the newest romantics x destruction of memory x transition of power x the me nobody knows
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Inter-Dimensional Ports of Whatsoever
When: On view through April 1, 2017.
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 26, 2017 5:30 – 7:30PM
Where: Gallery at Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
How: Official Website
What/Why: “The Fort Point Arts Community is pleased to announce Inter-Dimensional Ports of Whatsoever at the Gallery at Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210.
Curated by Anabel Vázquez Rodríguez, this eclectic exhibit brings together thirty + works from nineteen New England based artists. Abstract, landscape and figurative manifestations in traditional and multimedia works reference the inter-dimensions through migration, sci-fi, post apocalyptic and inner cosmos points of departure.”
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DRAW/BOSTON
When: On view January 23 – March 4, 2017
Where: Mass Art Galleries, 621 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115
How: Official Website
What/Why: “DRAW/Boston brings together the private sketches of nearly four dozen artists from around the world in an exhibition that provides a revealing look into both the drawing process and the artists’ innermost thoughts. The exhibition includes an interactive and live-action mural – Demonstration Drawings – by Rirkrit Tiravanija that will reflect some of the most pressing political topics of our time.”
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The Newest Romantics – Sculptors of Botanical Photography
When: On view through January 20 – March 25, 2017
Opening Reception: January 20, 6-8PM
Where: New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newtonville, MA 02460
How: Official Website
What/Why: “The Newest Romantics: Sculptors of Botanical Photography, a group exhibition curated by Jamilee Lacy, features artists working with photographic imagery and objects depicting botanical still lifes, landscapes and environments. On view in New Art Center’s main gallery from January 20 through March 25, the exhibition features formal variations of photography in combination with sculpture, video, architecture and site-specific installation.
“The Newest Romantics” title is Lacy’s intentional casting of these contemporary artists as a new generation dealing with themes original to the Romantic era—scenic vistas, winding paths, bucolic meadows, and overgrown exotic flora that express the inherent power and beauty of nature and set scenes of the sublime. But unlike the original Romantics, who opposed the strictly symmetrical, formal gardens and landscapes held dear by the aristocracy, The Newest Romantics embrace the tension between nature’s chaos and Modernism’s angular order.
While historical interpretations of nature in art underpin the exhibition’s theme, the artists featured also harness the illusive qualities of photography and sleek lines of architectural sculpture in ways that showcase today’s cutting-edge photographic processes. Whether constructed of orderly green-scale photographic panels or billowing and colorful cut-paper strands, the photographs of Elizabeth Corkery and Jessica Labatte present the romantic allure of secret gardens and jewel-toned florals—real or abstract. Theresa Ganz and Letha Wilson compactly synthesize lush botanicals with harsh, almost barren landscapes, conjuring apt yet contrasting references to both the paintings of John Constable and the Hudson River School. Lenticular and architectural photographic structures by Amy Beecher and Frank Poor explore the development of new, hybrid edifices through the combination of unruly, overgrown landscapes and framed space. Other artists like Heidi Norton, Clement Valla and Erin Leland consider Romantic notions—from manicured flora to dramatic wildflower gardens—through the lens of later art historical movements and in this digital age of staged studio photography, computerized picture-making apparatuses and industrial fabrication methods. Holistically, The Newest Romantics exhibition demonstrates the lasting thematic, cultural and emotional connections artists cultivate with their environments, whether built, natural or something in between.”
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A Step Beyond | 26.5N, 77.8W
When: On view through March 5, 2017
Where: Leica Gallery Boston, Park Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts 02116
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Leica Gallery Boston is proud to present “A Step Beyond | 26.5N, 77.8W,” an exhibit from fine arts photographer Eileen McCarney Muldoon highlighting daily life in the city of Havana, Cuba. The collection will debut on January 5, 2017 with an opening reception, and be available for public viewing from January 5 – March 5, 2017.
26.5N, 77.8W denotes the latitude and longitude of Cuba, setting the location for the collection. These photos are the result of McCarney Muldoon’s experiences traveling within Cuba for the past five years, co-teaching photography workshops to fellow enthusiasts on the island. Through these personal encounters, she has captured the homes, lives, and fervent hospitality of the Cuban people and their culture. Her passion shines through in her honest and revealing photographs.
