by Nancy Nesvet MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 With Art Basel, in Switzerland and The Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, in Germany and Athens, Greece respectively, happening all at the same time, it is the trifecta for art shows, and so far, I’m betting on Art Basel. Having seen all of the Liste show yesterday, when it opened, and Art Basel Design, I can tell you the art aficionados are coming out for art, beauty and fun. Done with the hard-hitting political landscape of last year’s work here, and taking a breather, maybe literally, everyone’s happier seeing fewer political statement or in your face art. A lot is concentrating on the process, the materials and the bringing in of concrete, beads, aluminum screening and more for innovative treatments of material. Watch Artscope’s Instagram and Facebook pages for Prem Sahib’s Concrete Lion reproductions (of the originals in front … [Read more...] about ARTSCOPE AT ART BASEL SWITZERLAND: DAY ONE
Issue Articles
Between Past and Future: Clemens Kalischer’s Vermont at Bennington Museum
By Marguerite Serkin Bennington Museum hosted an artist reception on the afternoon of June 3rd to honor legendary photographer Clemens Kalischer. Now on view in the museum’s ground floor gallery, "Between Past and Future: Clemens Kalischer's Vermont" provides a wide sampling of Mr. Kalischer's masterfully- composed portraits. Spanning more than six decades of Vermont life, the collection was curated by Kalischer's daughter Tanya, and Bennington Museum executive director Robert Wolterstorff. Known for his candid, yet meticulous approach, Kalischer's images leave no detail overlooked. "Postmaster" documents a stern man behind an iron grille, surrounded by the evocative post office paraphernalia of the 1940's and 50's. "Teenage Couple Dancing" (1958) is a photograph in motion, encapsulating the vigor and style of the day. Photographs from Kalischer's long affiliation with … [Read more...] about Between Past and Future: Clemens Kalischer’s Vermont at Bennington Museum
Mamma Mia at the Ogunquit Playhouse
by Gregory Morell For those of us that have loved and lost and reflect back nostalgically on the possibilities of what could have been, Mamma Mia has a special relevance. The rest of us can just sit back and revel in the color and exuberance of musical pop puffery. Mamma Mia is the ideal beach musical, a fact well played by the Ogunquit Playhouse in the kick-off of their 85th season, which opened on May 19th and continues through the first of July. Though the setting is a remote Greek Isle on the Aegean coast, the steamy swim suited cast could easily be imagined on the scenic sands of Ogunquit beach. The music of ABBA propels the romance and disappoints of young love and the matrimonial hope and despair of sustained fidelity. The costume department and the lighting designer were on overdrive for this production and no excess was spared. This included a blinding array of gold … [Read more...] about Mamma Mia at the Ogunquit Playhouse
Actors’ Shakespeare Project presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Multicultural Arts Center
By James Foritano Shakespeare must have felt himself to be living in an increasingly and perilously fast-paced society when he penned A Midsummer Night’s Dream — still one of his most popular comedies in 1595-96. Earlier in that rumbustious century, England’s Henry VIII decided that he couldn’t abide an Italian pope telling him what he could and couldn’t do in his own marriage bed. So, Henry nationalized not only divorce laws but religion and all its far-reaching properties in England — thank you very much. Actors’ Shakespeare Project is presenting Shakespeare’s masterpiece through early June in a production directed by Patrick Swanson. In this classic favorite of the season, Theseus, the duke of Athens, in Shakespeare’s parable of his own life and times, is also in a hurry to wed his intended, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Recent antagonists on the battlefield though … [Read more...] about Actors’ Shakespeare Project presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Multicultural Arts Center
May/June 2017
Article Excerpts: Welcome | Cornered: Michael Mansfield| A Retrospective Ode To Fearlessness | The Artist's Eye Draws Us In | Bearing Witness To Tragedy | Boston Athenaeum's Works On Paper | Michelman Makes Space | Going With The Grain | Young Russians At Shattuck | Expressing Freedom At Miller White | A Synergistic Blend In Ptown| Paul Forte, Visual Poet | An Ode To Her Homeland | Nancy Hayes' Universe | A Hands-on Approach | Live. Love. Learn. | Extolling Walden's Hallowed Shores | Closer Readings At UNH | Time Stands Still At Smith | NBMAA's 47th Members' Show | Looking Beyond And Reaching Out | Mclane's Global Impact | Dreamscapes of A World Contained | Spazuk Plays With Fire | Kat O'Connor In New Haven | A Generosity of Spirit | … [Read more...] about May/June 2017
WONDERMENT AND CONFUSION
PAUL FORTE, VISUAL POET Suzanne Volmer It is rare for an AS220 Project Space exhibitor to get extra square footage for an exhibition. However, this luxury is provided to Paul Forte for his “The Alchemy of Collage — Selected Works 2005-2016” collection of visual poetry in order to give breathing room to the show’s complex and thoughtful compression of data. The simplicity of the layout will give audiences the benefit of receiving Forte’s conceptual information without peripheral distraction. Forte had just finished planning the arrangement of his art when I recently visited him at his studio, and he had a list of titles jotted on a copy of the gallery floor plan. The show’s layout positioned “Mantle (After a Fashion),” a three-dimensional arrangement, to be visible from the front window. A number of large two-dimensional collage works, including “Desert Parcel (Book … [Read more...] about WONDERMENT AND CONFUSION