Floor van de Velde got inspiration for her light boxes — featured in her latest exhibition, “Variations on ColorFields,” which opens on November 8 at McIninch Art Gallery on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University, from a Rothko exhibition at the Harvard Art Museum. “The university decided to hang some of Rothko’s panels in a dining room,” she said. “The panels lost the majority of their pigment over the years and they were considered damaged beyond repair. But then the Harvard Museum decided to try to revive the color by using projected light. Most critics and curators were busy discussing whether this method was as reliable or effective as traditional art renovation techniques, but meanwhile it made for a fascinating show that played with notions of color and light. I found myself returning to the show several times and just sitting there enjoying the luminous color … [Read more...] about COLOR FIELDS REVISITED: FLOOR VAN DE VELDE’S RHYTHMIC LIGHT BOXES AT SNHU
Exhibits
A LEGACY WORTH PRESERVING: AN INVALUABLE SECOND LOOK AT JACK WOLFE
While visiting Bridgewater State University’s Wallace L. Anderson Gallery in mid-September, I discovered Jack Wolfe. His work was being featured in “The Promise of Lincoln” exhibition that ran from August 19 through October 4; upon viewing it, I was immediately intrigued and set out to learn more about this artist. I started by talking to curator Jay Block, the associate director of collections and exhibitions at Bridgewater, who told me that Jack Wolfe was once a promising and highly recognized abstract expressionist painter in the mid-1950s in New York City but, he decided to walk away from it all. He believed the art world was too money-driven and morally corrupt. Rene Ricard, in his seminal article, “The Radiant Child,” in the December 1981 issue of “Artforum” wrote, “Nobody wants to miss the Van Gogh boat. The idea of the unrecognized genius slaving away in a garret is … [Read more...] about A LEGACY WORTH PRESERVING: AN INVALUABLE SECOND LOOK AT JACK WOLFE
HEROIC ARTIFACTS: SCULPTOR JOHN MAGNAN BRINGS MARVEL TO LIFE
Like many others, sculptor John Magnan’s initial foray into the world of Marvel Comics was through the series of movies collectively known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). When he went to see 2011’s “Thor” because of a longstanding interest in Norse mythology, Magnan jokingly admits to developing a bit of a “man crush” on the film’s star, Chris Hemsworth. More importantly, he had a fascination with a particular object: Thor’s hammer. First, a little background: in August 1962, in “Journey into Mystery #83,” Marvel Comics introduced a superhero based on the thunder god of Norse myth. As reimagined by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Mighty Thor was lame Dr. Donald Blake, who when he tapped his walking stick against the ground, was transformed into a muscle-bound, long blond-haired do-gooder. In the comics, Thor’s hammer is a fierce weapon of elemental power capable of drawing … [Read more...] about HEROIC ARTIFACTS: SCULPTOR JOHN MAGNAN BRINGS MARVEL TO LIFE
COMIC RELIEF: THE ART OF THE SUPERHERO AT ADDISON
The notion of what is iconically American may change over time, but two seemingly timeless American icons, actual superheroes made popular by decades at the top of popular culture in comic books, on television shows and feature films, are the leaders of the infamous Justice League — Superman and Wonder Woman. But the intriguing exhibition, “Men of Steel, Women of Wonder,” on view at Addison Gallery of American Art through January 5, invites us to consider and then reconsider these favorites through modern and varied lenses. Organized by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, the exhibition showcases 70-plus paintings, photographs, mixed media, interactive, film/video and 3D works by artists varying in age, race and country of origin. Superman was first seen in comics in 1938 as an alien who draws power from the sun. In addition to the highest strength, … [Read more...] about COMIC RELIEF: THE ART OF THE SUPERHERO AT ADDISON
PLANNED ADOLESCENCE: CONNECTING THE DOTS OF CHILDHOOD IN NEWPORT
Exhibition titles are crafted to encapsulate evocative meaning as descriptors of content. Newport Art Museum’s appropriation of Bob Dylan’s song title of “Forever Young” is intended to maximize the sensory impact of a show about childhood and adolescence. “Forever Young: Representations of Childhood and Adolescence,” the museum’s current exhibition, is a massive survey across two buildings and shown in multiple gallery rooms. It is a comprehensive exploration perhaps with too much included, but the museum has a large board of trustees with diverse interests and the show can be seen in deference to that fact by relating a something-for-everyone strategy. A suggestion for audiences to rein in the exhibit visually is to start at the museum’s John N.A. Griswold House, then step outside for a break before continuing onward for the rest of the show next door in the museum’s Cushing/Morris … [Read more...] about PLANNED ADOLESCENCE: CONNECTING THE DOTS OF CHILDHOOD IN NEWPORT
PORTRAIT PERFECT: A FACE TO FACE REVIEW IN NEW BRITAIN
Artists. We know their work, but we don’t always know their faces. In “For America: Paintings from the National Academy of Design,” on view through January 20 at the New Britain Museum of American Art, over 90 paintings spanning from 1809 to the present featuring the artist’s face in self-portrait form or as portraits by other artists are presented with examples of their representative work, personalizing what the artist makes as art, with who they are as people. The exhibition was organized to highlight the National Academy of Design’s (NAD) expansive collection, and to remind audiences of the Academy’s fundamental mission and educational goals as a teaching and collecting institution that is a “forward-thinking” place to train artists in the best academic practices and promote and exhibit their work. What’s important is the historical fact that from 1839 to 1994, the NAD required … [Read more...] about PORTRAIT PERFECT: A FACE TO FACE REVIEW IN NEW BRITAIN