This exhibit is McCarney Muldoon’s first at Leica Gallery Boston. Living and working in Jamestown, RI, her photographic style has been described as painterly, but she prefers to attribute it to her vision of the world, expressed through the photographic expression.
McCarney Muldoon’s work has also been exhibited at Newport Art Museum, The Providence Art Club, Mystic Arts Center and numerous galleries throughout New England and New York. Most recently, she was accepted to the Fine Art & Documentary Photography Show in Berlin for Women Photographers 2016.”
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Drawing: The Invention of a Modern Medium
When: On view through May 7, 2017
Where: Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street , Cambridge, MA 02138
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Drawing became modern in the 18th century, when it left the confines of the artist’s studio to enter an expanded field of discourse, culture, politics, and social life. This transformation is most evident in France, where drawing was significantly, and influentially, repositioned and reconceptualized. This exhibition traces the emergence of the modern understanding of drawing from the 18th through the 19th century in multiple senses: as an autonomous form of expression, an index of the artist’s style, an object of aesthetic contemplation, an epistemological tool, and a commodity. The variety of techniques, materials, and approaches presented here offer a historically complex answer to the basic question: what does it mean to draw?
While historically grounded, the exhibition is not organized chronologically; rather, it is arranged around a constellation of categories that speak to key aspects of drawing. The display is divided into three sections—Medium, Object, Discourse—and, within them, into several subsections that treat the basic procedures of drawings not merely as the means but also as the agents of representation. “Medium” refers to the conjunction of materials and techniques with the historically specific conventions that govern their use in drawing. It explores artists’ interaction with, rather than simply their use of, the material bases of drawings. “Object” addresses the social and cultural functions and uses of drawing, focusing on its role as a tool of artistic instruction, its relation to reproductive technologies, its uses in architecture and decorative design, and its contribution to the production of knowledge. “Discourse” considers drawing as a means of conceptualization as well as a visual mode of thinking.
This exhibition is the result of a unique collaboration between Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, the William Dorr Boardman Professor of Fine Arts at Harvard University; Elizabeth M. Rudy, the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Associate Curator of Prints at the Harvard Art Museums; and the Harvard students who helped develop and organize the exhibition in the context of two seminars from the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters, held in the museums’ Art Study Center.”
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Doug Weathersby: A Year in Review
When: On view through February 25, 2017
Where: VERY, 59 Wareham Street, Boston, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “VERY presents A Year in Review, a culminating exhibition by Doug Weathersby Environmental Services LLC. Boston-based artist Doug Weathersby has owned and operated Environmental Services since 2002 with the promise to “provide you with fresh perspectives on your living and working space” all while fulfilling your home repair needs. Weathersby founded ES after receiving his MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art, and he quickly rose to prominence as the recipient of the Boston ICA’s Artist Prize in 2003.
ES projects cover everything from tidying up unruly basements and art studios to building cabinetry and installing artwork. During his tasks Weathersby collects, organizes, and rearranges various debris from the site. He chronicles his progress through a photo log where he records the details of his daily work: dust drawings, stacks of discarded wood, empty cans streaming with dried paint.
Weathersby’s sensitive documentation is a self-reflexive and light-hearted meditation on artistic process. He often displays his photographs in galleries alongside the materials depicted in them which he then transforms into sculptural installations. His recent solo shows include Paint Shed Showcase at the Solomon Projects in the Atlanta, Georgia and What is Yours is Mine at DODGEgallery in New York.
A Year in Review incorporates items that Weathersby has amassed from jobs over the course of the past year as well as site-specific installation and video. Generated by curiosity and a perpetual string of improvisations, Weathersby’s work frames and interrogates everyday environments to engineer new ways of seeing.
A Year in Review will be on view at VERY from January 14 to February 25, 2017. The Opening Reception is on January 14, 6-10 pm.”
