Drawing from a series of works addressing ideas of impossible architecture, liminal spaces and temporal and spatial distance, “The Long View: Paintings by Marcia Santore” will be on view from September 2 through 30 at the Belknap Mill Museum Riverside Gallery, 25 Beacon Street East, Laconia, New Hampshire. “As someone who has moved many times, both as a child and as an adult, houses seen from within and without, rooms and hallways, doors and windows, and the roads and landscapes seen through and from them have multiple meanings for me,” Santore said. “They are places full of mystery and possibility, suggestive of many potential futures or outcomes.” Inspired by the 22 Major Arcana Tarot cards which represent significant life lessons, archetypes and spiritual themes, stone sculptor Elisa Adams has used Tarot as a tool for inner reflection and a mirror for the soul. Adams challenged … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS
September/October 2025
AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND
I am excited, and everyone else should be too — Boston has attracted a new International Art Fair. After 25 years of vibrant shows, the Boston International Fine Art Fair, has been on hiatus since the passing of co-founder Tony Fusco in 2024. The good news is that this year the Affordable Art Fair has added Boston to their roster of 16 other cities worldwide. Affordable is a robust and meticulous organization that does its homework. After 18 months of interviews and planning, they have identified Boston’s regional art, youth and cultural engagement as an opportunity for their unique brand of arts experience. Our city of art education and commerce will be joining New York City and Austin, Texas as their third United States venue. For four days only, from October 23 through 26, at the SoWa Power Station, this event will showcase original contemporary artworks ranging from $100 to $10,000. … [Read more...] about AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND
MAKERS GONNA MAKE
Have you ever wanted to learn a new or different creative skill? Do you already have skills requiring tools/equipment you don’t have? Looking to join a community of do-it-yourself makers? Want to learn woodworking, photography, screen printing, jewelry making, fabrication, sewing/embroidery, metal working, laser cutting or 3D printing? Consider joining one of many maker spaces across Massachusetts — or try out a bunch! Most maker spaces offer a monthly membership with various flexibility and access at different price points. Most offer, or require, training in various crafts on how to use tools and equipment safely. Some hold member mixers so creative DIY folks can meet each other. Here’s a few in different parts of the state. Tinkerhaus Community Makerspace in Gloucester is open to all ages and all abilities. “We run a lot of children’s programming and experiences for adults with … [Read more...] about MAKERS GONNA MAKE
THE MEDITATIVE POWER OF GLACIERS
Hannah Perrine Mode’s “Remote Sensing,” on display at Northeastern University’s Gallery 360, combines Mode’s educational work in geoscience and climate research with her impassioned multi-media art. Through the solo exhibition featuring cyanotype prints, collections of field notes and installations of rope and found objects, the urban Boston audience is familiarized with glaciers, primarily the alpine glaciers of Alaska, and their role in the environment. The exhibition includes an interactive element where visitors can listen to the recorded sounds of glaciers in motion and explore with cartography. The core of the installation is water — deep and transitional blues displayed through archival film photographs and cyanotypes. And on a larger conceptual level, the water within our human bodies — a whopping 60% on average — connects us directly to these glacial structures and even in the … [Read more...] about THE MEDITATIVE POWER OF GLACIERS
CRAFT, PLAY, AND PROVOCATION
How refreshing to meet a sculptor with a sense of humor that shines through his artwork like a beacon. Wood working is his specialty, but he is a man of many trades and skills. Jared Hadfield will have a solo exhibition of his sculpture and functional art at the South Shore Art Center from September 12 to October 25. Hadfield’s sculpture follows in the tradition of two towering American artists, Claes Oldenburg and Louise Nevelson. Like Oldenburg, he creates icons that relate to contemporary life with a bit of humor. Like Nevelson he uses “found” wood, stains it and assembles it into sculptural forms. But the results are his own unique pieces. And unlike them, he also creates modern art-furniture, an activity that blends with the skills needed for his house restoration career, which in turn provides the income to produce his art. A perfect circle. I talked with Hadfield on a beautiful … [Read more...] about CRAFT, PLAY, AND PROVOCATION
HOLDING ON TO WHAT’S REAL
At a time where artificial intelligence (AI) threatened to take over the words we read and images we see, institutions like The Guild of Boston Artists are needed more than ever to show us what has been, what is happening now and hopefully, preserve pure human interpretation of the world in which we live. The Guild’s current show, its annual “New England Regional Juried Exhibition,” that runs through September 27, received the largest number of submissions in the organization’s history, with 225 artists presenting 531 works for consideration by jurors Christina Mastrangelo, Pamela Pindell and Mark Shasha, longtime Guild members. Director Alexander Ciesielski said that bringing the work of promising students, emerging and early career artists, and established professionals together under one roof is The Guild’s, “most meaningful and exciting program because of the exposure, recognition, … [Read more...] about HOLDING ON TO WHAT’S REAL






