By Kristin Wissler Walking into the Bromfield Gallery, one is greeted by six paintings, each one different from the last. Indeed, the only things these works seem to have in common are the fact that they’re paintings, and the fact that they were all created by Linda Klein. Her exhibition, “Signs and Wonders,” has no central theme or idea surrounding the paintings. From “Space Kettle,” which depicts a teakettle soaring through the inky blackness of space, to “The Sleep of Reason Creates Monsters,” a political piece centered around a wolf-like Donald Trump and his sheep-like supporters, each work is central only to itself, and could easily stand alone. Klein intended this to be so. “I decided not to do a series,” she said, adding, “I don’t need to be in one frame of mind while I’m working.” Instead of creating a central theme and working from there, she took inspiration from … [Read more...] about Linda Klein: Signs and Wonders at the Bromfield Gallery
Visual Arts
Drawing Stories: Four Illustrators for Kids at Hess Gallery
By Kristin Wissler The Hess Gallery at Pine Manor College is displaying a different sort of exhibition this summer. Instead of serious fine art pieces, whimsical pictures decorate the walls. “Drawing Stories,” displays the artwork of four children’s book illustrators: Priscilla Alpaugh, Wayne Geehan, Ed Shems and Toby Williams. Their fun, yet technically beautiful pictures show that drawing for children is an art all its own. Priscilla Alpaugh’s pieces are from the children’s book Hold This!, a story by Carolyn Cory Scoppettone about a little girl finding little treasures to hold as she walks through a forest with her father. The sketchy lines of Alpaugh’s pencil work give a sense of playfulness to her pieces. The colors are light and gentle on the eyes, creating a relaxing mood within the work. The endpaper art of Hold This! is particularly sweet, showing several woodland animals … [Read more...] about Drawing Stories: Four Illustrators for Kids at Hess Gallery
Sand T Kalloch: Mysticism in Simplicity at Lanoue Gallery
by Meghan Richter Reductive abstraction is at play with Sand T Kalloch’s new works. She has focused her style around a minimalistic approach to color, using only one in each piece. Each piece shares a simplistic color scheme, and the same simple elements to capture geometric beauty. She’s been working in this style since 2007, and has broken it down to, “point, line and surface.” Each monochromatic piece alludes to different shades by proximity of one graphite line to another — the denser the lines, the darker the shade would appear. Being that darkness is the absence of color, Kalloch mimics the use of lighter shades by layering resin, and playing with dots of resin that adhere to no particular pattern. These resin droplets catch light like raindrops on a window, and add dimension to each piece. These, and some of her newer work, is on display through the end of July at Lanoue … [Read more...] about Sand T Kalloch: Mysticism in Simplicity at Lanoue Gallery
May/June 2016 Centerfold
Artscope 62, May/June 2016 art: Awakened artist: Johniene Papandreas medium: self-portrait, casein on muslin, 27” x 74,” 2005. A face is every experience of one’s life made manifest. The lines, the tilt of the head, and, oh … the eyes … the portals through which I enter the inner life of my subject and open the window into their emotional world. It’s about reading between the lines … tuning in to the unspoken … revealing a moment thought private, unobserved, when the guard is down. That exquisite moment before the retreat … the moment before the walls go up. To see more of Papandreas's work, visit www.voy-art.com. Judges: ELENA RUOCCO BACHRACH, Executive Director, Newburyport Art Association / IAN TORNEY, Visual Arts Chair and Nesto Gallery Executive Director, Milton Academy / NELLA LUSH, President of National Association of … [Read more...] about May/June 2016 Centerfold
A Contemporary Showcase
CMCA Gets a Fresh Start by Eric J. Taubert Maine has tendrils. They reach out across the country and twist in intertwined curlicues around the globe. They’re tendrils of culture, influence, business, skill, notoriety and creativity. Oftentimes they’re not easy to see, until a few of them spiral together into something more organized and the root system is revealed. This is exactly what’s happening right now at the brand new Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) facility in Rockland. The CMCA has been supporting, exhibiting and sustaining arts and artists with ties to Maine since its founding in 1952. The story of this organization’s journey — from its beginnings as a scrappy upstart presenting shows in barns and backrooms to evolving into the leading contemporary arts organization in the state of Maine — is almost as unlikely as it is inspirational. “In 1967,” … [Read more...] about A Contemporary Showcase
Life in the Fast Lane
Eileen Myles at Schoolhouse by Brian Goslow Eileen Myles is always busy. Since last fall’s publication of “I Must Be Living Twice:New and Selected Poems 1975-2014” (Ecco), she’s been featured in The New York Times T Magazine (“The Poet Idolized by a New Generation of Feminists”); had the audio version of her 1994 breakthrough autobiographical novel “Chelsea Girls” released; flown to New Zealand, Australia and England for a series of readings and put out “Aloha/irish trees,” a record of new and old poems (Fonograf Editions). Now she’s about to have her first art exhibition, featuring 20 photographs culled from the nearly 3,000 images she’s posted on Instagram. The show is the idea of longtime friend and Schoolhouse Gallery director/owner Mike Carroll, who said Myles was an early adaptor to Twitter and Instagram at a time when many people were skeptical about … [Read more...] about Life in the Fast Lane