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Re_Volt_Ing
When: January 20, 7-10PM
Where: Distillery Gallery, 516 East 2nd Street, South Boston, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “re·volt·ing
an art show in protest
With curated spaces by: Pat Falco, Tory Fair, Rory Bledsoe, Gabriel Sosa, Kevin Lucey, J.R. Uretsky, Brian Christopher Glaser and John Roy.
Featuring work by:
The Diversity Fellows, Franklin Evans, Annette Lemieux, Dave Ortega, Taylor Davis, Elaine Bay, Xray Aims, Lani Asuncion, Siobhan Landry, Mark Robinson, Nisu Seder, Henry Samelson, Ari Vinayak, Marlon Forrester, John Axon, Cara Kuball, Fritz Pielstick, Julia Kwon, Philana Brown, Chat Travieso, Kristen Mills, Cash For Your Warhol, Zachary Naylor, Kristine Roan, Jena Tegeler, Hilary Tait Norod, Mark Hoffmann, Brendan MacAllister, Emily Pardoe, LiAnn Natter, Tim McCool, Mark Tucker, Christine Tinsley, Jason Wallace, Julia Parker, Fanny Wickström, Samuel Guy, Ashley Holzwasser, Rebecca Ness, Sean O’Connor, Joanna Tam, Evan Smith, Charlie Crowell, Ali Reid, and Marissa Graziano
Curated by:
Robert Moeller”
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Let’s Story – Opening Reception and Public Reflection
When: Installation on view through March 12 , 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, January 20 at 6 PM – 8 PM
Other Events:
Artist Workshop for Children & Families:
Friday, January 27, 2017, 6:00-7:30pm
Artist Workshop for Children & Families:
Wednesday, February 21, 2017, 10:30am-12:00pm
Process Report & Film Screening:
Sunday, March 5th, 2017, 11:00am-1:00pm
Where: Boston Children’s Museum, 308 Congress St, Boston, Massachusetts 02210
How: Official Website
What/Why: “For the second year, Boston Children’s Museum and Alter Projects have come together to facilitate the CURRENT Artist Residency. This year, we have been fortuante to work with artist Joanna Tam, whose project “Let’s Story” uses conversation, questions, animation, audio, and objects from the Museum’s collection, to draw out and present stories from children, their families and Museum Staff. Tam has been inspired by the potential teachability of objects as well as exploring methods for centering and amplifying children’s voices.
During this event we welcome any and all children, their families and caregivers, artists and others, to not only enjoy the work of Joanna Tam and BCM but also to connect, converse and reflect on how our stories, especially those of children, will define and defend the future of our national and global communities. There family-friendly activities during the event and a storyshare from Joanna Tam at 7:00pm.”
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Transition of Power: 2017
When: On view through March 11, 2017
Opening Reception: January 21, 2017 4-6PM
Where: 13FOREST, 167 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, Massachusetts 02474
How: Official Website
What/Why: “13FOREST Gallery is pleased to present Transition of Power: 2017, an exhibition dedicated to artistic voices in response to the current state of American politics.
In an increasingly polarized nation, we often look to artists to make sense of the world around us. Transition of Power: 2017 features eBay, John Campbell, Asia Kepka, Mark Luiggi, Ted Ollier, Dimel Rivas, Sarah Rushford and Jason Wallace. Working in a range of media, from photography to sculpture, printmaking to painting, each of these Boston-area artists offers unique commentary on the nature of our (dis)union. Read More: http://13forest.com/
Can’t make it to Washington? Celebrate local voices and political participation as we mark the opening of Transition of Power: 2017.”
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David Prifti: Tintypes
Jaclyn Kain: Cyanotypes
When: On view through January 28th, 2017
Where: Gallery NAGA, 67 Newbury Street, Boston, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Gallery NAGA’s 40th year begins with an exhibition of photographers using 19th century processes to express ideas of the passage of time.
Jaclyn Kain: Cyanotypes and David Prifti: Tintypes both run from January 6 through 28 at Gallery NAGA. A public reception will be held at the gallery on Friday, January 6 from 6 to 8 pm. Gallery NAGA has teamed up with Bar Mezzana to host a round-table discussion and dinner with Jaclyn Kain, Colin Lynch (Chef/Partner of Bar Mezzana), and Heather Lynch (General Manager/Partner of Bar Mezzana) on Thursday, January 5 at 6pm. Reservations for this intimate event may be made by calling 617.530.1770.
