All That Glitters... by Elizabeth Michelman The shimmer of Michele Ratté’s gold-infused sculptures and prints is not just decorative veneer. Precious, permanent and pure, gold in her hands is not just a physical material, but a transcendent one. It is an ideal medium for cross-referencing the natural and archetypical cycles of birth, death and rebirth that frame our existence on this planet. At an early age, Ratté accompanied her father, a hydro-geologist, on treks into the Arizona deserts in search of signs of water. As he mapped, she picked up mica and fools-gold from the sands. Later he taught marine geology in the Virgin Islands, where she kept up with high school classes by correspondence and swam with schools of fish among the coral reefs. Ratté’s feeling for form is instinctive in her fingertips. Her mother sewed the children’s clothes by hand, and Ratté remembers … [Read more...] about Michele Ratté’s Circle of Life
September/October 2016
CORNERED: Hope Ricciardi, Co-Chair, United South End Artists
On September 24 and 25, the United South End Artists (USEA), spearheaded by co-chairs Hope M. Ricciardi and Laz Montano, will host its 30th Annual Open Studio Weekend, inviting visitors to see USEA members’ workspaces in what is billed as “Boston’s biggest public open studios” with over 10,000 people expected to take advantage of the opportunity to see and buy work directly from the artist. In this interview with Artscope’s Adam Baratz, Ricciardi, a Boston artist whose mixed media artworks and paintings have been featured at Lesley University, Cambridge College, The Massachusetts State House, Galatea Fine Art, The Armenian Library and Museum of America and the Whistler House Museum of Art, gives us an inside look into USEA’s Open Studios, Boston’s South End as an artist community, art buying and the impact of technology in art. HOW HAS THE ANNUAL USEA OPEN STUDIOS GROWN SINCE ITS … [Read more...] about CORNERED: Hope Ricciardi, Co-Chair, United South End Artists
Grashow Makes the Cut
A Retrospective in Wood and Cardboard by Kristin Nord Both people who know and those who have not yet encountered artist James Grashow’s work are in for a treat this fall. The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) will be presenting a retrospective of Grashow’s woodcuts while underwriting the creation of one of his joyful cardboard fish menageries. Several hundred larger-than-life aquatic creatures will be assembled, decorated and mounted on sticks during a free workshop offered by CCP, The Stepping Stones Museum and The Maritime Museum as part of the Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play on September 17. A squadron of kids and their parents will then march with these creations in “The Fish Parade,” from Mathews Park to the Norwalk Marine Aquarium, in what promises to be an aquatic blessing of the fleet, reminiscent of a medieval street festival — “the more medieval the … [Read more...] about Grashow Makes the Cut
Provincetown in Autumn
A Cornucopia of Art by Laura Shabott The Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) is at the very tip of Massachusetts (next stop: Azores) with a cultural impact that is extraordinary. In its 102nd year, the vitality of the museum and school can be measured by the 250 volunteers who support a highly effective staff stewarded by director Chris McCarthy. Under her direction, PAAM is much larger than its physical size and location, reaching around the globe with its membership and quality of shows. September and October are lovely months in Provincetown, with the changing of the light that has inspired artists for over a century. It’s the perfect time to attend the upcoming shows and events... To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Click here to find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here. … [Read more...] about Provincetown in Autumn
Gallery Voyeur Reaches Out
A New Idea Pops Up in P-town by Brian Goslow There is a new way to reach new audiences: pop-up galleries. For more than a decade, Johniene Papandreas has featured her own large-scale, eye-catching paintings at her Commercial Street storefront in Provincetown. Located just a few doors down from the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, it’s as prime a location for an artist looking to showcase their work as you could ask for. This year, Papandreas decided to do things differently. “I’m now showing at other galleries and thought I could use more concentrated time in my studio in New Hampshire to paint,” she explained. “Since I’d been researching opportunities where I could show my own work in different cities for a week at a time, it suddenly occurred to me that I could offer that opportunity to fellow artists with my gallery. To read more, pick up a … [Read more...] about Gallery Voyeur Reaches Out
RiverSea and ArtDover-NH
A Hive of Artistic Activity by Greg Morell A grand vestige of New Hampshire’s industrial past, Dover’s One Washington Center, a glorious old red brick mill of enormous size and height, is being re-invigorated as a hive of entrepreneurial enterprise and creative invention, serving as the new home of the RiverSea Gallery and headquarters of its companion organization, ArtDover-NH. The genesis of this new arts endeavor is the partnership of Rebecca Proctor and John Arens, long-time tenants at One Washington Square. Proctor ran her RSP Studio Custom Framing shop in one unit of the building while Arens had a fine arts studio, Frederickson Fine Art, on the fifth floor. They combined their resources earlier this year and rented out a 4,000-foot space on the third floor that serves as their gallery, art laboratory and office space. Proctor and Arens have a shared vision to … [Read more...] about RiverSea and ArtDover-NH