“TEN Kingston Associates: Entangled,” the latest show at Kingston Gallery, is a group exhibition that explores the connections between objects and ideas and how the process of making art begins to intertwine and become entangled by the concepts of shape, light, realism and abstractism. It features different interpretations of this prompt through a variety of mediums. Viewers are encouraged to ponder how both they and the artist react to the same ideas and feelings contained or transmitted by a work of art.
For this writer, two artists stole the show.
Anthony Falcetta’s abstract acrylic paintings of various color patterns and shapes explore how colors interact and how they can both fade into each but also have ridged divisions. His “Strange Overtones” features a wide array of red and blue hues in which some tones are leaking into others, while some of the shapes have hard rigid lines representing a distinct division between the colors and shapes. With the show’s mission in mind, this painting portrays to the viewer that while there is a major distinction between the artist and viewer, the actual separation is by label only. The ridge divides of the solid colors represents the surface-level distinction between artist and viewer, while flowing of color from blue to red represents the intersectionality that occurs between artist and non-artist. While most art is personal, the ideas and topics presented are concepts that every human experiences regardless of label.
Tatiana Flis’ work deals with the concept of home. Her pieces consist of graphite drawings and sculpture. Flis uses the prompt to explore how people deal with the idea of home. Flis’ “First-time Home Buyers” is a sculpture of two hands with their fingers entangled. The sculpture also features trees and fences on top of the hands and a small house hoisted up on tall poles. The holding hands are meant to represent the union of two people, and in this case, this union is in the form of marriage. The fences and trees on top of the hands are scarce and the trees look to be newly planted.
These features are there to show that these newlyweds are looking to build a life together and while there isn’t much at the start of their partnership, they have high hopes. The house held up on high posts is the representation of those high hopes. This viewpoint is not necessarily exclusive to the artists. There are plenty of people who would view this piece and either remember the time in which they were a newlywed buying a home for the first time, or they might be going through that process currently. Some viewers might differ on their fondness of the memory, but they will still be brought back to that time.
After taking a look at “Entangled,” one can argue that purpose of this show, which also includes works by Jamie Bowman, Steven Cabral, Jane Lincoln, Brian Littlefield, Rachel Mello, Rachel Sevanich, Rachel Thern and Anne Sargent Walker, is to prove to artists and non-artists that they share similar experiences and similar viewpoints. Artists take these experiences and viewpoints and use their art to bring these ideas to life.
(“TEN Kingston Associates: Entangled” is on view through August 12 at Kingston Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave. #43, Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, call (617) 423-4113.)