Having just finished her Master’s degree from the New Hampshire Institute of Art, Jaclyn Kain is producing more than ever. Her latest body of work was shaped by the discovery, in the summer of 2015 on a beach in Boston, of a deceased child’s body. During this time Kain was printing portraits of her children inside sea shells and leaving them on beaches to be discovered. The incident, coming at the same time as her abandoned shell portraits, prompted a departure in Kain’s subject matter, away from her children and to the water and beaches in and around Boston, as a means of understanding, grieving, and acknowledging a loss of this magnitude, especially as a mother.
Jaclyn Kain photographs the water in the Boston Harbor, capturing the ever-changing and abstract reflections that play on the surface. Negatives are made from the digital files and contact-printed using the cyanotype process, first discovered in 1842 and producing a cyan-blue print. The paper is then coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. At this point, all that is needed is light and water to create the print. The subject matter and the methodology of the work are intertwined, light and water being both the content of the work and the ingredients required to process the prints. The rich blue hues transform the surface and depths of the water into formal patterns of light, shadow, and tonality.
“There was no recipe for this process,” Kain remarks. “The reaction of the chemistry with the paper varies in every print and I embrace the beautiful inconsistencies that emerge.”
David Prifti once wrote that is was his desire to explore his life through the things that shaped it. These formative elements were his relationships, his memories, his sense of family, rites of passage, aging and death. The creative process that led to all of his photographs was indirectly a very personal journey for him.
In 2011, David Prifti died at age fifty of pancreatic cancer. This marked the end of a renowned photographic career and 25 years of teaching at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. In 2005 he adopted a process new to him, albeit one popular in the 19th century. Shooting with large-format wet-plate collodion emulsions on glass, Prifti made tintype portraits of students, friends, and acquaintances as well as natural still-lifes. Imperfections that occurred on the edges of the plates only add to their precious quality and mediate the intensity of the images.
Prifti would often photograph portraits in nature and in particular the area around the Assabet River in Concord. Those portraits were accompanied by still-lifes of decaying logs, vegetation, insects and birds. Eastern Kingbird (death) portrays a bird, its body resting on a piece of wood with its feet hovering over its white belly, quietly tender in its pose. In Polyphemus a moth’s wings are spread open against a tree while a hand, presumably David Prifti’s, reaches in as if to startle the insect. The still-lifes are unified by the questions they ask us. Has Prifti captured the final image of these creatures’ existence or are we looking at post-mortem photographs? This ambiguity forces us to question the very idea of mortality.
David Prifti’s photographs have been exhibited at such venues as the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln MA. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, the Boston Public Library, Danforth Art, and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.”
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Pat Oleszko | Fool for Thought
When: Wednesday, January 25 at 4:30 PM – 8 PM
Where: 515 South St, Waltham, MA 02453-2720, United States
How: Official Website
What/Why: “The Fabulous Pat Oleszko will speak about the history of her work and the current show at the Kniznick Gallery.
Performance artist Pat Oleszko makes a spectacle of herself—and doesn’t mind if you laugh. With elaborate handmade costumes and props, she utilizes the body as armature for ideas in an array of lampoons that call her audience to action. From the personal to the political, her performances and installations ceremoniously exorcize through humor. Hoisting an enormous burning bra on the exterior of the Women’s Studies Research Center, the exhibition Fool for Thought highlights costumes and performances from a wild variety of events including Hello Folly: The Floes & Cons of Arctic Drilling, Oldilocks and the Bewares, Stalking Walking Topiary and The Pat and the Hats. Oleszko, self-identified as the Fool in question and the questioning Fool, fans the flames with rousing absurdity and maintains that she who laughs, lasts.”
