Portraits Take It From The Top by John Paul Stapleton The Hampden Gallery is almost hidden in the city that is UMass Amherst’s south- west residential area. Its current show, “Head,” fits right in with this setting, as if it were in a metropolitan arts district. Curator D. Dominick Lombardi has brought together contemporary work from all over the United States, Europe and Asia. Every piece shows the breadth of representation that comes with portraiture. Lombardi placed textile pieces by China Marks as the colorful lure to the first room of the gallery. “Drive He Said” centers around a head made up of landscape features against various scenes of cars on the road. Travel is obviously the formative point for the subject, with a head made up of the scenes that can be found on a long road trip. On the opposite wall, Lombardi’s “Sacco and Vanzetti” is another surreal … [Read more...] about Head At Umass Amherst
November/December 2015
Lynsey Addario’s Veiled
Every Picture Tells A Story by Brian Goslow It is a stunning collection: a 25-year-old woman giving birth to twins at a Faizabad hospital; veiled women worshiping at a shrine to Shahzada Qasim, a descendent of the prophet Muhammad, in Herat; a health and hygiene class being taught by a traveling midwife in an isolated village in Badakhshan Province. Afghan policewomen firing AMD-65 rifles at a shooting range outside Kabul and a 15-year-old girl from Mazar-e Sharif who responded to having been accused of stealing by dousing herself in petrol and lighting herself on fire, covering 95 percent of her body in burns; she would die three days later. They’re contrasted by portraits of two young girls dressing for a relative’s wedding; women who are studying to become teachers gathering for an Afghan feast in the Women’s Garden outside of Bamian; and female graduates of the Class … [Read more...] about Lynsey Addario’s Veiled
Boston Printmakers 2015 Biennial
A Labor of Love And Imagination by Franklin W. Liu A disciplined process of experiential application pushing an extraordinarily flexible medium, fueled by an unyieldingly inquisitive, artistic mindset forged on discovery, uniquely describes printmaking. For printmakers, beauty is clearly inherent in the process itself, as much as in the finished print. Since 1948, the Boston Print- makers have hosted a juried biennial printmaking awards exhibition to foster traditional as well as cutting- edge printmaking. They recognize that in a digital age, art is infinite in its variety of implementation, and new possibilities of the pedigree of printmaking as graphic art are not only rejuvenated but also vitally enhanced because of their steady, vibrant advocacy. Liz Shepherd, president of Boston Printmakers, said nearly two thousand artworks from 699 artists, hailing from 49 states, … [Read more...] about Boston Printmakers 2015 Biennial
Katrina Then And Now: Artists As Witness
Rebuilding Lives Through Art by Brian Goslow Born and raised in New Orleans, multi-media artist Dawn DeDeaux had been working on “lots” of large-scale digital works when Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005. “I was suddenly unplugged,” she told a lecture audience at the College of the Holy Cross recently. She said her response was to “go hands-on in reconfiguring my world” through her art. DeDeaux traveled to Pass Christian on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where her parents had a home. “I went looking for it and it was gone,” she said. She walked down to the beach, where a powerful wave had destroyed a shopping complex, the outside structure of which resembled a large glass box. When the water subsided, she found herself standing ankle deep in shattered glass from its windows. “Then, all of a sudden, the sun came out, reflecting on the glass. There was a physical paradox … [Read more...] about Katrina Then And Now: Artists As Witness
Let There Be Light
Artists Shine At Three Stones by James Foritano I must have passed nearly a million trees as I drove past Walden Pond en route to the broad granite steps of owner/photographer Jennifer M. Johnston’s Three Stones Gallery in West Concord. I was in the mood for nature and art and had come to the right place. Three Stones Gallery, having just passed its first anniversary, is young and feisty, like the growing center into which it’s snuggled – an eclectic mix of eateries, outdoor outfitters and, if you happen to be between appointments, a huge window onto the dancing figures of the “Marx Fencing Academy.” I walked into a warm greeting in a spare, high-ceilinged gallery where its current exhibition, “4artists | 4brushes,” was winding down with a flourish (it closes November 6). What I particularly liked was that instead of competing or repeating, these “brushes” seemed … [Read more...] about Let There Be Light
Following A Call to The Sea
William R. Davis At The Guild by Marguerite Serkin William Davis began his life as a young sailor in and around Cape Cod. This early, visceral introduction to the sea continues to inform his painting, and has earned him the reputation of a masterful maritime artist. With a collection of pieces spanning several decades, Davis’ definitive style is best expressed through his meticulously crafted representations of seascapes and their accompanying forms. The Guild of Boston Artists will be “spotlighting” Davis’ paintings from December 5 through January 2, 2016. A sampling of Davis’ oil paintings are already installed at this venerable Newbury Street gallery; this exhibition will allow visitors to enjoy a more in-depth look at Davis’ prolific and distinctive body of work. If there were one word that might describe Davis’ maritime paintings, it would be “serenity.” In keeping … [Read more...] about Following A Call to The Sea