A few days prior to us going to press with this issue of Artscope Magazine, the region received the long-awaited news that galleries that had been closed since a mid-April water break flooded their exhibition spaces at 460 Harrison Ave., Boston, would finally be reopening. Could there be a more appropriate exhibition title than “Light from Above: Emerging Out of Isolation,” which will be on view from September 4 through October 31 at Galatea Fine Art? “Returning to the gallery space feels like victory,” said director Marjorie Kaye. “It was hard fought and won. In this uncertainty, we, as a community, managed to pan for gold and 36 artists have banded together to work towards its reformation in the face of what, at one time, seemed like an impossibility. The Eliot School will also be rejoining us with its wonderful and diverse programs. Gallery life is being rebuilt by artists and … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Only five to seven percent of museums worldwide were open as of April 29, 2020, according to the International Council of Museums. On International Museum Day, May 18, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the International Council of Museums warned that 13 percent of museums worldwide would permanently close, after closing temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-July, the American Alliance of Museums predicted that one in three, or approximately 12,000 museums, may permanently close in the next few months. These dire predictions resulted from the economic losses suffered by these museums and is a reflection of the difficult times facing the nation’s, and the world’s art institutions as they continue to navigate the effect of COVID-19 on their operations... … [Read more...] about MUSEUMS REINVENTED: A MANIFESTO: OUTSIDE EXHIBITS OFFER NEW WAY OF SEEING ART

Duke Ellington said that “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” And though he refused to play to segregated audiences, he also declined to participate in Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963. Ellington’s relationship with the civil rights movement was complicated. He preferred to demonstrate his activism by doing benefit concerts. And so, it is, with many artists in times of crisis and unrest who either join with others in the movement of the day or time or who chart their own path. This is a story about David Baggarly, a painter, and his wife Abby, a nurse. They have been both affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic in more ways than one. Their circles of family, friendships and community have been disrupted and altered mostly because of Abby’s occupation on the frontline of this pandemic. For them, it’s up close and very personal. Her mom is in a nursing … [Read more...] about OVERCOMING ADVERSITY: DAVID BAGGARLY FOLLOWS THE LIGHT

Americans are forgetful people, or so it would seem. And yet, what we think we are, and what we remember, is more often than not, more myth than fact. Stephen Remick is a painter. He is a successful painter. How do we, as painters, generally define success? Well, based on conversations with other painters, they sometimes define their success as artists based on how many pieces they’ve sold. So, based on that, we can unequivocally say that Stephen “Steve” Remick is a success. He is also a successful businessman having owned and operated a painting contracting business for about 30 years. Life was good. It wasn’t without its ups and downs. And then came the COVID-19 pandemic and things started to change; not just for Remick, but for all of us. Artists are classically introverts who isolate themselves in their studios to pursue their voice, their passion and their practice. But … [Read more...] about CAPTURING HISTORY: REMICK PAINTINGS ILLUMINATE HEALTHCARE HEROES

As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, the surrealism of what it has both revealed and exposed about this American life has everyone, artists especially, looking at their day-to-day activities a bit differently. Roy St. Christopher Rossow is a Jamaican-born artist. He was placed into foster care by his mother at an early age because he contracted poliomyelitis as a child due to the lack of preventive intervention during the last polio outbreak on the island. Rossow was sent to, and grew up in, Ellington, Connecticut, with his foster family who later adopted him. I spoke with him during a break from the commissioned work that had been keeping him focused and busy. He said that commission or exhibit deadlines keep him motivated because missing them would be embarrassing. His life was already regimented before the pandemic... … [Read more...] about CHANGING LABELS: FOR ROSSOW, ART IS AVENUE TO AWARENESS