Welcome to the 15th anniversary issue of Artscope Magazine. Pulling together a group of strangers from around New England and turning them into a working arts community is not an easy goal, but it’s one that publisher Kaveh Mojtabai set out to do back in 2006. We are here, 91 issues later, thousands of formed friendships and professional partnerships later, hopefully about to navigate our way out of the pandemic of our lifetime that upended not only plans for the ...

I have to be honest. Thinking back across 10 years is a taxing exercise after the grinding, Groundhog’s Day-esque suspended animation of the past 12 months. But this is an anniversary issue, after all, and Artscope is not the only one celebrating in 2021. Founded by artists Marie Craig and Cheryl (Cherie) Clinton 10 years ago in 2011, the Fountain Street Fine Art gallery in Framingham’s Bancroft Building brought an unexpected variety of exhibits and artists into an area known ...

In “CURRENT|UNDERCURRENT,” an online show at UMass Amherst’s Hampden Gallery on view through May 14, both the acute and the latent pains of an unequal and unhealed America are exposed, dissected and felt. The exhibition, curated by Linda Griggs and M. Charlene Stevens, is overtly personal and political; consequently, it lends itself to vastly different viewing experiences. The show begins with works curated by Griggs which are organized into four themes: the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice, climate change and the ...

“And suddenly we have a passion, an insatiable desire to create. And this is where it all begins,” so states Alexander Gassel in one of his short stories. In “Painted Poetry,” Gassel’s retrospective at the Museum of Russian Icons, newly-appointed curator Dr. Lana Sloutsky has wisely chosen to include excerpts from the artist’s writings, which she translated from the Russian, as part of the wall text to expand on the visual narrative of his paintings. His desire to create has ...

Founded in 1935, Lexington Arts and Crafts (LexArt) continues to service the community and expand in resources and innovation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 86 years, the educational non-profit collaborative has undergone many intentional and inevitable changes, but the ones enacted in the past year are completely reshaping LexArt to even further “encourage and inspire artisans at all stages of their journeys” and “enrich lives through the power of art and craft,” quoted from their vision and mission ...

Forty-four Presidential portraits hang in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., each unique, reflecting stylistic and political preferences and concerns as visual art codes and signals points of view of society at the time it is produced. Recent events in our nation’s capital have drawn attention to recognizing the artist’s role as documentarian and interpreters of society’s views and preferences. Where a camera is aimed and what a videocam records is dependent on the stance of an artist and ...

Presented as part of the College of the Holy Cross’s Arts Transcending Borders program, the Cantor Art Gallery, One College St., Worcester, Massachusetts, is hosting an artist residency with Kevork Mourad, for which the Syrian-Armenian visual artist has created “Memory Gates” that will be on view from March 4 through April 11. Using his “signature style of spontaneous drawing and printmaking techniques,” the immersive installation is encouraged to be “imagined as a series of doors and passageways that visitors can ...

Hello, to all! Having been asked by my editor, Brian Goslow, to go over the summit experiences of my relatively long engagement on the staff of Artscopeas a writer, I’m more than willing. A decade is not a simple snap of the fingers. Writers love to write just as plumber’s love to plumb and, in fact, just as anyone who loves their job, picks up their tools, and begins to feel that lovely heft in their hands. And, as a ...

When times are uncertain, it is easy to fall into reminiscence of rosier days gone by. Revisiting the work, and lives, of three artists previously featured by Artscope could have led to a nostalgic look-back. Instead, what I found among the artists featured here were a keen optimism and drive to create, in the face of all obstacles, heartbreaks and physical limitations currently shared by so many of our fellow humans. Patricia Johanson, whose work I featured here in Artscope ...

Callthemrenegades.Mavericks.Rebels. Coming from a literary perspective, perhaps I’d call them artists who chose the road less traveled... For our 15th anniversary issue, six long-term writers for Artscope Magazine were chosen to profile favorite artists we’ve written about previously. A veteran writer of 14 years for the magazine, I was honored, and yet overwhelmed. Because— how do you narrow it down to three from the multitude of talented artists? But I’ve selected the three below. After deciding, I asked myself what ...

In this year of existential stress, Antoinette Winters, Laura Evans and Roya Amigh, all Boston artists, can teach us ways to endure the pervasive disturbances that threaten our personal psychic well-being as well as that of the culture. They bring to bear a quality of listening and clarity of response — above all, a spaciousness — that can support us in the face of outer burdens and inner needs unmet. Each artist’s minimalist sensibility — in installations, drawing and sculpture ...

Suzanne Volmer joined the Artscope staff in spring 2012; what follows are portions of recent discussions she’s had with New England artists she’s covered during her nine years with the magazine. A sculptor, painter and installation artist in her own right, her art will be on view from March 24 through April 25 at the LaunchPad Gallery at Boston Sculptors Gallery. WITH KENNY COLE (MONROE, MAINE) YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MONUMENTAL GOUACHE DRAWINGS, HAVE COMPLETED A BOOKLET ILLUSTRATING TRUMP’S ...

The pandemic dealt crushing blows to artists and arts instructions alike over the past year, with long-anticipated and installed solo exhibitions put on hold, and temporary building closures. But despite cancellations and staff furloughs, many museums in Connecticut have used this somnolent time well, continuing to plan for exhibitions that will better reflect Connecticut’s historic and ethnic populations, and keeping arts lovers engaged and wanting more with marvelous virtual programming. As many moved to soft openings, and mass vaccinations are underway, ...