MONIQUE SAKELLARIOS by Linda Chestney Tuscany. St. Lucia. Compiègne. The Czech Republic. Nice. Jamaica. Sounds like an adventure travelogue, doesn’t it? Instead of “Memories,” perhaps Monique Sakellarios’ current show at the Whistler House Museum should have been called “Worldly Travels,” based on the locations featured in her paintings. And after experiencing her work, you’ll surely feel as if you had traveled right along with her. Whatever they’re titled, it’s apropos that Sakellarios’ works — aptly labeled impressionistic rather than representational are displayed in the same venue as the distinguished collection of 19th and 20th century New England representational art the Whistler is known for. “Memories” presents a collection of Sakellarios’ works in oil, primarily in her award-winning impressionistic style that vividly captures landscapes, markets and garden … [Read more...] about Memories
March/April 2014
Sophisticated Perspectives
QUINTíN RIVERA TORO’S LAYERS OF MEANING by Suzanne Volmer Whether creating art of intimate scale or exploring monumentality, Quintín Rivera Toro can and does ply extremes for the meaning within. His artworks are an investigation of identity and belonging and, perhaps most intriguing, he uses art to explore feelings and behaviors that link him to the world. His sophisticated perspectives have outsider art roots. He is from Puerto Rico, where belonging is influenced by the culture’s struggle to maintain identity. A sense of political or social struggle is infused in his artwork. There is also tenderness and behavioral awareness characteristics frequently absent in the Rhode Island scene. Rivera Toro’s sensibility displays emotion with forethought to speak about desire as well as ideas about struggle and fulfillment. His work is an invitation to interact so audiences can … [Read more...] about Sophisticated Perspectives
More Than Just A Library
ABBIE READ PAYS HOMAGE TO THE WRITTEN WORD by Taryn Plumb Abbie Read grew up in a literary household, surrounded by books of all kinds (and yes, her last name is a rather stark coincidence). So, as the world has begun to alter the tangibility of books — from paper to screen — the Appleton, Maine artist has been compelled to create a living, growing homage to the volumes and sheaves that for so long held the various iterations of the written word. Titled “Library,” it has been the main focus of her creativity for two years. Now measuring 28 feet long and seven- and-a-half feet high (and expanding) it is an assemblage of handmade, book- like boxes of varying sizes that contain random artifacts, found items, curiosities and miniature pieces of Read’s own art. “Books have been a big part of my life forever,” said Read. “It seems so strange to me to be going into a time when … [Read more...] about More Than Just A Library
Cameraless Images
PAMELA ELLIS HAWKES CASTS PALE SHADOWS by J. Fatima Martins There is something old and something new, something real and something ethereal, something true and something false about the simply complicated images made by Rockport artist Pamela Ellis Hawkes. For over two decades, she’s studied the cycle of light and dark and tried to control its shadows. Her tools are various photographic methods and light-transformative, image-making techniques both ancient and modern. Her ways pay respectful homage to the great masters of photographic discovery and innovation of the past, while her final artistic forms, in black and white or vivid chromatic colors, are examples of a progression firmly seated within the contemporary trend in which different media and aesthetics are fused into an “alternative manner.” In her world, two concepts meet: the tangible is transformed into … [Read more...] about Cameraless Images
Outskirts
JULIE S. GRAHAM’S PAINTED CONSTRUCTIONS by Franklin W. Liu All categories of art and architecture have a common bond of union as if connected by blood relationship; this familial dialogue completes what nature cannot emulate. Julie S. Graham’s formal journey in art began with painting she is now resolutely drawn to re-examine the rich, textural language of vernacular architecture. She calls her artwork, “Painted Constructions.” Her mixed-media construction with pigment on different sizes and shapes of cut wood pieces is a lyrical composite. While reaffirming architectural configurations, one plane may be singled out for a sharp angle-cut at the bottom edge, as trompe l’oeil affects perception and the plane appears to rotate on axis. Graham appreciates the fact that elements of vernacular architecture weather with time. The impact of this seasonal passage is an enduring … [Read more...] about Outskirts
We The People
CHAWKY FRENN PAINTS IT AS HE SEES IT by Cole Tracy Chawky Frenn is a great activist in many realms. He is dedicated to teaching new artists at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; produces books on the fine arts of the underappreciated city of Boston, with which he has close ties; and is an active figurative painter whose work focuses on bold topics such as the human condition and governmental issues. “If realism is painting reality, then I am a realist/humanist painter. I am painting the reality I perceive in front of me,” Frenn said. “I examine social and political issues that are, for me, at the heart of any humanist endeavor. The struggles between the ruling political and financial class, the elite and the ruled classes transcend civilizations, cultures, religions, regions and times.” His newest show, “We the People” (which was exhibited at Pine Manor … [Read more...] about We The People