By Paul Angiolillo If the site is appealing, I’ll travel almost anywhere to show my outdoor sculptures (okay, a modest stipend doesn’t hurt). But it’s a boon when the place is closer to home. I was pleased, then, to be selected to participate in a temporary exhibit (through Labor Day) on the grounds around City Hall in Newton Mass., just a couple of miles from my home and studio. If you’re in the area, it’s worth a visit. (It’s right on Commonwealth Ave., a.k.a., the Boston Marathon route into the city, and just across from main library.) The grounds themselves might qualify as environmental art. Designed by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, the 10-acre parcel of land, which completely surrounds the city hall and war memorial building, comprises a sweeping lawn, a tree-lined pond, two stone bridges and many other small green spaces and copses. It would make a great setting for any … [Read more...] about Outdoor Sculpture Takes Over Olmstead Firm-Designed Grounds in Newton Mass
July/August 2017
SUMMER SCULPTURE SHOWCASE
by Tom Soboleski Eye-catching sculpture allures, causing us to pause, linger, and dither as we contemplate what it’s trying to say to us. It can be transformative, with both the object and its environs enhanced by its juxtaposition to its surroundings. Imagine strolling through an array of landscape sculptures blended seamlessly onto bucolic grounds flanked by a placid river, and you just may be transformed. The venue is the “Summer Sculpture Showcase” on Gil Boro’s Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Situated halfway between Boston and New York, the Showcase features 21 works by 18 sculptors set on Boro’s four-and-a-half-acre estate in the heart of Old Lyme’s historic village. Interspersed among more than 100 sculptures that are always displayed on the park-like grounds, the exhibit opened on the warm, sun-splashed evening of June 10 and will be in place through … [Read more...] about SUMMER SCULPTURE SHOWCASE
SURPRISES IN STORE: MAINE’S CONTEMPORARY JEWEL
by Eric Taubert From the beating heart of York Village, one of the first permanent settlements in Maine, quiet Lindsay Road wends down a scenic half-mile toward the York River. It is on the banks of this landmark tidal stream where art collectors with a bent for exploration and adventurous discovery will be richly rewarded with a very welcome surprise. The George Marshall Store Gallery immediately commands your attention as you turn the corner and begin traveling parallel with the river. This historic building on the waterfront is painted bright yellow with black shutters and shouts proud patriotism with a flagpole mounted to the doorframe with Old Glory dancing on the gentle, salty breeze. Just above the door a weathered and smudged sign reads “G.A. Marshall’s Old Line Store - Est. 1867 - Groceries - Coal - Wood.” Although you’d almost never know it, you’ve just … [Read more...] about SURPRISES IN STORE: MAINE’S CONTEMPORARY JEWEL
DONNA DODSON’S MAKING CONNECTIONS
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Bevan Weissman at Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville. I wanted to learn more about maker- spaces in general and specifically to find out about Bevan’s current projects with his colleagues at New American Public Art. Weissman made the point that makerspaces are ideal workshops for making public art. There are no walls, and that leads to a shared flow of ideas. The space is permeable, and most importantly, the members share resources. In contrast, most individual artist studios have redundant capabilities and therefore tools sit idle and needlessly take up space. Makerspaces commonly provide access to software, wood and metal shops, state-of-the-art 3D printing and laser cutting, and the latest fabrication techniques. For an individual artist, the cost to purchase all of these resources would be prohibitive. Some maker-spaces also provide the … [Read more...] about DONNA DODSON’S MAKING CONNECTIONS
PAST AND FUTURE PERFECT: TWO FOR ONE AT BOSTON SCULPTORS
by Lisa Mikulski Art and psychology have long been looking at one another in an attempt to extend our understanding of human choices, experiences and the perception of events in the world in which we live. Although art psychology tends to examine the processes and motives of an artist’s self-expression, the artist can turn the tables and delve into the realm of psychological sciences to portray ideas from the past as well as a possible future. These are two very different mindsets. This month, the Boston Sculptors Gallery presents two concurrent solo shows featuring the work of Fafnir Adamites and John Christian Anderson. Both artists are making their first exhibit at the gallery in Boston’s SoWa District. Both are new members at the gallery. And both offer works that can be seen as simplistic —and in the case of Adamites work, minimalist — while speaking to something … [Read more...] about PAST AND FUTURE PERFECT: TWO FOR ONE AT BOSTON SCULPTORS
SCULPTURE INDOORS AND OUT: TAKING SHAPE IN PORTLAND
by Jamie Thompson At the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), this summer is all about sculpture. On July 7, the museum will debut its new David E. Shaw and Family Sculpture Park in the Joan B. Burns Garden at a grand opening event. The sculpture park unveiling coincides with “A New American Sculpture, 1914-1945: Lachaise, Laurent, Nadelman and Zorach,” a groundbreaking exhibition of approximately 60 sculptures and preparatory drawings by four major figures of modernism. The four European-born artists came to the United States and, working independently, pioneered a fresh style of sculpture that reinvigorated the medium and set the tone for future sculptors. Regular visitors to the PMA should be familiar with Celeste Roberge's "Rising Cairn," a crouched figure formed by a metal cage and encasing rounded stones. But since its installation in the museum's Joan B. Burns Garden in … [Read more...] about SCULPTURE INDOORS AND OUT: TAKING SHAPE IN PORTLAND