The Eternal Feminine at Newport Art By J. Fatima Martins The “eternal feminine” is a layered and contentious construct that describes a set of defining idealized traits that is the archetypal “woman.” In the exhibition “The Eternal Feminine,” the concept is revealed and challenged, offering new expository possibilities that blur the line between Icon and Image. Newport Art Museum curator Nancy Whipple Grinnell worked in partnership with artist, professor and collector James Baker, who originated the exhibition idea and serves as co-curator. From his private collection, Baker loaned photographs, drawings, prints, paintings and sculpture, some purchased specifically for the exhibition. In addition to Baker’s loans, and material from the permanent collection, Grinnell invited six regional contemporary artists to contribute to the discussion. Baker’s curatorial assemblage is both … [Read more...] about I am Woman

The British Museum Dazzles at Museum of Russian Icons By Suzanne Volmer Located in Clinton, Massachusetts and facing Central Park (the town common) are adjoining historic buildings that are home to the Museum of Russian Icons, which currently features a special exhibit, “Byzantium to Russia: Origins and Development of Russian Icons, 1200 - 1900.” This exhibit newly informs the content of founder Gordon Lankton’s collection and gives viewers an opportunity to see some of the British Museum’s most noteworthy icons. When entering the building, recorded chants are heard playing in the background, helping to immediately transport the imagination into a world linked with the past. CEO and curator Kent Russell and the museum staff make every effort to welcome visitors in innovative ways that facilitate discovery of what this museum has to offer. The mission of Museum of Russian … [Read more...] about Byzantium to Russia

A Master Continues to Evolve By Laura Shabott On an unseasonably cold day in June, I am preparing to meet with Paul Resika, a remarkable man and a brilliant artist, to discuss his current exhibitions at both the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and the Berta Walker Gallery. A painter who has created “thousands of pictures” (as he calls them), he was given his first show in 1948 at the age of 19 with George Dix Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York. Resika was already a serious artist, having studied at age 12 with Sol Wilson and at 17 with Hans Hofmann. A prodigy will often burn out his candle at a young age, but that is not the case at all with Resika; he has a body of work spanning almost eight decades. Our scheduled appointment is at the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown, where he is represented by his longtime friend. Arriving early at the vibrant Bradford Street … [Read more...] about Paul Resika in P-Town

Addison Explores Early 20th Century Paris By James Dyment Of course, any exhibition at the Addison Gallery of American Art is an educational experience. Susan Faxon, curator of art before 1950, did a wonderful job of summing up Alfred Maurer’s life during my visit. “Alfred Maurer: At the Vanguard of Modernism” is an exhibition that takes a peek at what was happening at the turn of the 20th century in Paris. It has been carefully planned for approximately seven years by co-curators Faxon and Dr. Stacey Epstein, and is divided into five areas to organize the work in chronological order by room. Maurer is one of the Americans who had the opportunity to create and absorb changes in the art movement of this time period. The largest of the five rooms reveals the beginning stages of his career. Several portraits in this area remind us of James McNeill Whistler’s portrait work. The … [Read more...] about Maurer at the Vanguard of Modernism

Contemporary Artists Answer the Call By Elizabeth Michelman “Look Again,” a hybrid summer-long exhibition of master prints paired with contemporary interpretations, is the happy outcome of a collaboration between the curators of the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury and the Boston Printmakers. To showcase highlights of the historical print collection in the Art Complex’s Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Library, curator Craig Bloodgood decided to seek contemporary responses to a selected group of works. The exhibition contains new works by 57 artists invited from the Boston Printmakers’ international membership to complement 31 originals through a contemporary lens. While all the works display a high level of craftsmanship, a few among them break away to forge their own path. One has to laugh at Coco Berkman’s “Down in the Grey Zone,” a linoleum send-up of Warrington Colescott’s bitter … [Read more...] about Boston Printmakers Look Again