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Building a Lineage
When: On view through January 29, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday January 21, 2017 6-9PM
Where: Piano Craft Gallery, 793 Tremont St, Boston, Massachusetts 02118
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Boston, Massachusetts – Building a Lineage: Photography by Tara Butler, Allison Cekala, Jodie Mim Goodnough, Defne Kirmizi, Molly Lamb, Sarah Pollman, and Sadie Wechsler, will be on display at the Piano Craft Gallery January 6-29, 2017, with an opening reception on Saturday, January 7, from 6:00-8:30 p.m.
History is built through rhizomatic connections fostered between peers, teachers, colleagues, and friends. Building a Lineage explores these connections through a case study of seven photographers. Formal connections reveal influences as much as conceptual connections reveal the emotional tenures of friendships. The process of influence is organic; it is impossible to separate out who is a teacher, a friend, or a colleague.
The exhibition Building a Lineage, open to the public and free, will be open throughout January on Fridays from 6:00-8:00 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00-5:00 p.m., and by appointment at the Piano Craft Gallery, a historic Boston landmark at 793 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The Piano Craft Gallery is dedicated to offering thought-provoking and engaging exhibitions.”
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Jane Rainwater | Drawings and Encaustics
When: On view through February 15, 2017
Where: EBK Gallery, 218 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT
How: Official Website
What/Why: “My work is beautiful and ugly. People are often attracted to the aesthetics of an image or object that stimulates desire. Decorative objects are collected and exhibited in the home as status symbols of affluence and refinement. My work engages the viewer with its seemingly innocent decorative delight; yet upon closer examination the work challenges and questions our attraction by revealing darker truths. I explore the hidden cost inherent in most of what we find seductively attractive. My current series, Botanical Tyranny, Memento Mori, Insect Insurrection and Birds of Pray, reference classical nature illustration, Victorian silhouettes, wallpaper and prints as a critique of cultural history.
A dark undercurrent of “cultural reckoning” informs my series drawings and prints. Rooted in the tradition of botanical illustration, the silhouettes of seeming real plants and animals are in fact, carefully constructed from silhouettes of axes, scimitars, guns and grenades. Our measured gardens and cultivated civility are rooted in a history of violent conquest. While grenades may have replaced scimitars in our arsenals, the underlying theme remains. The beauty of our culture, like that all of those which preceded it, is but a mask for the ugliness of our own nature.”
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HOME: SELF SPIRIT SPACE
When: On view through February 26, 2017
Opening Reception: Jan. 25, 4:30 – 6:00
Where: Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610
How: Official Website
What/Why: “The word home can have myriad associations for each person, but on a broad archetypal level, home conjures the realm of domestic life, a household with various members, a secure dwelling, private space, and a place of sanctuary and refuge. Home also can be seen as existing in concentric circles the initial ring being that which encircles the individual and members of a household most closely whether it be a private house, communal residence, apartment, dormitory, or temporary shelter followed by larger circles of hometown and ever expanding associations with region, nationality, and identity.
To feel at home suggests a sense of belonging and comfort. But, of course, it is quite possible not to feel at home in ones actual domicile or physical location and the concept of home may feel elusive or precarious depending on life circumstances, geography, and politics. The artists in this exhibition offer various perspectives on this universal longing for home – the quest for a sense of safety, peace, acceptance, and well-being. Some of the work confronts issues of displacement and loss, while other pieces depict the simple pleasures of domestic life and the careful construction of personal space. The potency of everyday objects and the memories they trigger are also a focus of investigation. And a few of these artists play on sentimental or cliché associations of home. Though the stories are often personal, the themes are universal.
This was a juried show in response to an open call. The artists included come from all over New England and range from graduate student to well-established and renowned professional.
This exhibition was curated and installed by the students in ARTS 296 Gallery Culture and Practice, a problems of practice course, in which students explore opportunities to connect what they learn in the classroom with issues and matters faced by professionals working beyond the campus. Those students are: Madison Boardman, Maria Escobar Pardo, Katlyn Greger, Grant Henry, Celine Hunt, Autumn Perez, Aliyah Rawat, F. N. U. Rouran, Andrea Schuster, Andre Toribio, and Amy Yeager.
