting lecturers and faculty all encompass this encouraging, patient and driven atmosphere of artistic vision. The work of these advisors, the very people who provided creative sparks in Lesley’s students, is now exhibited in a show titled “Kith + Kin: Friends and Mentors of Lesley MFA.” Upon entering the wide-open gallery with wall-length windows overlooking bustling Mass Ave., guests are immediately welcomed into a serene space. Along the back wall, a pear-shaped sculpture by Candice Ivy titled “Honey From … [Read more...] about DISCOVERING KITH + KIN: FRIENDS AND MENTORS OF LESLEY MFA

Revealing the Will of Water: Andy Goldsworthy’s Watershed Opens at deCordova

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Meredith Cutler

It’s one of the first truly brisk days of autumn at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. The sun sparkles as icy gusts of wind drive fallen leaves into wild, calligraphic trajectories across Waleska’s Way. The ADA-compliant, accessible stone path leads down the park’s pond-side hill to Andy Goldsworthy’s Watershed, a permanent, site-specific installation which opened to the public on November 9, 2019. The acclaimed British land artist has made his mark on this planet by working directly with natural materials, natural forces and the landscape – creating works that challenge the viewer’s perspective on nature, time, weather and permanence. Built partially embedded into the hill just below the deCordova’s rear parking lot, the functionality and engineering behind Watershed is, like many natural processes, hidden from view. It’s a modest space – a shed true to its name and from … [Read more...] about Revealing the Will of Water: Andy Goldsworthy’s Watershed Opens at deCordova