While most of our writers get to view the shows and work that they write about in person, our fall issue comes with the challenge of previewing shows that have yet to open. In some instances, the work has yet to be fully selected, while galleries, artists and writers are in the midst of their summer vacations. This, coupled with our short lead time, brings a level of difficulty to our intention of timely and relevant content that is not present in other months’ issues. As our main goal as a magazine has always been to encourage our readers to get out and see the work we write about in person, we ask our writers to do whatever they can to preview an exhibition we’ve identified as worthy of your attention. Sometimes we have to resort to looking at digital images and artist statements, and other times, conduct an interview about work “you just have to see.” At times, it can be hard to … [Read more...] about Welcome: From Brian Goslow
Issue Articles
KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: ROCKWELL AND FRIENDS IN STOCKBRIDGE
I first saw him standing beside the pool at a hotel in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Wavy grey hair, a slender, erect posture and his trademark cravat were unmistakable. It was Norman Rockwell. The year was 1972 and I was on my honeymoon while he and his wife Molly were vacationing. My husband and I greeted him with trepidation, marveling later at his cordiality. That evening, we had drinks with the most famous illustrator of his time and his wife. The next day, Molly told me they were leaving their holiday early because Rockwell couldn’t stand being away from his studio for long. That explained, in part, how the artist I had loved as a child for his Saturday Evening Post magazine covers could be so prolific. The current exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, “Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell and the Narrative Tradition,” explains a great deal … [Read more...] about KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: ROCKWELL AND FRIENDS IN STOCKBRIDGE
FUNCTIONAL OR FANCIFUL? BROWN’S SCULPTURAL CONGLOMERATIONS
The motion and glint from the mirrors are the first things to catch your eye. Then you see it: a big metal fish — a yellowfin tuna, in fact — with a propeller in its mouth, gently revolving in the breeze in front of the granite monuments, just past the U-Haul place as you drive west on Tenney Mountain Highway in Plymouth, New Hampshire. “It’s sort of an eclectic combination of working with what I have to make something new,” Pete Brown said of his sculptures. “I like to take items that don’t really belong together and put them together. It might be a usable item or not.” Brown grew up mechanically inclined. “I was a mechanic for many years,” he said, adding, “I even had my own shop in Franklin for five years.” Today, his primary career is building street rods, also known as “rat rods.” Brown says these are made from a “conglomeration of parts from different makers — Ford, Chevy, … [Read more...] about FUNCTIONAL OR FANCIFUL? BROWN’S SCULPTURAL CONGLOMERATIONS
COMPLEMENTARY CONTRAST: BOBACK AND LEITNER AT GALATEA
Two coinciding solo-artist shows, Jo-Ann Boback’s “Revealing the Obscure,” and Rose Leitner’s “Quiet Chaos,” are on display at Galatea Fine Art this September. Both feature abstract and colorful pieces, and each artist’s body of work complements the other’s perfectly in their oppositional ways of mark making. Boback’s work is full of angular lines. When asked about the significance of the marks, she spoke about her background in design and how “horizontal and vertical lines give definition and also create a strong support of connected and disconnected shapes.” Her piece, “4Gats — Barcelona,” is a personal favorite; a peach-colored and sharp-cornered spiral, reminiscent of a seashell, is at the center of the piece, surrounded by mainly teal- and rust-colored markings on a white background. She described the influence of this piece to be a café in Barcelona where Picasso was known to … [Read more...] about COMPLEMENTARY CONTRAST: BOBACK AND LEITNER AT GALATEA
CAUSE AND EFFECT: THREE VIEWS AT GALATEA
This October, Galatea Fine Art presents three concurrent shows featuring members Philip Gerstein, Barry Margolin and Ronni Komarow. Five-time Galatea exhibitor Gerstein will be showing a new series entitled “Sometimes There Is Bliss.” In a collection of minimal abstract paintings produced with an experimental medium — glass bead gel — Gerstein plays with the medium which lends texture, dances with ambient lighting, and produces visual change dependent on the viewing prospective of the audience. The end product results in rich, deep color and a textured finish which, the artist hopes, will be successful in provoking an emotional response to the work. According to the gallery’s press release, the sought-after response “is akin to the harmonious vibrational impact of music.” It’s quite vogue to refer to a work of art as cross-disciplinary and there is always — always — the stated hope … [Read more...] about CAUSE AND EFFECT: THREE VIEWS AT GALATEA
EARTH’S ADVOCATES: UNCOVERED AT CATAMOUNT
Gerry Bergstein and Gail Boyajian have been addressing the complexities of the human condition and threats to our natural world in distinctly different ways throughout their artistic working lives. Now, in “Gerry Bergstein and Gail Boyajian: Uncovered,” running at the Catamount Arts Center through October 27, these longtime Stratford, Vermont seasonal residents serve up what amounts to a state of the union address on our planet. These two are partners in life, and one can only imagine their dinner conversations. The show has been organized by Katherine French, who resettled in 2015 to the Northeast Kingdom after a celebrated career in the Boston area. French had just retired from the Danforth Art Museum and School in Framingham when she was tapped to take over Catamount’s gallery programs. Her commitment to showcasing local artists, as well as her passion for the Boston expressionist … [Read more...] about EARTH’S ADVOCATES: UNCOVERED AT CATAMOUNT