Welcome Brian Goslow Welcome to our first issue of 2017, one that was put together during a time of great transition for our country and the Artscope family That was the backdrop in which Artscope correspondent J. Fatima Martins, filled with anxiety after a contested election period, prepared for her departure for Art Basel Miami Beach and the satellite fairs — officially separate but growingly impossible to tell apart events — during Art Week Miami on our behalf (along with ...

John Bisbee Donna Dodson Beth McLaughlin, Chief Curator of Exhibitions and Collections for the Fuller Craft Museum, described Maine sculptor John Bisbee as “a maker’s maker” who is “audaciously focused on his love affair with nails.” When he was booked for its current exhibition, she had no idea what work he would display. Our mantra for this project has been, ‘In John we trust,’” McLaughlin said. “We knew what he created would be epic. What I didn’t see coming was ...

AN ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE Jenine Shereos The sheer abundance of art in Miami and Miami Beach during Art Basel is staggering. One could easily spend three days absorbing the work at Basel itself, not to mention the 25 peripheral art fairs and other art events and openings happening concurrently throughout the city. While the atmosphere is fun and exhilarating, the crowds can be overwhelming, and museum fatigue is physically and mentally exhausting. What I did not expect were the quiet moments ...

THE ART WORLD TURNS UP THE HEAT J. Fatima Martins Art Basel, which hosts three events annually, celebrated its 15th season in 2016, concluding the year at its United States location at the Miami Beach Convention Center (the other two locations are in Hong Kong and its home base of Basel, Switzerland), continuing its status as the art market’s chief commercial event. Attendance this year was reported to be 77,000 visitors, with over 1000 registered news reporters and art writers ...

ARTSCOPE AT ART WEEK MIAMI J. Fatima Martins The dozen or so New England-based or affiliated artists and galleries, many of whom have been featured in Artscope, participated in the visually colossal annual Miami Art Fair Week to do one thing — make a lot of money. While Art Basel Miami Beach, celebrating its 15th edition, continued as the dominant force of the week, setting the curatorial tone of “diverse global inclusion” as its theme and robustly maintaining its status ...

TALENT WITHOUT LIMITS Jamie Thompson The Chinese meaning of “Wou-Ki” is “without limitation,” an appropriate moniker for an artist who worked in several media and blended disparate styles to shape his own unique vision. “No Limits: Zao Wou-Ki” is the first retrospective of his work in the United States, and it serves to reinvigorate interest in this enigmatic artist. The exhibition began at New York City’s Asia Society Museum, and will be on view at Colby College Museum of Art ...

ART AS IMPETUS IN RHODE ISLAND Suzanne Volmer Started as a trailblazing measure for contemporary art in Rhode Island, “Networks” has been an educational platform to convert skepticism into identification, so that art could function as a catalyst for the state’s revitalization. “Networks” segments have regularly aired on Rhode Island PBS, produced by art patron Joseph A. Chazan, M.D. The video documentations by Richard Goulis focus on studio visits with some of Rhode Island’s creative individuals, and each documentary explores ...

MARJORY REID AT HOTCHKISS By Kristin Nord At a time when many of the region’s weekenders have headed off to warmer climates and much of Northwestern Connecticut can feel a bit buttoned up, the Tremaine Gallery at The Hotchkiss School is offering strong bursts of color through February 5. The current show focuses on work by longtime teacher Marjory Reid and two close friends — Warner Friedman and Janet Rickus, professional artists from Sheffield, MA — all with significant studio ...

SAUDI ARTISTS’ PHANTOM PUNCH Taryn Plumb An image of an outdoor mural depicts what would no doubt be a culture shock for many westerners: Eight swords, flanked by elegant Arabic writing, pointing at two women — one completely veiled in black, the other uncovered, long hair falling to her shoulders. The latter? Marked with an “X.” Her properly-dressed, anonymous counterpart, meanwhile? Given full approval with a check mark. As if in contrast, a group of young girls, all dressed in ...

PERIPHERY SPACE IS ON THE GRID Suzanne Volmer Expressing a contemporary saturation of process, Robert Paasch’s paintings are installed as an organized swipe of abstract information in “Reality Duality — Paintings from the Open Block Grid Series,” the third exhibition presented at Periphery Space in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In constructing his paintings, Paasch employs two techniques that join in forming a single work. The first involves a background layer that looks like emulsion smears or magnifications of residue from the ...

FALCO IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED Don Wilkinson Apprehension, malaise, unease — call it what you will, but anxiety weighs heavy on the zeitgeist and informs our collective discourse. Humor, however, can take the edge off a bit, and Bostonbased illustrator-cartoonist Pat Falco provides the prescription. Falco, a 2010 graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, with concentrations in illustration and the history of art, has a distinctive style drawing from a wide range of influences. His ...

