By Cole Tracy Chestnut Hill, MA - Arriving at Pine Minor was a shock, finding such a beautiful place in proximity to Boston, I felt like a man in the desert arriving upon an oasis, after my long bike over. The Quaint campus was very tight-knit; the security guard was surprised and inquisitive at finding an outsider. In the central hall of the library is a small gallery space; the art is not representative of the small peaceful place surrounding it. Within this utopian-esque campus is an art show addressing very real topics: Chawky Frenn's "We The People" is based around social justice, the point he is getting across is honest and bold, the issues addressed seem more pertinent than the art itself. With over a page long artist's statement declaring what the painter's political viewpoint is and his desire to fix the broken system. He addresses the disappearance of Democracy within … [Read more...] about Chawky Frenn’s “We The People” at The Hess Gallery
Visual Arts
Artifact and Underlying Harmony
Elif Soyer: Artifact Paul Andrade: Underlying Harmony At the Kingston Gallery By Cole Tracy Boston, MA- The current exhibitions at the Kingston Gallery are certain to catch some intrigued glances. Both artists have a strange, and fitting harmony between them. Elif Soyer’s body of work, “Artifact,” is an intensely personal exploration of how the artist navigates through the everyday. By using cement, she calls to mind all sorts of commonplace objects, through her use of texture and items exploding out of masses of grey. A fist is the only recurrent image throughout the work, reminding us of the artist’s hand, and our relationship to a material that surrounds us through much of our life. The viewer also questions preconceived notions about art; it’s not everyday that one sees hanging blocks of cement in a gallery space. They stand on their own successfully, and reward … [Read more...] about Artifact and Underlying Harmony
Cornered: Marjorie Kaye
By Brian Goslow Boston, MA - Along with being the director of Galatea Fine Art, in Boston’s SoWa District, Marjorie Kaye is an artist whose organic 3-D layered wooden sculptures are immediately identifiable as hers. Her latest collection of work, “The Magnetic Divine,” is now on view at the Galatea, sharing the gallery with Hope Ricciardi’s “Oya” and Joe Caruso’s “Postcards” exhibitions. Artscope’s managing editor, Brian Goslow, exchanged questions with Kaye about balancing her art career with running her own gallery, the work in her show and how it’s complemented by Ricciardi and Caruso, what it’s like to watch and listen to potential buyers as they look at your work, and when she expects to take a break. HOW DIFFERENT IS IT PLANNING FOR YOUR OWN SHOW COMPARED TO THAT OF OTHER ARTISTS, ESPECIALLY AT YOUR OWN GALLERY? Setting up the show is really referring … [Read more...] about Cornered: Marjorie Kaye
Conversation with the Curator: Winogrand’s Women are Beautiful at Worcester Art Museum
By Chad Sirois Worcester, MA - Interest in the work of Garry Winogrand has had a resurgence of late. With an exhibition of unpublished photographs at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) (March-June, 2013), inclusion in a street photography exhibition at the Smith College of Art Museum (July-October 6, 2013), and an exhibition of his portfolio “Women are Beautiful” (August-November 10, 2013) now on view at the Worcester Art Museum, it is hard for the museum-going public to avoid his complex and ambiguous imagery. Heavily influenced by the likes of Robert Frank and Henri Carter-Bresson, Winogrand’s brand of photography is often open to speculation, interpretation, and criticism. Much like fellow street photographer Diane Arbus, his work is routinely marred as exploitative — particularly his portfolio, “Women are Beautiful.” I sat down with Nancy Burns, Curator of … [Read more...] about Conversation with the Curator: Winogrand’s Women are Beautiful at Worcester Art Museum
The Center for Contemporary Printmaking’s Miniature Print Exhibition
By Newlin Tillotson Norwalk, CT - With a magnifying glass in hand, I visited the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, Connecticut to explore an exhibition of mini prints. The 9th Biennial International Printmaking Exhibition features more than 800 miniature prints compiled from artists around the world. Lining the walls of the Grace Ross Shanley Gallery is more than 225 prints of various shapes and small sizes. There are woodcut prints, digital prints, dry point with chine collé prints, lithographs and legion paper prints — just to name a few. In addition to the prints hanging in the gallery space, loose-leaf binders around the center include more than 600 mini prints. With so much to take in, it is difficult to find a starting point. I started in the back with some colorful prints by Eugenie Lewalski Berg. “Roller Blades” was one of Berg’s woodcut prints … [Read more...] about The Center for Contemporary Printmaking’s Miniature Print Exhibition
Mystic as a Muse: 100 Years of Inspiration at the Mystic Arts Center
By Newlin Tillotson Mystic, CT- The Mystic Arts Center in the seaport town of Mystic, Conn. has had a long-standing history as an influential home for the arts. Its newest exhibition, “Mystic as a Muse: 100 Years of Inspiration,” explores a history that began with founder Charles Harold Davis, a landscape painter and impressionist, who settled along the Mystic River to capture the area’s marine beauty. The exhibit features work from the past 100 years up to the present day. The center perches on the edge of Mystic River and is just around the corner from the downtown shops. There are small boutiques, independent art galleries and jewelry stores, including The Art Garden, where visitors can find beads from around the world and a friendly pug named “Buddha.” At the top of the street, adjacent to the arts center, is the famous Mystic Pizza, the place Julia Roberts worked at as “Daisy” … [Read more...] about Mystic as a Muse: 100 Years of Inspiration at the Mystic Arts Center