Dip Into The Mad River Valley Art Flood by Alexandra Tursi If you have skied Vermont, or peeped at the glory of fall foliage, or even sailed Lake Champlain in summer, you know that Vermont is a four-season smorgasbord of cultural, social and recreational activities. However, you might be surprised to learn that one of Vermont’s best ski towns also boasts its best summer arts event: the Vermont Festival of the Arts in Waitsfield, now in its 17th season. WHAT TO SEE Throughout August, the Festival will host more than 120 arts events. Yes, that many. Included are gallery exhibitions, musical and theatrical performances, workshops both to learn and to observe, as well as culinary extravaganzas. Local and international artists of all flavors will be on show. The signature event is the Big Red Barn Art Show, featuring works by more than 30 Valley artists. Other standout … [Read more...] about 31 Days Of Art
July/August 2014
Point/Counterpoint
Hera Explores The Social Landscape by Suzanne Volmer Hera Gallery was founded in an endeavor to raise consciousness, particularly through creating exhibition opportunities for women. In forwarding a feminist agenda, and most recently providing exhibition exposure for all genders, it has developed a reputation for exploring issues aimed at sparking social awareness. On view through July 19, the twin billing of “Self Portraits: Under My Skin” by Amanda Swain Bingham and “Old World” by Viera Levitt are solo photography exhibitions paired side- by-side in the gallery’s ground level, bright-white loft environment in an old factory building in the center of Wakefield, RI. Swain and Levitt ply separate visual vocabularies in photography, but they both show a rich and varied medium in their work, which is displayed in counterpoint. If considered together, these two … [Read more...] about Point/Counterpoint
Midcoast Connecticut Turns On The Charm
From Old Lyme To Guilford by Kristin Nord With the advent of trolley service from New Haven running eastward to Branford, Clinton and Old Lyme in the early part of the 20th century, the Connecticut shore- line became accessible seemingly overnight. Among the visitors flocking to the state’s midcoast region were artists seeking to recreate the colony experience so many had encountered in Europe. FIRST STOP: OLD LYME Leaders in the American Tonalist and Impressionist movements, Henry Ward Ranger, Childe Hassam and Willard Metcalf among them, fell under the spell of Old Lyme. Even today, it’s still impossible not to be charmed by the architecture and scenery served up in this little town, which includes the same midcoast light and lush views of the Lieutenant River that drew artists to Miss Griswold’s Boarding House so many years ago. This summer, on July 25 and 26, the … [Read more...] about Midcoast Connecticut Turns On The Charm
Passionate Pursuits
Thorne-Sagendorph: Gallery Of The People by Greg Morell As I traveled out to the quiet south- western corner of New Hampshire for my first visit to the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery (aka “The Thorne”) at Keene State College, I never expected to encounter the fourth dimension, but that is exactly what transpired through my viewing of the works of Hans Schepker, part of its current “Passionate Pursuits” exhibition. Always seeking new ways to creatively involve the university and regional community, gallery director Maureen Ahern came up with the idea of enticing Keene State alumni, faculty and students, along with members of the regional community, to bring to the gallery objects that illustrated their personal passions. In theory this was an interesting challenge. The field was wide open. I expected an eclectic collection of mementos, artifacts and … [Read more...] about Passionate Pursuits
P-Town
A Conversation About Provincetown Galleries by Laura Shabott Provincetown, a renowned arts colony, is a safe harbor for diversity, not just for lifestyle choices, but also as a place where artists of all mediums exhibit their works. Today, there are well over 50 galleries within three miles on its two main streets, Commercial and Bradford. It’s a stunning number of venues in such a small town, giving the art scene an urban sensibility, especially on a Friday night. The range of quality is wide; abominations, mediocrity, good, great and masterworks dot the visual landscape, as would be expected in an environment where creativity on all levels is encouraged. What is also true is that excellence glows like a gemstone discovered in a rock while taking a gallery stroll. It is the spirit and skill of the artist that leaps out at the casual viewer, whether student or serious … [Read more...] about P-Town
We Are You International
Latino Artists in The Spotlight by Meredith Cutler For those of us living in Boston’s MetroWest region, it’s a given that for the best pupusas, or to catch a Capoeira practice, a visit to Framingham is a sure bet. The town is a known enclave of Latino businesses, from hole-in-the wall taco stands to Columbian bakeries to Brazilian ... everything. But “Latino,” this pan-ethnic label of a population predicted to claim the US majority by 2070, can be hard to pin down. To help us access the enormity of the Latino identity and the idea of “Latini- zation” today from an art world stand- point, enter Framingham’s Fountain Street Fine Art (FSFA). This summer, FSFA hosts the New England edition of “We Are You Project International,” a traveling exhibition of 36 contempo- rary Latino artists and poets with roots in over a dozen Latin American nations. Launched in 2012 by artist … [Read more...] about We Are You International