One of the highlights of any group exhibition opening reception is the taking of a photograph of all the participants together. When “Crossroads: 4 Perspectives,” opened on October 10 at the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery at Worcester State University, Patricia Gerkin was in Italy on a short vacation with her husband. A few days later, Debra Claffey would be in New Orleans attending Golden Paint’s Artist Educator Training Program, learning about their paints, grounds and mediums, Donna Hamil Talman in Marseille, France, and only Charyl Weissbach was at her normal workspace in Boston. The four make up the Elemental artist collaborative, the members of which first met through New England Wax, a group started in 2006 for New England artists working with wax. Finding a commonality, they set out to find opportunities for exhibitions for just the four of them. “We spent a good deal of time, … [Read more...] about ENCAUSTIC CROSSROADS: ADDRESSING ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS THROUGH WAX AT WSU
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ENGAGING THE PLANET: FRIEL AND HIRST’S HANDS-ON ART AT CHAZAN
From November 21 through December 11, the Chazan Gallery in Providence presents “Of Rock and Air,” a two-person show of artwork by Mary Anne Friel and Leslie Hirst. These artists explore intense process-laden methods of making. Recently, while visiting their respective studios in Pawtucket, each explained their current aesthetics and what they will present at the Chazan Gallery. It was informative to see both artists at the stage of transition from labor-intensive, fabric-oriented processes to making decisions about the technical aspects of presentation for the Chazan space. Hirst is a full professor of Experimental and Foundation Studies at Rhode Island School of Design, and Friel is an associate professor in Textiles at the same institution. Looking at their upcoming exhibit in overview, one sees an obvious correspondence between their sensibilities. Friel’s artwork for the … [Read more...] about ENGAGING THE PLANET: FRIEL AND HIRST’S HANDS-ON ART AT CHAZAN