Traditionally, the Cambridge Art Association’s annual Emerging Artists Exhibition is an invaluable way for new artists to introduce themselves to the Greater Boston art community and for galleries and collectors to see what new and innovative work is being created by New England-based emerging artists of all ages. This year’s exhibition was juried by painter Erika b Hess, creator of the “I Like Your Work” podcast, now in its third season, that is dedicated to “supporting artists, creating community and providing opportunities and resources” with Hess interviewing creatives, visiting them in their studios and with the reopening of galleries and museums, exploring exhibitions. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about RE-EMERGING TOGETHER: ARTISTS, AUDIENCE REUNITES AT CAMBRIDGE ART ASSOCIATION

For Americans of European descent, the deep dive to understand the First Peoples of the Americas demands a deeper sense of history and time than we live with day-to-day. Jeffrey Gibson’s hollow, 21-foot-high ziggurat, encamped for the year on a grassy plain below the castle at the deCordova Museum, is here to acquaint us with our ignorance. A nearby sign pronounces a truth dating from 1492: “You are Standing on Native Land.” Gibson, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee, has chosen the shape of a stepped pyramid to quote the giant, 100-foot-high earthwork hand-built by his Indigenous forebears at Cahokia, in what is now southern Illinois. This great city of the ancient Mississippian civilization scattered along the great river’s Midwestern tributaries, was larger than the Paris of its time. It hosted ritual gatherings, collected tribute and staged … [Read more...] about A GENEROUS PATTERN OF COLLABORATION: GIBSON USES DECORDOVA EXHIBITION AS LIVING BILLBOARD

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.” — C.S. Lewis, Oxford scholar, theologian and author of many books, including “The Chronicles of Narnia.” We’re all tired of the intro to articles, news releases, etc., that begin with, “In this unprecedented time as we cope with Covid...” We’ve lived with it for a year and a half. Everyone — worldwide — has been affected. Many with tragic results. Loss of health. Loss of loved ones. Loss of relationships. But, I’m going to bring you some good news. Artists are adaptable people. Anita Loomis, her gallery and her family are prime examples. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about KITTERY’S NEWEST TOURIST STOP: LOOMIS GALLERY SUPPORTS, EXPOSES, REGION’S ARTISTS

I confess that I am a huge fan of Richard Neal. His powerful and provocative works always draw me into their theatrical mystery. (Indeed, I’d like to create a new label for his work: dynamic existential constructionist art! Art Deca.) The “Jones House” exhibit at Miller White Gallery shows Neal’s quintessential uniqueness. From constructed pieces, to pieces about construction, moderately abstract to discernibly figural, the work uses many means and methods. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about NO PLACE LIKE HOME: RICHARD NEAL’S COMFORT ZONE AT MILLER WHITE

At the entrance to the exhibition space devoted to “Uncommon Threads: The Works of Ruth E. Carter,” a clip plays on a continuous loop. It features the Springfield, Massachusetts-born costume designer accepting the 2019 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for “Black Panther,” the first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to star a Black lead, the late Chadwick Boseman. The thrice Academy Award nominated Carter —previously for Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” in 1992 and Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad” in 1997 — gave a brief and gracious shout-out to Lee (who jump started her film career in 1988 with “School Daze,” and to “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler) before nodding to her mother, who she called her superhero. (To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.) … [Read more...] about COSTUME CHANGE: RUTH E. CARTER’S UNCOMMON THREADS IN NEW BEDFORD