AN EXUBERANCE OF 3-D LINE Suzanne Volmer For Barbara Owen, whose threedimensional paper drawings have a vibrant energy and elegance, 2016 was a productive year in terms of exhibitions, and 2017 promises to be a banner year as well. She is an artist hitting her stride. During a recent studio visit, Owen displayed an assortment of huge paper snarls that read as luxuriant bursts of glowing color, commanding attention like a tractor beam. One of these 3-D drawings was bright yellow and glowed from within, luminous like a sun; another was creamy opalescent, and a third seemed vermillion. These giant skein-like forms were pinned into place to form a wall-hung constellation accompanied by smaller black and midnight blue iterations. The particular sightline expressed an exuberance of three-dimensional line. Another exciting place my eyes settled during this studio visit … [Read more...] about 11 for 11: Barbara Owen
March/April 2017
11 for 11: Jane Paradise
SHACKING UP IN PTOWN Laura Shabott In the early 1900s, writers, artists and families made summer homes on the wild back shore of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Affectionately called the “dune shacks,” some were originally life-saving huts constructed in the late 1890s, but most were built in the 1920s and ‘30s out of debris and shipwrecked ruins. A cluster of these original structures exists today. A solo exhibition by photographer Jane Paradise, “The Dune Shacks of Provincetown: Series 1,” opens March 1 at Galatea Fine Art in Boston. Gallery director Marjorie Kaye said, “These photographs are full of life and reveal [Paradise’s] intimate relationship with the back-shore landscape.” Rich images capture the artist’s stays and visits at various dune shacks over the course of a decade. There is a rich legacy of American greats who have sojourned on the “backside,” as it is … [Read more...] about 11 for 11: Jane Paradise
SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
COSO’S WINTER MEMBERS SHOW Lisa Mikulski It’s a pleasure to rejoin the staff at Artscope after four years in Sweden, with a review of the Copley Society of Art’s 2017 Winter Members Show, “Shaken and Stirred.” This year’s exhibition features a range of dynamic artists and works spanning media in photography, oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, pastel, graphite and scratchboard. Seeking to provide respite to the dark landscape of winter and the seriousness of the recent political climate, the Copley Society of Art sought to provide a bit of levity for its viewing public. It serves us to remember that art has always, and will always, reflect current events and social mores while also providing an escape from them. The Copley Society received over 180 submissions for this exhibition. That number was reduced to works by 35 artists, with winners selected by juror Mike … [Read more...] about SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
GETTING A CLEW
MULTISENSORY SURPRISE AT PHILLIPS EXETER Linda Chestney “You cannot move people Until you touch them.” — Gary O’Neil The above quote was coined by Gary O’Neil, an icon in the advertising/marketing industry in New Hampshire for 30 years and founder of the O’Neil Griffin Bodi advertising firm, who was wildly successful because he got the bigger picture. He understood that unless you touch people’s hearts, you won’t accomplish the ultimate goal of change — no matter what your profession — on a deep, heartfelt level. The current exhibition at the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy, “Clew: A Rich and Rewarding Disorientation,” delves into the concept of touching issues, and ultimately people, on a deeper level. A multi-sensory installation, the show is unique as it simultaneously addresses the visual, the written word and music. So rich, you can scarcely take it … [Read more...] about GETTING A CLEW
11 for 11: David Rohn
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE Marguerite Serkin The paintings of David Rohn honor symmetry and unpredictability. Working in watercolor and oil for over seven decades, Rohn creates still lifes, landscapes and portraits by combining radically independent expression with the discreet laws of natural placement. Form and the illusory play equal parts in his paintings, as does his inimitable use of light and shadow. As though imbued with a reverential gift to portray the luminescence of everyday situations, Rohn’s watercolors and oils have a low frequency warmth and gentle sensitivity, echoing the varied sensibility of 19th century masters. The drive to Rohn’s house in Putney, Vermont winds up a dirt road no wider than a logging trail. Leading through stands of old trees and opening onto a towering sculpture garden created by neighboring artist Charles Ginnever, one can see why Rohn … [Read more...] about 11 for 11: David Rohn
A POWERFUL MESSAGE
WEAPONS UNLOADED IN MAINE J. Fatima Martins In the exhibition catalog for “Unloaded,” artist-curator Susanne Slavick writes what we already know to be true: “The American intimacy with guns has many roots, largely stemming from the culture’s glorification and protection of individualism and personal liberties.” “Unloaded” is a traveling exhibition that, since 2015, has already been installed in six venues, the most recent presentation at the Bolivar Art Gallery at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. After its showing at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Maine College of Art in Portland, it travels to Atlanta and Minneapolis. The use of weapons in art is not new. Modern and contemporary artists have been taking firearms of various kinds and using them as either raw material in their artwork or as inspiration and motif subject for centuries. Some artists use … [Read more...] about A POWERFUL MESSAGE