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Artscope Magazine | January/February 2021

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paintings

NEW BEDFORD TODAY: NEARBY WATERS INSPIRE SERIES OF EXHIBITIONS

// Current Issue, Issue Articles, January/February 2020

by Don Wilkinson

Two painters well-entrenched in the tradition of modern American realism, a computer animator working with experimental painting and drawing processes, and a sculptor with a site-specific work that will evolve over a period of half a year are in the spotlight in three spaces within the New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks! Displayed in the Heritage Gallery, painters Art Ballelli and Roy St. Christopher Rossow make a formidable and complementary pair in their exhibition called “Warmed by Sunshine, Lit by Starlight.” Ballelli, a native of Westerly, a perfect picture postcard town in southwestern Rhode Island, displays a series of acrylic paintings highlighting the Victorian era houses in his community. His style is crisp, almost to the point of starkness, and his “painted ladies” are visually cropped in a thoughtful manner that highlights their exquisite architectural details. The … [Read more...] about NEW BEDFORD TODAY: NEARBY WATERS INSPIRE SERIES OF EXHIBITIONS

A STUNNING HOMECOMING: N.C. WYETH’S MASTERFUL PORTLAND RETROSPECTIVE

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

by Taryn Plumb

Boats both rowed and sailed converge on a distinctly Maine island: a hump of rock, with some scrubs of trees but mostly barren, a simple residence located at its central, northernmost point. The sailboats anchor in the turquoise sea; the rowboats dragged up by their mates clutter the drab sand of the shore; and several indistinct figures make their way to the house surrounded by a makeshift maze of stone walls, a muted, impassive sky above. It is a crisp, solemn depiction, the island version of one of life’s few sureties — death. But the 1939, egg tempera and oil on hardboard, “Island Funeral,” is also illustrative of its artist’s range of style and emotion. Described aptly as an “ideal marriage of illustration and modern painting,” it is one of the central pieces of “N.C. Wyeth: New Perspectives,” at the Portland Museum of Art. On view through January 12, 2020, the traveling … [Read more...] about A STUNNING HOMECOMING: N.C. WYETH’S MASTERFUL PORTLAND RETROSPECTIVE

MIDCOAST MAINE: LOCAL COLOR AND FOODS AWAIT FALL ADVENTURERS

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Current Issue, Exhibits, Featured, September/October 2019, Visual Arts

by Leah Hamilton French

I like to joke that I found freedom in Maine. And in a way, it’s true. Recently, I traveled up the coast to the small town of Freedom for a much-needed weekend away. While there, I was delighted to find not just the peaceful, bucolic scenery I had been craving but also a region bursting with local flavor — from lobster shacks, farm-to-table restaurants and an Amish charcuterie to open studios, galleries and off the beaten path museums. Though summer is nearly over, the foliage will soon be blazing, and there is plenty of time to visit Midcoast Maine before winter. Local Color Gallery and Local Foods // Belfast, ME Belfast, at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River, has a bustling arts scene for such a small city. Many artists live and work in the region, displaying their work in Belfast’s many galleries, and the city hosts a monthly Fourth Friday Art Walk. Finch Gallery, Belfast … [Read more...] about MIDCOAST MAINE: LOCAL COLOR AND FOODS AWAIT FALL ADVENTURERS

UNIFYING A CREATIVE CITY: THIS YEAR’S NEWTON OPEN STUDIOS

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Featured, News

by Isabel Barbi

On April 6 and 7, the first beautiful weekend of the spring season, the city of Newton, Massachusetts, hosted their annual Newton Open Studios event. Now in its 22nd year, the event brought in over 150 artists showing and selling their work at 45 locations across the city. Host locations included the Newton City Hall, First Baptist Church in Newton Centre and various studios and homes, sharing spaces and showing their dedication their community. These locations, many of which are historic, were all marked by red balloons outside of the entrances. Beyond getting to know and explore the artists’ work, attendees were able to experience the love that Newton’s residents have for their city. These pop up exhibits and sales showed the creativity the people of Newton have to bring to the Boston area. Newton City Hall provided information about the event as you walked in the doors past the … [Read more...] about UNIFYING A CREATIVE CITY: THIS YEAR’S NEWTON OPEN STUDIOS

Under the Surface: Nedret Andre’s ‘Seagrass: Ecological Engineers’ at Hess

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Exhibits, Featured, Visual Arts

by Olivia MacDonald

Bold, whimsical lines and color travel across the canvases in Nedret Andre’s exhibit at Chestnut Hill’s Hess Galley. Stormy blues and fiery corals swirl and collide into each other, creating abstract forms and shapes. Andre’s oil paintings in the collection “Seagrass: Ecological Engineers” delve into the ethereal world of one of the most quickly deteriorating ecosystems on the planet—seagrass. When snorkeling, Andre witnessed this flowering plant thriving off of the sunlight cascading into the waters, giving life to thousands of sea creatures with its production of carbon for food and its safe habitat. This plant so vital to the health of coral reefs and estuaries unfortunately experiences the loss of two football fields worth each hour due to industrial fishing, invasive species and pollution. Andre captures the fragility, interconnectedness and enchantment of seagrass in “Bridge to … [Read more...] about Under the Surface: Nedret Andre’s ‘Seagrass: Ecological Engineers’ at Hess

ARE WE NEARING THE FINAL CHAPTER IN DA VINCI’S ‘SALVATOR MUNDI’ STORY?

// Artscope Online, Featured, News, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

No one knows the whereabouts of the most expensive painting ever sold, but it won’t be the first time the painting has disappeared and resurfaced. Let’s recount the history and mystery of this Dan Brown-like saga: “Salvator Mundi”, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, was commissioned by Louis XII of France in 1506. It took da Vinci seven years to complete the painting, making late 1512 the year of its arrival in England. It was brought to England by Henrietta Maria upon her marriage to Charles I in 1625. She kept it at the Queen’s House in Greenwich until it was sold to John Stone, a mason in 1651 when, following Charles I’s execution in 1649, it was returned to his inheritor, James II of England in 1660. It then went to his mistress, Catherine, Duchess of Dorchester whose illegitimate daughter’s illegitimate son, Sir Charles Sheffield, 1st baronet, auctioned it in 1763. It disappeared from … [Read more...] about ARE WE NEARING THE FINAL CHAPTER IN DA VINCI’S ‘SALVATOR MUNDI’ STORY?