Artists:Joan Baldwin, Nina Bellucci, Joan Benotti, Jennifer Day, Jenna DeLuca, Matthew Dickey, Erin Diebboll, Gary Duehr, Kevin Frances, Jan Johnson, Kelly Anona Kerrigan, Carol McMahon, Evan Morse, Chelsea Revelle, Soha Saghazadeh, Brittany Severance, Dawn Southworth.”
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Works by Pairs
When: On view On view Janurary 27 – February 26
Opening Reception: Friday, January 27, 7 – 10 PM
Where: Distillery Gallery, 516 E 2nd St, Boston, Massachusetts 02127
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Work by Pairs explores the processes and products of collaborative artist duos.Caitlin & Nicole Duennebier, Chances With Wolves, CHIAOZZA, Cold Picnic, EXHUSBAND, EyeBodega, FPOAFM, Jodie Mack & Sharon Marney, Lina Tullgren, Mary Provenzano & Scout Hutchinson, Safarani Sisters, Tom Maio & Gordon Feng, Organized by Lisa Purdy & Shane Levi
Opening reception: Friday, January 27, 7 – 10 PM
With film screening of Jodie Mack & Sharon Marney’s ‘Dusty Stacks of Mom’ and performance by EXHUSBAND
Closing reception: Thursday, February 23, 7 – 10 PM
With performances by Safarani Sisters and Lina Tullgren”
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DOG, TREE, TABLE
When: On view through February 4, 2017
Where: GRIN Gallery, 60 Valley St #3, Providence, RI 02909
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Dog, tree, table is a group exhibition featuring artists Susan Metrican, Austin Ballard, and Harry Gould Harvey IV, curated by Corey Oberlander and Lindsey Stapleton.
Ordinary objects often go unconsidered, cast aside, or misunderstood in terms of their form and function. These artists confront these objects by using their likeness or physical form, contextualizing and placing the object on a plateau for hidden consideration. Examination in this format can cause a snowball effect, or by the same description an opposition to this concept: a deconstructualization of an object and/or its fundamental existence.
Daniel Z. Korman examines this postulate in the 2011 publication “Ordinary Objects”:
Our everyday experiences present us with a wide array of objects: dogs and cats, tables and chairs, trees and their branches, and so forth. These sorts of ordinary objects may seem fairly unproblematic in comparison to entities like numbers, propositions, tropes, holes, points of space, and moments of time. Yet, on closer inspection, they are at least as puzzling, if not more so. Reflection on Michelangelo’s “David” and the piece of marble of which it is made threatens to lead to the surprising conclusion that these would have to be two different objects occupying the same location and sharing all of their parts.
(Korman, 1)
This concept can be approached in layers, as objects are very frequently composed of other objects or materials (composite objects, let’s call them). In turn, these objects can bend the perception of what defines an object, and what may define a material.
Is a material an object?
If so, how many objects make up that material, and so on?
s viewers, we can continue this pattern until we’re faced with the pure building blocks of matter.
Dog, tree, table presents works by three artists working in nuanced forms of this concept by altering the viewers’ perception of the ordinary through various forms of presentation and material alteration.”
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I Dread to Think..
When: On view through March 19, 2017
Where: Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116
How: Official Website
What/Why: “In the new Mills Gallery exhibition I Dread To Think…, curator Liz Blum integrates varied reflections on the ambiguous, multifarious emotions and feelings surrounding the state of fear, highlighting aspects of inner paranoia and anxiety as well as pointing to external influences—from political inducements, erosions of privacy and the persuasive media loop that seems to nurture our feeling of being unsafe.”
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Roger Farrington: Celebrity in Boston
When: On view January 28 through April 10, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 28th from 1:00-4:00pm
Where: Panopticon Gallery, 502c Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
How: Official Website
What/Why:“Panopticon Gallery is pleased to be exhibiting for the very first time an exclusive selection of fifty of Farrington’s classic candid shots of internationally known celebrities who visited Boston between the years of 1976 and 1996.
