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New England's Culture Magazine

Artscope Magazine | November/December 2020

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BEST OF ONLINE SHOWS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN ARTISTS MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER’S “FLOATING DREAMS” STRIKES A CHORD

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Hannah Carrigan

One of four current National Association of Women Artists Massachusetts Chapter (NAWA MA) online exhibitions, “Floating Dreams” is poignant and peaceful — a welcome invitation to reflect and an engaging collection of works. The show explores, in tandem, the realms of the subconscious mind and the physical, tactile world. Full of pieces that one might not immediately associate with its theme, “Floating Dreams” challenges viewers to stay present and inquisitive among each contributing artists’ work. And this seems to be exactly what “Floating Dreams” is about: leaving ample space for interpretation; implying the slightly fantastical or subtly surreal; and allowing us to access our inner dreams, constant within us though scarcely recognized. In viewing the exhibition as a whole, the inspirational force of the natural world becomes clear. A few works feature obvious representations of … [Read more...] about BEST OF ONLINE SHOWS: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN ARTISTS MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER’S “FLOATING DREAMS” STRIKES A CHORD

REFLECTIONS FROM UNDER THE RUG SHOP: A PERSPECTIVE ON COVID-19 FROM INSIDE ARTSCOPE MAGAZINE

// Artscope Online, Audio/Visual, News, Uncategorized, Visual Arts

by Hannah Carrigan

In many ways it seemed as though something in the universe had been telling me the coronavirus pandemic was to come. I miraculously chose this semester to take a leave of absence from my college (which is five miles west of New Rochelle, the epicenter of the New York outbreak) and to spend it, instead, at Artscope Magazine’s “underground bunker” (so nick-named for its location under a rug shop). At the beginning of the pandemic I joked that COVID-19 was a form of divine intervention… a “Noah’s arc-type situation.” I don’t know if that’s what this is exactly, but I do know that what is happening now is both an ecological/biological and social/cultural episode.  The pandemic did not come as a surprise to everyone. The first recorded travel-related COVID-19 case came to America on January 21, while the outbreak in Wuhan had been ongoing since December. People like Bill Gates have been … [Read more...] about REFLECTIONS FROM UNDER THE RUG SHOP: A PERSPECTIVE ON COVID-19 FROM INSIDE ARTSCOPE MAGAZINE

COPING WITH COVID-19: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATION FROM THE ART WORLD

// Artscope Online, News

by Hannah Carrigan

While artists may be spending much of this pandemic in their studios working to produce new works, many of us are left without such established art practices to help us make sense of (or escape) our current radical reality. At the same time, COVID-19 has pushed art institutions and organizations to get creative about the ways in which they operate. Many have created resources for the general public, so that we can create, view or in some other way take part in the excitement and depth of art — from wherever we may be.  At a time when uncertainties, fear and illness plague our society, art remains a resource and practice which, in its essence, cannot be stamped out. And if we’re going to be quarantined, we might as well use our time at home to engage with that art: to pause, reflect, create and, ironically, participate. While galleries and artists scramble to keep their audiences … [Read more...] about COPING WITH COVID-19: INSIGHTS AND INNOVATION FROM THE ART WORLD

“A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR” AND OTHER CURIOUS NOTIONS AT HAMPDEN GALLERY

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Hannah Carrigan

D. Dominick Lombardi’s curation of whit is unmistakable. In a fine arts show at UMassAmherst’s Hampden Gallery featuring works by 26 artists, and with a theme as broad as humor, cohesiveness is not a given. And yet, while “A Horse Walks into a Bar” contains a myriad of mediums and styles, its parts come together to form a wonderfully silly, provocative and subtly nostalgic whole. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of “A Horse Walks Into A Bar” is the innovative and unique use of materials and methods to achieve a sense of playfulness and absurdity. Among the most intriguing of these is Lucy White’s Band-Aid prints, “Sex Pistols,” 2005, “Peace Panty,” 2006, and “I Hate You Brief  XL,” 2006. In her signature minimalist style, with an edge of art-poking-fun-at-art, White offers viewers an easy avenue into weighty issues like gender inequality and gun violence. Other exciting uses of … [Read more...] about “A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR” AND OTHER CURIOUS NOTIONS AT HAMPDEN GALLERY

CAN ART SAVE THE WORLD? CAA EXHIBITION TAKES ON THE LURKING DARKNESS

// March/April 2020

by Leah Hamilton French

When it seems that environmental protections are increasingly scaled back, even as we speed towards the point of no return, it is not unusual for so many artists to focus on the beautiful and wild things of this world, or to meditate on nostalgia for the past and their anxiety for the future. In the Cambridge Art Association’s annual Members Prize Show, many have done just that. This year’s show is larger than ever, with works by almost 60 artists in almost every conceivable media, and is split between two venues, the University Place Gallery and the Kathryn Shultz Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Walking through both spaces, one is struck by the proliferation of trees and other plant life in the paintings, photographs and prints on view. A carpet of bright red, yellow and pink leaves surround moss-covered roots in Erik Gehring’s photograph, “Red Maple #2.” Jane Sherrill’s … [Read more...] about CAN ART SAVE THE WORLD? CAA EXHIBITION TAKES ON THE LURKING DARKNESS

A GAME CHANGING OPENING: MASSART MUSEUM HAS A REFRESHING IMMEDIACY

// March/April 2020

by Suzanne Volmer

The Massachusetts College of Art & Design’s newly-minted MassArt Art Museum, branded as MAAM, offers audiences contemporary art immersion for free along Boston’s museum mile. Roughly the size of a boutique hotel, it presents art programming Kunsthalle style. As the product of a major architectural remodel, MAAM greets the public on the footprint of MassArt’s Paine and Bakalar Galleries. Its three inaugural exhibitions feature an eyeful of world-class installations to celebrate its emergence as a museum. “When visitors enter the museum, they enter off of Huntington Avenue through the outdoor Arne Glimcher Plaza,” explained MAAM director, Lisa Tung. When asked about the dedication Tung replied: “We are very fortunate to have alumnus Arne Glimcher as a donor on this project and as a friend of the college. His involvement extends beyond the museum — he funded a scholarship for the … [Read more...] about A GAME CHANGING OPENING: MASSART MUSEUM HAS A REFRESHING IMMEDIACY