HOPPER BEQUEST OPENS NEW DOORS Laura Shabott Ninety-six drawings by American painter Edward Hopper, 69 drawings and watercolors by his wife Josephine Hopper, and 22 of her diaries were donated to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum this past fall in memory of Mary Schiffenhaus. It is one of the largest donations in the 102-year history of the museum. The story of the Hopper acquisition began over a decade ago when PAAM was a leaky building in desperate need of ...

DIGGING FOR ANSWERS AT LASELL Elizabeth Michelman “Is This Something?,” a fiveperson exhibition curated by Janet Kawada at Lasell College opening on January 24, grew out of her conversation with Deborah Klotz after Klotz returned from an archaeological dig in Israel. Klotz had spent a day sifting sand and searching among shards for any that might have greater personality than the rest. Each time she picked up a fragment and inspected it she wondered, “Is this something?” Klotz came home ...

MIXING TURTLES WITH TRADITION John P. Stapleton Cartoons, illustrations, and their history are important to Springfield Museums. From various exhibits to their gift shop and their sculpture garden, hometown hero Dr. Seuss is always present. But for their new exhibit, “Turtle Power,” they delve into this subject from a new, yet still local, direction: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) and the Japanese warriors that inspire them. “The goal of the exhibit is to bring together a pop culture icon ...

A PURR-FECT TRIBUTE TO DR. SEUSS John P. Stapleton There are many ways that we can think about a cat wearing a hat, but the first one the mind jumps to is almost always Dr. Seuss’ favorite furry friend, The Cat in the Hat. In anticipation of its new Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, scheduled to open this June, the Springfield Museums have put on the “Cats in Hats” exhibit, featuring over two dozen works of art that depict ...

WHISTLER’S FALL JURIED EXHIBIT Flavia Cigliano The arts community in Lowell, Massachusetts continues to grow, with the Whistler House Museum of Art, home of the Lowell Art Association, as one of its most engaged and popular members. The museum’s 2016 Fall Juried Members’ Exhibition brings together a representative sampling of area artists’ best works. Although juried shows are a substantial undertaking for any organization, these exhibits afford the community at- large the opportunity to observe and compare artists’ differing interpretations ...

MONOTYPES AT GREAT BAY Linda Chestney What is the purpose of life if not to teach us wisdom and impart knowledge? Art is one of the tools in life that does just that. To quote one of the artists in the exhibition, “A Small Show of Large Works,” on view through January 26 at the Gateway Gallery at Great Bay Community College, featuring works by members of the Monotype Guild of New England, “the creative endeavor is an intuitive journey ...

SALUTING TALENT AT ARTPROV Suzanne Volmer Featuring an eclectic mix of works, “This and That” is a show that ArtProv Gallery plans to serve as a guideline to the year ahead. It runs through January 20 and will be followed by “Henry’s Kids” in February. New work by a handful of artists from the first show will carry over into the second exhibition, with the list of participants expanding to include a whopping 31 artists who acknowledge the importance that ...

ART EDUCATION EVOLVES Kristin Nord Being a working artist today means being many things — as Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts graduates are proving. They are art teachers and animators, medical illustrators and gallery owners, portrait artists and toy designers, puppeteers, prosthetics designers, creative directors, storyboard artists, computer game artists and cartoonists. And the list goes on. While the curriculum overall remains committed to the study of nature and the human form — the traditional modes of teaching that ...

WORKING TOGETHER AT WHEELOCK Kristin Wissler Imagine that you open your mailbox one day and find a letter, open it, and inside is a small piece of artwork — with an explanation that your job is to contribute to this piece of artwork in some fashion. You can draw on it with markers or pencils, paint on it with watercolors or oils, or even make a collage with it. You can do anything you want, as long as you can ...

TEACHING ARTISTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Alexandra Tursi “We need art and artists more than ever right now,” said Thomas Christopher Greene, president of the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), hinting at the current political environment in which we find ourselves. “Art is a way of knowing and a way to the truth.” That’s why one small college nestled in the smallest state capital in the country is quickly becoming a national model for fine arts education and turning ...

INSPIRING A MORE CHEERFUL WORLD Tom Soboleski From a past that includes stints as an artist’s model, a Playboy Bunny, a blues singer and a hairdresser, Pamela Allegretto has risen into rarified air — success in two artistic vocations. Blessed with dual talent — flourishing artist an accomplished author — the Haddam, Conn. resident has found her voice and uses it to advocate for a happier world and to honor the past. “I always knew I wanted to be an ...