Curated by the former Executive Director of the Photographic Resource Center, Jim Fitts, and Panopticon Gallery owner, Jason Landry, the black and white photographs hark back to pre-internet times – the time before the “instant celebrity” of Facebook, Instagram and “the selfie,” before digital photography (even auto-focus) – to a more innocent time when black and white still ruled print media. It was also a time when celebrities were Celebrities and Andy Warhol’s famous dictum, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes,” had yet to be realized. (Yes, a cool shot of Warhol on Newbury Street in 1985, is featured in the show.)
This exhibition will be on display from Saturday, January 28th to Monday, April 10th, 2017, with an Opening Reception on Saturday, January 28th from 1:00 – 4:00pm. An artist’s Gallery Talk and Closing Reception will be held on Saturday, March 25th from 1:00 – 4:00pm”
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SPECIAL EVENT: DESTRUCTION OF MEMORY
Film Screening & Conversation
When: Thursday, February 2, 7 – 9:30 PM
Where: Wasserman Cinemateque, Brandeis University, 415 South St, Waltham, MA 02453
What/Why: “The war against culture and the battle to save it.
The destruction of culture – of buildings, books, and art – is often not an accidental consequence of conflict. It is often used as a tool of war – a conscientious strategy to destroy the collective memory and identity of a people. This new documentary, based on the book by architecture critic Robert Bevan, offers stories of resistance, of heritage protection and rebuilding. Most importantly, it asks the viewer a vital question of our time: “How can we save the story of who we are?”
The screening will be followed by a conversation with filmmaker Tim Slade and Andras Riedlmayer, an expert witness on cultural destruction and the head of Harvard University’s Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. With Leigh Swigart, Director of Programs at Brandeis’ Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life and Interim Director of the Rose Art Museum and cultural first aid expert, Kristin Parker.
The screening is a featured event of ‘Deis Impact Week and is sponsored in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
#culturecannotwait”
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Divergent Thinking
When: On view through January 29, 2017
Where: Fountain Street Fine Art, 59 Fountain Street, Framingham, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “A method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions, Divergent Thinking occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing, non-linear manner, such that many ideas are generated in a very short time. Artists were asked to use this concept as a jumping-off place, and submit their best, most outrageously innovative work in any medium.
Thirty-six pieces by thirty-four artists were selected for inclusion into the show by Juror Jane Young, of Chase Young Gallery in Boston. The exhibition is organized by Gallery artists Tatiana Flis and Joseph Fontinha.
Exhibiting artists include: Janet Albert, Sarah Alexander, Chelsea Bradway, John Buron, Brenda Cironi, Donna Corvi, Douglas Cross, Pamela DeJong, Monica DeSalvo, Denise Driscoll, Patricia Dusman, Sara Fine-Wilson, Tatiana Flis, Joseph Fontinha, Jaffa Gross, Mary Kostman, Richard Lapping, Bonnie Lerner, Azita Moradkhani, Chelsea Revelle, Beverly Rippel, Bonnie Rosenthal, Karen Rothman, Claudia Ruiz-Gustafson, Mahala Sacra, Daniel Sinclair, Rebecca Skinner, Roz Sommer, Mary Spencer, Brenda van der Beek, Catherine Weber, Timothy Wilson, Jim Woodside, Leslie Zelamsky.
Juror Jane Young, of Chase Young Gallery in Boston, has dedicated her career to the exhibition of exceptional contemporary painting, sculpture, and photography.“
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latinx@americañaza
When: On view through January 28, 2017
Where: samson projects, 450 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Inspired by feminist and decolonial politics exploring possibilities of poetics and play as means to re-empower the political imagination, reclaiming meaning from a trivialized capitalist version of infinitely more qualified and able female candidate.
“Despite these issues that will remain at large and must be addressed by the left, this boiling resentment has fueled a moment where white victimhood is thought to be as pressing an issue as the institutionalized murder of black people in America. Many white men today feel themselves under attack, usually because of the burn of growing equitability. It is becoming clear that “when you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” (The attribution of this quote is unknown, but it has gained quite a bit of momentum on the internet.) Thus, we have a breed of white males who believe they are persecuted while being the aggressor, and are powerful while maintaining a sense of painful fragility. This kind of cognitive dissonance cannot be brushed off.” – Ajay Kurian from The Ballet of White Victimhood: On Jordan Wolfson, Petroushka, and Donald Trump empowering and unapologetic representations of Latin@x culture informed by the feminist and decolonial aesthetic traditions of the Americas
Am I to move forward when I’m constantly working within my own pastness, yearning to create a tangible relationship?
