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Artscope Magazine | May/June 2021

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MIT

COLOR FIELDS REVISITED: FLOOR VAN DE VELDE’S RHYTHMIC LIGHT BOXES AT SNHU

// Exhibits, Featured, November/December 2019, November/December 2019, Visual Arts

by Brian Goslow

Floor van de Velde got inspiration for her light boxes — featured in her latest exhibition, “Variations on ColorFields,” which opens on November 8 at McIninch Art Gallery on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University, from a Rothko exhibition at the Harvard Art Museum. “The university decided to hang some of Rothko’s panels in a dining room,” she said. “The panels lost the majority of their pigment over the years and they were considered damaged beyond repair. But then the Harvard Museum decided to try to revive the color by using projected light. Most critics and curators were busy discussing whether this method was as reliable or effective as traditional art renovation techniques, but meanwhile it made for a fascinating show that played with notions of color and light. I found myself returning to the show several times and just sitting there enjoying the luminous color … [Read more...] about COLOR FIELDS REVISITED: FLOOR VAN DE VELDE’S RHYTHMIC LIGHT BOXES AT SNHU

miriam cooke, Julie Mehretu, Asma Naeem and Deen Sharp (from left to right) at Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture panel discusson at MIT on April 8, 2019. Photograph by Donna Dodson.

MAKING CONNECTIONS: WITH JULIE MEHRETU

// Current Issue, Issue Articles, May/June 2019

by Donna Dodson

It is inspiring when our world-class universities invite artists to have a seat at the table. On Monday, April 8, 2019, MIT organized a panel discussion centering on the artist Julie Mehretu and her work as part of its ongoing lecture series at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. Nasser Rabbat, a renowned architectural historian and director of the AKPIA, welcomed the audience. The series focuses on art and the artist’s ability to respond to the violent conflicts that have engulfed the Middle East, particularly since the Arab uprisings that began at the end of 2010. This year’s guest was Mehretu, who cites Rabbat’s 2011 article in Artforum, titled, “Circling the Square” as a major inspiration for her work “Mogamma (a painting in four parts).” Mehretu, a New York-based artist, with miriam cooke, professor emerita at Duke University and author of “Dancing in Damascus: … [Read more...] about MAKING CONNECTIONS: WITH JULIE MEHRETU

Olafur Eliasson, "Northwest Passage," 2018, Stainless steel, LED lights, diffusers. An MIT Percent-for-Art Commission for MIT.nano (Photograph by Anton Grassl).

OLAFUR ELIASSON: NORTHWEST PASSAGE

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Donna Dodson

Olafur Eliasson has a long history with MIT and many local fans have been fortunate to hear him speak, attend a lecture or meet him in person over the years. In 2014, he received the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts that included a residency at the institution. At that time, he brought his “Little Suns,” a portable solar energy light source that he developed in 2012, to campus for support, development and innovation. His recent public art project, “Northwest Passage,” brings together his environmental concerns with the work he has done with his colleagues at MIT. Eliasson’s artist talk and sculpture dedication on February 26, 2019 offered up a window into his practice and way of thinking. Trained as an architect, he thinks about the big picture. For example, “Northwest Passage” refers to the sea route to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North … [Read more...] about OLAFUR ELIASSON: NORTHWEST PASSAGE