Four local artists will create an installation of “Creature Comforts” at the Cambridge Art Association’s Kathryn Schultz Gallery from October 6 through November 2. The installation will be accompanied by the sound of spring “peepers” — small frogs that make a resonant pond chorus in the spring with their mating calls — serving as the backdrop for a New Gallery Concert Series event on October 20 at 7 p.m. that brings together new pieces of music and visual art. The show is curated by Gin Stone, who lives and works on Cape Cod and is a highly passionate environmentalist who uses her artistic craft to encourage the recycling of marine materials and gear by integrating it into her animal, bird and “Humane Taxidermy” sculptural pieces. Close study of her work reveals discarded pieces familiar to anyone who cherishes walking along a seashore. Especially striking is “Freyja,” which eerily … [Read more...] about FLOWERS OR SEX? CREATURE COMFORTS AT CAA
Issue Articles
GALLERY NIGHT PROVIDENCE: SHOWCASING URBAN VIBRANCE AND SYNERGY
The vitality of a city is evident from your first moments in it. Urban vibrancy comes from the synergy of different factors — economic opportunities; diversity in all its expressions; dense, concentrated centers with a variety of businesses and architecture where pedestrian traffic is facilitated and encouraged; and, most essential, a city government who sees the success of the arts and culture sector as a quality of life indicator. Providence, Rhode Island is a vibrant city. Its long history of sustaining a creative economy began in its early days as a commercial port city, when the shipping industry was able to support the craftsmen who settled here. Providence continues to successfully attract and sustain artists, artisans, dancers, musicians, actors and innovative cultural entrepreneurs who, in turn, have made it one of the most culturally rich cities on the East Coast. In the … [Read more...] about GALLERY NIGHT PROVIDENCE: SHOWCASING URBAN VIBRANCE AND SYNERGY
START MAKING SENSE: HOULE QUESTIONS SPACE AND PLACE
On a recent visit to the sites of ancient cave drawings in France, Jenn Houle couldn’t help but be awed and humbled by their sheer majesty and history — but what most struck her, she said, was the “drive and the earnestness” of their prehistoric creators. In some cases, the “artists” would have had to scale rock walls to heights of 25 feet or more; in other instances, they would have been required to squeeze through a 3-foot-wide opening and then belly-crawl a few hundred feet to get to their “canvas.” “And nobody knows why,” Houle mused. “It shows our very early drive to record the world around us and to leave a record behind.” Houle is fascinated by this eternal struggle of sentient beings to try to make sense of the world and their place in it (including her own); she explores this motif in her whimsically named exhibit, “Meteors are Space Eggs,” on view September 16 to … [Read more...] about START MAKING SENSE: HOULE QUESTIONS SPACE AND PLACE
PARTICIPATORY GUESSING GAME: UNTOLD STORIES AT FOUNTAIN STREET
The immediate condition and activity conveyed within the pictures made by painters Anita Loomis and Alexandra Rozenman is extrapolation. As the title of their current exhibition, “Untold Stories,” directly tells us, the paintings allow and welcome conjecture. The artists have created environments that focus the viewer’s attention towards inference, encouraging the seer to intellectually step into and become part of vague spaces and curious scenes — to participate in a surreal guessing game. For the viewer, the stories within the compositions are open-ended and puzzling, being directed in possibility by the depicted visual objects and glimpses of human form. We approach these compositions by asking what’s going on. Some paintings depict relatable imagery such as domestic interiors, landscapes and active scenes, while others are expressive and fantastical with abstracted and speculative … [Read more...] about PARTICIPATORY GUESSING GAME: UNTOLD STORIES AT FOUNTAIN STREET
ROOM TO BREATHE: MALIK IN PROVIDENCE
Saberah Malik is a contemporary process artist deeply connected to the potential and integrity of her materials. She has a reputation of experimentation as a maker of emotive fabric sculptures. This autumn, the artist exhibits textile projects influenced by her Muslim and Pakistani-American background at Atrium Gallery and AS220’s Project Space in Providence, Rhode Island. The Atrium Gallery show, which runs from September 22 through November 10, exhibits Malik’s work in a group context juried by Rhode Island School of Design Museum Director John Smith. The exhibition has been organized by More than My Religion to counter today’s climate of backlash against Muslims. As one of many artists invited to participate, Malik said she was honored to have been selected and noted, “I am very committed to the effort, philosophy and drive behind this series [of exhibitions].” The reception for … [Read more...] about ROOM TO BREATHE: MALIK IN PROVIDENCE
OUT AND ABOUT IN CT: WAA SCULPTURE WALK
Nestled within the hills and dales of northwest Connecticut lies a world-class sculpture exhibit that envelops you into its bucolic setting. With pieces as diverse as a “giant tulip” that could have been transplanted from another planet to neoclassical nudes, the show presents bronze and marble figures as well as abstract, kinetic, whimsical, industrialized and thought-provoking works in stone, resin, glass and metal. Officially titled the WAA (Washington Art Association) Sculpture Walk, the exhibit is located in Washington Depot, first settled in 1734 and traversed several times by George Washington. Anchored by the town hall and central plaza, the show is the result of the ambitious mission of town leaders to stimulate people to explore the nooks and crannies of the village “and look at it from a different perspective,” says co-curator Barbara Talbot. Sixty-three sculptures by more … [Read more...] about OUT AND ABOUT IN CT: WAA SCULPTURE WALK