In the early days of the pandemic, nearly 18 months ago, I asked artist friends if they were working through the pandemic, perhaps with more time and less resources, or whether they were experiencing a shift in daily ritual and creativity. Most said they were planning on working, but as the days of isolation and lockdown and diminished social contact wore on, I heard a shift in tone. One artist said, “I’ve stopped. I want to see where this is going to go. I don’t want my work to be about this.” Several months later, deep into the pandemic, another artist friend remarked, “I’m sensing nostalgia creeping into everything I do.” After long periods of loss and displacement, it is not unusual to feel a longing for a time before. The very meaning of the word is about returning home nostos and yearning algia. Isolation from social interaction and community can be devastating, and result in … [Read more...] about A RETURN TO COMMUNITY: KIMBALL JENKINS HOSTS PROVOCATIVE KELLEY STELLING SHOW
Issue Articles
Welcome November/December 2021: From Brian Goslow
As 2021 comes to a close, we all take a collective sigh while still not sure what the future holds. While not containing some of the “look back” features weekly and monthly publications utilize to capsulize a year, I think you’ll find this issue pulls together a collection of reviews and previews for exhibitions whose artists have captured their personal experiences since the first shutdown of March 2020 in their artwork, museums and galleries catching up on shows that had been delayed, and artists who couldn’t wait to finally share it with audiences in-person. Our issue opens with Marta Pauer-Tursi previewing “The Dysfunction of Social Practice” which opens on November 20 at Kimball Jenkins in Concord, New Hampshire. For her, the exhibition, curated by Karina Kelley and Bill Stelling of Kelley Stelling Contemporary, touched off how our forced stay-at-home lifestyle of the past two … [Read more...] about Welcome November/December 2021: From Brian Goslow
CAPSULE PREVIEWS FOR ARTSCOPE 94
As we await summer’s final exhibitions and the promise of fall’s colors and accompanying festivals and fairs, we also pay close attention to the safety precautions being taken at New England’s galleries, museums, art organizations and events. As we were going to press, some events were being cancelled or postponed; please confirm with venues before departing from your home. “FoodWorks,” an exhibition “that celebrates Rhode Island’s diverse, vibrant and resilient food economy” and being presented in co-partnership with Edible Rhody, will be held from September 10 through October 3 at the Wickford Art Association Gallery, 36 Beach St., North Kingston, with a one-day “Food & Art Market” on September 19 from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on the green at North Kingstown Town Beach; rain date is September 26. “SculptFest 21” opens September 11 and continues through October 24 at … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS FOR ARTSCOPE 94
SOLO MOMENTS AT BERTA WALKER: HENRY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF HUMANITY
Robert Henry, one of the nation’s most original artists, will show “Solo Moments” at one of New England’s most renowned art spaces, the Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown. (Walker could open a museum, so many notable American artists are in her archived collections.) Henry is an American extension of the late 19th and early 20th century European painters like Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele and Emil Nolde — a figural/figurative expressionist whose canvases swing with massive color and motion. His Hans Hofmann influenced push-me-pull-you style (he studied with the master) brings us to extremes of emotion — from joy to occasional terror. No matter how Henry’s subject matter or technique changes, what is consistent is the force of painting, the visceral reactions the works invoke; they are participatory. That force, Henry said, happens as a result of the process of drawing and painting, … [Read more...] about SOLO MOMENTS AT BERTA WALKER: HENRY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF HUMANITY
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: ONLINE AND IN-PERSON, ART BASEL RETURNS
After more than a year of artists delving deeper into their own practice with little or no feedback from fellow artists or gallerists on the progression of their work, it will be exciting for artists, gallerists and the art public to see new artwork. Giddy anticipation on the part of viewers adds to the excitement for Art Basel and other fairs in Basel, Switzerland, coming September 19 through 26. As Marc Spiegler, Global Director of Art Basel was quoted in the introductory materials for the Switzerland-based fair, “While the pandemic has been a time of resilience and innovation it has not always been one of discovery – patrons have often not been able to discover the work of new artists.” Artscope, showing in the magazine sector, is happy to be part of the excited crowd seeing new work by artists seen before and discovering new artists and galleries showing for the first time at Art … [Read more...] about RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: ONLINE AND IN-PERSON, ART BASEL RETURNS
MAYNARD AS A CANVAS: EXPANDED OFFERINGS, BUSINESSES, CREATE A BUZZ
When we moved to Maynard five years ago, Donna Dodson’s sculpture, “Seagull Cinderella,” had just returned from her tour of Michigan, so we stored her temporarily on our front lawn. She received fan mail, daily visitors taking selfies and local media attention. Later that summer, “Seagull Cinderella” flew to New Bedford for a public art project where she became the subject of controversy. In an unexpected outpouring, the people of Maynard rallied behind her and said to New Bedford: “If you don’t want her, send her back! We miss her.” So, she paraded back into town followed by a band and a throng of Maynard’s liveliest in spirited attire. And to this day, she remains perched out front of our home. It was then that we realized we had joined a uniquely supportive arts community. What drew us to Maynard was its reputation as an arts hub. ArtSpace Maynard’s studios in the town’s iconic … [Read more...] about MAYNARD AS A CANVAS: EXPANDED OFFERINGS, BUSINESSES, CREATE A BUZZ