Portraits Explore Identity Franklin W. Liu In a duly jubilant celebration of the Tufts University Art Gallery’s reaching its 25th Anniversary of organizing seminal art exhibitions to enrich both students and the community alike, 91 artworks from 49 artists are presented; 20 art patrons generously offered a total of 40 artworks, with the remaining 51 culled directly from Tufts University’s own significant, permanent collection. “Mortal Things — Portraits Look Back and Forth” is a diverse exhibition curated to spark dialogue on the “ego” as a mediator between the person and reality. The show bridges traditional oil portraiture to conceptual art to transgenderism and ultimately to a pentaptych of an artist’s final reflection on her own terminal illness. It is an unsparing invitation to calibrate what it means to be human, and serves as a revealing portraiture of who we are … [Read more...] about Back and Forth at Tufts
November/December 2016
Flora, Fauna and Fantasy
It's All Natural At Fountain Street Meredith Cutler Not 48 hours after an editorial obituary for the Great Barrier Reef sent viral waves of indignation through social media, I found myself staring into the flat depths of artist Mary Spencer’s imaginary oceans. The news story turned out to be an exaggeration; the Great Barrier Reef is not quite dead — just “almost” dead. But the damage was done. Visions of over a thousand miles of bleached coral left a collective retinal impression, the tipping point of Mother Nature rendered in textured bone-whites and rippling blues. On exhibit at Fountain Street Fine Art, as part of its “Wind and Water” exhibition, Spencer’s strangely flat “Fossil Fantasies” are undersea views with luminous, matte background blues strung with low relief, reef-like details. Some incorporate actual plant matter, like her painting “Squid and Coral Fan,” … [Read more...] about Flora, Fauna and Fantasy
One of a Kind
Society of Arts + Crafts' New Digs James Foritano Boston’s own Society of Arts + Crafts has moved, with the blessing of the Boston Redevelopment Association (BRA), from its Newbury Street store of 40 years to a new domain down by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston’s vigorously, even vertiginously, expanding waterfront. A second floor perch of 9,000 square feet guarantees the Society a presence in a competition for presence as living and office spaces vie for a distinguished address and arresting façade that will hold the gaze of a new tenant long enough for a deal. And then what? After a foothold is secured in the business of life, there’s the art of living to consider. The art of living is a top priority for Mattye Dewhirst in both her former role as retail assistant and her additional role as on-site interior decorator, thanks to the added feet of this … [Read more...] about One of a Kind