As we get settled into 2024 after the onslaught of global conflict, pandemic fluctuations and the unique brand of Futurism or dystopia that we live every day, many artists pro- vide a balm for this time. Appropriated from ‘Eco-Mysticism for Apocalyptic Times,’ a blog about an enchanted and care- based approach to seeing and understanding the environ- ment around us, art for apocalyptic times recontextualizes and repositions art as a beacon that brings us together during hardship, contains answers for some of our deepest questions and provides a source of respite. Here’s a list of artists that speak to the current moment, reflect dreams and nightmares, and envision a better world. CURTIS “CURTISTIC” WILLIAMS Williams builds a world of possibilities for Black people to thrive through intergalactic connections, dinosaurs, hiero- glyphics and more. He’s interested in dystopianism, … [Read more...] about NEW WAYS TO SEE THE WORLD: FIVE ARTISTS FOR APOCALYPTIC TIMES

Born in Ghana in 1990, Emmanuel Manu Opoku brings a fresh touch to experimental art styles from the past with his paintings powered by vibrant colors from his homeland and sculptures that give new use to everyday items from here in the United States.  It’s a great combination. “When I studied art in Ghana, I was exposed to African art and global art concepts focusing on western art prac- tices,” Opoku said. “My work therefore currently involves Ghanaian cultural elements and draws inspiration from western art.” Opoku benefited from early support and feedback for his art. “At a younger age, my parents used to show my drawings to friends and family that visited our home,” he explained. “The fascinations and compliments by my high school visual art teachers made me decide to be an artist. I then started to covet success in the field of art.” He explored experimental painting in Ghana, … [Read more...] about IN THE PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING: OPOKU BRINGS GHANA’S COLORFUL CULTURE TO WORCESTER

How refreshing to review the artwork of someone who actually knows how to draw and is not afraid to use that skill to express strong emotions and political opinions! Francisco Goya did it! Pablo Picasso did it! Theodore Gericault did it! Nomi Silverman does it! Silverman’s exhibition, “Palpable Process,” at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, is a small sampling of her artistic output which includes sculpture, painting, pastels and bookmaking, in addition to her prints. The theme uniting all Silverman’s works is an exploration of the stress of modern life and the extreme stress of peoples’ migrations from one locale to another. She uses the human figure again and again to depict this stress. For her, immigration is embedded in her personal history. She writes, “My family, like so many others, left the home they knew in Minsk, Belarus for a better life in America, the land of … [Read more...] about EXPLORING MODERN LIFE STRESS: NOMI SILVERMAN’S PALPABLE PROGRESS AT CCP NORWALK

Carl Austin Hyatt is calling us “Westerners” to a paradigm shift. Some might call it a dramatic point of departure for our culture. Others would call it an “it’s about time” movement. Whatever you choose to call it, Hyatt lives by it, feels it in his bones, believes in it. What is “it?” The connection to nature — that nature is alive, conscious, playful. But it’s more than that. Hyatt says nature speaks to him. Rocks speak to him. Even salt. Hyatt recalled that when he was still in his teens, he began having “mystical” experiences in nature. These experiences came with a sense of deep conviction about certain realities/presences, Hyatt said. This was also the beginning of seeing the blind spots, indeed errors, he says, of our dominant technological, modern Western culture. A longtime admirer of Thoreau, he longed for connection to place. He eventually found that on the seacoast of New … [Read more...] about LANDSCAPES, PERU AND SALT PILES: NATURE’S MYSTICAL FEATURES POWER HYATT PHOTOGRAPHS

Joseph Grigely’s exhibition, “In What Way Wham? (White Noise and Other Works, 1996-2023),” on view at MASS MoCA through March, is a visual conversation about deafness. The titular pieces, “White Noise (monochrome),” 2000, and “White Noise (polychrome),” 2023, are a pair of cylindrical rooms the insides of which are plastered with handwritten notes on white and colorful paper, respectively. The conversations are fragmented, some in neat lettering and some quickly scrawled. The papers vary from stained napkins to notebook paper and the backs of paperwork. Visitors who hadn’t chosen to read the welcoming blurb tried to make sense of the fragments of writing, trying to eke out a narrative or overarching message from the scattered phrases but mostly remaining confused. The words in “White Noise” are not a logic puzzle to be solved or a book to be read chapter by chapter. They are, as the … [Read more...] about SEARCHING FOR NEW BUZZWORDS AT MASS MOCA: JOSEPH GRIGELY SEEKS A GREATER THEME OF COMMUNICATION

Tinja Ruusuvuori is an international artist currently in her Second Year Fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center (FAWC), Provincetown, a renowned residency with seven months of uninterrupted time, housing, studio and a stipend. Her first year as a Fellow, 2022-2023, had the joys and complexities of being in a new place. Returning this past October for another seven months, she found herself in a different scenario. “I had friends, knew the town, people recognized me on the main street and said, ‘Welcome home!’” Born in Tampere, Finland’s third-largest city, Ruusuvuori grew up on a small island with 40 residents, part of an archipelago boasting 40,000 islands and skerries. Living in Provincetown, which is surrounded on three sides by water, is familiar to her with the presence of the sea. As a filmmaker (her work has been shown at the Visions du Réel, Toronto Hot Docs, and Camden … [Read more...] about RADIO OF UNCERTAINTY: TINJA RUUSUVUORI SOUND ECHOES AT PROVINCETOWN’S FAWC