As its artist prospectus had called for artwork to “celebrate the unexpected beauty of winter and the promise of spring,” taking a train trip whose tracks traveled alongside woods, streams and hills was the perfect preparation to review the Copley Society of Art’s 2020 winter members’ show, “Full Spectrum.” One of the first works I was pulled towards was “Waiting for Spring,” a sharp watercolor painting by Kara Bigda. I had to move right up to it to confirm it wasn’t a photograph due to its finelydetailed, well-weathered boards of the barn portrayed in it. The same attention was given to its leafless branches. Right above it, Wray Clifford’s “First Signs” oil painting of an apple tree’s first buds of the year on a snow-covered hillside benefited from a fine mastery of the artist tools used to make it. It was painted from images Clifford took while visiting friends in Sunday River, … [Read more...] about OUR EVER-CHANGING MOODS: SPRING’S TIMELY ARRIVAL AT COPLEY SOCIETY
Copley Society of Art
NEWBURY STREET RE\VISION: A SENSE OF PLACE AT COPLEY SOCIETY
There are times that our lives demand new experiences and nowhere else is this more the case than when it comes to viewing art — that is, unless the experience of not knowing what comes next in your everyday life has worn you down. Which is, of course, where many of us find ourselves in the summer of 2019, grasping for something that feels familiar and comfortable. Thankfully, “Re\Vision,” the Summer Members Show at the Copley Society of Art, brings us back to places, feelings and sensations that are only a short walk or drive away — the beach, an artist’s studio, a fresh painting, abandoned buildings still holding the smallest suggestion of a rebirth being possible. Erin R. Corrales-Diaz, assistant curator of American art at the Worcester Art Museum, was the show’s judge and curator. “Having had the honor to jury other art exhibitions in the past, I knew I wanted to start by … [Read more...] about NEWBURY STREET RE\VISION: A SENSE OF PLACE AT COPLEY SOCIETY
CAPSULE PREVIEWS
“Renewal” is the theme of this year’s “Annual Juried Members Show” that opened on February 28 at the Copley Society of Art, 158 Newbury St., Boston. The exhibition, which continues the gallery’s tradition of covering a wide variety of mediums, including painting, photography, graphite and pastel, was curated by Meg White, director of Gallery NAGA. First prize was awarded to Acadia Mezzofanti’s illusionistic photograph, “Self-Portrait: Untamed;” Carolyn Latanision’s watercolor painting of a rusted steel engine, “Powered Down, Bethlehem Steel,” took second prize while Mary Hughes earned third p rize for her abstract painting, “Ice Flow I,” which evokes winter-ice surfaces. The show runs through March 28. Art League Rhode Island is presenting “Twisting Fibers — An Art for All Reasons,” an open juried national exhibition that opens on March 8 and continues through May 8 at the Blackstone … [Read more...] about CAPSULE PREVIEWS
Elevated at Copley Society of Art: Quietly Powerful
There are moments in contemporary art where one is confronted with the big question: Why do I need to contemplate an exhibition when it looks conventional? Hasn’t this been done before? “Elevated” at Copley Society of Art (CoSo) is one of those scream-less conundrum exhibitions. It is a quiet medium-sized national photography show featuring 30 works by both CoSo members and non-members juried by Robert Klein of Robert Klein Gallery that’s on view through October 3. As expected, in a contemporary exhibition, the works on view are in black and white and color formats and range in subject from landscape to figurative, and the display set-up is commercial in that the work is framed and easy to sell. The photographers showcased are Doug Adams, Frank Bartucca, David Lee Black, Sally Bousquet, Dan Cook, John Dalterio, Jim Ferguson, Tim Hale, Robert Hein, Andrea Kemler, Keri McAndrews, … [Read more...] about Elevated at Copley Society of Art: Quietly Powerful
A THOUGHTFUL OBSERVER: KALIAN BEARS WITNESS AT COSO
COVER STORY LUCY KALIAN: WITNESSES COPLEY SOCIETY OF ART 158 NEWBURY STREET BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS MAY 17 THROUGH JUNE 17 Lucy Kalian always wanted to be an artist. As a young child, she enjoyed sitting in the kitchen watching her Armenian female relatives mold edible shells to fill with food. The shells seemed to be sculpted, she recalled. “I was always making things and everything I saw or heard excited me,” Kalian said. “I was unusually observant and highly sensitive. Every morning I woke early and went into the wooded valley between our home and a farm where my favorite fallen tree harbored my cherished pencils and paper. I had a deep sense of yearning and urgency that had to be confronted. Not much has changed.” Approaching midlife, Kalian began taking art classes and attending art workshops. Then she discovered the Grand Central Academy in New York City, now … [Read more...] about A THOUGHTFUL OBSERVER: KALIAN BEARS WITNESS AT COSO
SHAKEN AND STIRRED & SHAKE IT UP AT THE COPLEY SOCIETY OF ART
By James Foritano Boston, MA - I found myself at the opening reception for the Copley Society of Art’s 2017 Winter Members Show, “Shaken and Stirred,” strangely resonating with its title. I seemed to have left my wife back at the Park Street Red Line station under a misunderstanding too complicated to explain, so I suffered some suspense while waiting for her to reappear. The incident ended well, but I still wonder if the muse of art had a hand in preparing me with empathy for those scenes of art which capture the fragile relationship we humans have with each other and our enfolding environment. “Just Hanging Out,” a warm and vividly colored oil painting by Gail Sauter, struck notes of intimacy as a few friends bent their elbows together at a local bar while the white-shirted bartender, close enough for conversation, put sparkle in just washed glasses. As in all art, it was … [Read more...] about SHAKEN AND STIRRED & SHAKE IT UP AT THE COPLEY SOCIETY OF ART