By James Foritano San Francisco, CA - How does one sum up a museum so huge that it qualifies as the largest space in the world dedicated to modern and contemporary art? Carefully and incompletely, I found. Feelings of gratitude and trepidation alternated as I found myself transported from quaint, historic Boston to a city and museum all about the future — the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, modestly abbreviated as SFMOMA. I had already acquainted myself with Columbian artist Doris Salcedo’s mystical, complex vision of human suffering and endurance in “The Materiality of Mourning” at the Harvard Art Museums. My view of Salcedo’s vision deepened considerably as I wandered through an expansive installation of, to put it too simply, her ‘upended furniture’ at SFMOMA as part of its “A Slow Succession with Many Interruptions” exhibition showcasing 40 artists responding to the … [Read more...] about Wanderlust: The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Visual Arts
Marjorie Kaye and George Shaw: The Poetics of Space at Atlantic Works Gallery
By Kate Kenney Boston, MA - Imagine a room made up of contrasting colors, pulsating yellows and deep sparkling plums. That is what you’ll see when you enter Marjorie Kaye and George Shaw’s “The Poetics of Space” exhibition at Atlantic Works Gallery in East Boston. Walking through the studio, you are arriving into a world of vibrant 2D and 3D objects. To the left, twisting wooden sculptures of wood painted ombre pop, drawing viewers closer. To the right is a room to both compliment and contrast. It is Shaw’s constructions of wood panels, swathed in rich jewel tones. Kaye’s rainbow hued sculptures draw from the sensation of “listening to Bach notation,” the artist explained. It is as if each layer of wood represents the rising and falling of notes, and at times, evoking an optical illusion. Along the wall, paintings of swirling primary colors compliment the vibrant life of the 3D … [Read more...] about Marjorie Kaye and George Shaw: The Poetics of Space at Atlantic Works Gallery
Artscope Goes Art-Adventuring in Deer Isle, Maine
By Nancy Nesvet Deer Isle, ME - During the beautiful summer weekend of August 27 and 28, Art Adventure in Deer Isle, sponsored by Artscope and The Art, Labor Education Institute (Maine), led viewers on a tour of 55 Deer Isle galleries and art studios. Following a map available at all venues in Deer Isle, Little Deer Isle and Stonington, Maine, visitors viewed work including crafts, jewelry, furniture, pottery, paintings, sculpture, drawings, screenprints and photographs by artists from the island and away. This was hardly a tourist’s vision of Maine art; seascapes and fishermen, but instead varied from the historic and visionary, life-size dioramas of Peter Berets at Nervous Nellie’s, to David Kofton’s gorgeous black and white drawings of winged women soaring to heights of beauty. Jill Hoy’s realistic paintings, at Jill Hoy Gallery in Stonington, with riotously bright colors, … [Read more...] about Artscope Goes Art-Adventuring in Deer Isle, Maine
Sachiko Akiyama: Between Here and There
By Kristin Wissler Boston, MA - By the time I arrived at the opening reception for Sachiko Akiyama’s “Between Here and There” exhibition at Matter & Light Fine Art, one of the newest galleries in Boston’s SoWa District, there was a crowd of people in and around the gallery, eager to see the works. The atmosphere was lively and energetic, a contrast from the calm and serenity provided by Akiyama’s pieces. Curated by Nina Nielson, former proprietor of the Nielson Gallery, “Between Here and There” features mainly sculptures. Akiyama’s work is handcrafted, and it’s easy to see the love she puts into her pieces. The sculptures have a quiet, emotional beauty to them, which Nielson and Ian Corbin, the director of Matter & Light, deeply appreciate. “I favor art that isn’t just for drama or entertainment,” said Nielson. “I want feeling and voice.” Akiyama’s Japanese heritage … [Read more...] about Sachiko Akiyama: Between Here and There
CORNERED: STEAMPUNK REIMAGINEER BRUCE ROSENBAUM
By Titilayo Ngewnya Brockton, MA - On September 10, “New Sole of the Old Machine: Steampunk Brockton, Reimagining the City of Shoes” opens at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass. Curated by Steampunk ReImagineer Bruce Rosenbaum, founder of ModVic, LLC, the exhibition features work by John Belli, Jim Bremer & Ruth Buffington, David Lang, Susan Montgomery, Janel Norris, Sam Ostroff, Bruce Rosenbaum and Michael Ulman. The show’s opening reception is this Sunday, September 11 from 2-5 p.m. Last month, Titilayo Ngwenya, the museum’s director of communications, interviewed Rosenbaum prior to the show’s opening. TITILAYO NGWENYA: HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE STEAMPUNK? BRUCE ROSENBAUM: For those who are new to Steampunk let me offer this simple math formula: History + Art + Technology = Steampunk. Steampunk started off as a subgenre of science fiction. It’s really a big “What if?” … [Read more...] about CORNERED: STEAMPUNK REIMAGINEER BRUCE ROSENBAUM
Capsule Preview: Dodson & Moerlein Boston Sculptors Gallery
DONNA DODSON: ZODIAC & ANDY MOERLEIN: GEOLOGY by Brian Goslow Boston, MA - Donna Dodson’s “Zodiac” sculptures & “Andy Moerlein: Geology” (featuring 30 new sculptural works created over the past year) goes on view today at Boston Sculptors Gallery, 486 Harrison Ave., Boston. There are a series of events tied to the show, including a reception this Friday (Sept. 9) from 5-8 p.m. and “The Art of Collecting: A Forum Talk and Luncheon” sponsored by the gallery & Boston Art Dealers Association talk on Saturday (Sept. 10) from noon-2 p.m. “Informed by Moerlein’s enthusiasm for scholars’ rocks, the ‘Geology’ will include found rocks, ceramic pieces, wood carvings, and sculptures in other media reinterpreting this ancient Chinese art form. The Chinese tradition of collecting scholars’ rocks involves the elegant presentation of precious and adored stones for … [Read more...] about Capsule Preview: Dodson & Moerlein Boston Sculptors Gallery