As traffic runs through Boston’s historic Newbury Street, passerby dash in and out of upscale shops with designer bags from Chanel, Valentino and Tiffany & Co. Yet, at Arden Gallery, visitors are transported far beyond the bustling urban streets with art of Boston-born John Stockwell in his exhibit, “Fields of Flax and Blue Belles.” Oil paint rises from the canvases like little mountains, as vibrant flowers bloom in rows, receding into a horizon that stretches out into endlessness. Skies are stroked with blues and whites, creating a kind of smoothness. The experience of viewing any of Stockwell’s works is one of magnitude and intensity because his impasto painting or the application of thickly-layered paint is one that lessens the space between gallery guests and the painting. It brings guests closer to it and takes them into the blooming flower rows of Sweden and its mesmeric … [Read more...] about TEXTURAL LANDSCAPES: JOHN STOCKWELL’S FIELDS OF FLAX AND BLUE BELLES AT ARDEN GALLERY
Newbury Street
CoSo’s Salute to Summer
From Ship to Shore to Newbury Street by Molly Hamill “Ship to Shore,” the 2016 juried summer members’ show at the Copley Society of Art, brings a plethora of vibrant work to their Newbury Street gallery. Juried by Austen Bailly, curator of American Art at the Peabody Essex Museum, the show includes over 30 works in a wide range of style, medium and technique. The paintings, photography and monotypes Bailly selected are a wispy, summery collection of landscapes, seascapes and still lifes, which together evoke a distinct and welcome sense of season. With over 300 artist members,the Copley Society has a deep pool of talent from which to draw — and the high caliber work in this show makes that clear. Don Dalton’s delicate watercolor, “Downeast Sunrise,” beautifully captures the particular moist, early morning heat that saturates a rocky shore with the warm anticipation of … [Read more...] about CoSo’s Salute to Summer