These circumstances increased interest in postcolonial theory as one of the means to understand neocolonial dynamics.
…issues of representation in culture and the role of language in the construction and dissemination of meaning.
dictatorship sponsored and supported by the United States.
narratives and rhetorical devices that build the ideas of the self and reality, from the personal to the historical.
we get to see how the almost exclusive U.S./Eurocentric perspective flattens Art History, obliterates criticality, silences diversity, and reiterates already-made thoughts and hegemonic narratives.
reflecting on the liminal space between our colonial heritage and our experience as immigrants.”
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SPACE
When: On view through March 07, 2017
Where: Lafayette City Center Passageway, Downtown Boston, MA (Griffin Museum satellite space)
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Space is a multilayered word. It can be an action, feeling, a state of mind or an area with potential. It can be occupied or rented. Space can also be a void. It is the gap between words, teeth, parked cars, or the area beyond earth’s air.
Over time and circumstance society has inhabited space in a variety of ways. Early seventeenth century American colonists chose to live closely to each other by a river and in a ring around a common building. In the mid 1800’s the need for more land spurred expansion past the Appalachian Mountains to the western frontiers. City dwellers view space by the dollar per square foot, country dwellers count acres and the property line defines the suburban boundary. The invention of the skyscraper economized space in land-strapped cities, accommodating more people vertically while working and living in the sky.
The artists responded with varied interpretations of the topic. Some chose a geometric response or produced artistic space. Two photographed private moments of reflection. One photographer depicted the air one breathes and others portrayed the outer reaches beyond earth’s atmosphere. All photographs chosen for this exhibit work together in a unified way to form a narrative on the concept of SPACE. The Griffin Museum of Photography is very proud to be able to share the work of these 37 photographers in exhibition.
The artists included are:
Philip V. Augustine, Garrett Baumer, Robert Collier Beam, Karen Bell, Patricia Bender, Matthew Bender, Anne Berry, Justine Bianco, Meg Birnbaum, Darin Boville, Berendina Buist, Laura Burlton, Joy Bush, Bill Chapman, John Chervinsky, Richard Allen Cohen, Rick Colson, Amy Friend, David Gardner, Jennifer Georgescu, Audrey Gottlieb, Andrea Greitzer, Tytia Habing, Elizabeth Ireland, Marky Kauffmann, Kat Kiernan, Susan Lapides, Honey Lazar, Joyce P. Lopez, Sarah Malakoff, Greer Muldowney, Suzanne Revy, Dana Salvo, Jennifer Shaw, Vicky Stromee, Maija Tammi, and Zelda Zinn.”
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IDENTITY CRISIS
When: On view through February 24, 2017
Where: Rafius Fane Gallery,460C Harrison Ave #c24, Boston, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Start off your Friday evening with Percy: Art, Sips and Music.
This solo exhibition will have over 30 pieces of art work on view; including 15 new paintings. From his sought after cityscapes, to his other world “Children from Beyond” characters, and many not to be missed new paintings that will pleasantly surprise you.
International Dj. Kon will provide the soulful vibes for some booty shaking good times.
This experimental art exhibition of contrasting expressions. Draws from subjects of personal and cultural nostalgia. Containing new and old work. Ranging from abstraction to representational paintings. With the current times in which we are facing; we as a nation and planet are facing a collective identity crisis.
As an artist, Percy merges the worlds of classical painting and graffiti techniques. Boldly pushing the boundaries of his work, without being confined by stereotypes. Having experienced both the birth of his son and the loss of his mom. He has a deep understanding in the importance of finding balance through the chaos of change.”
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CARLY GLOVINSKI: SCOUT LAND
When: On view through February 11, 2017
Where: Carroll and Sons Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Also on view..
HEIDI WHITMAN: MENTAL MAP
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Loud and Clear
When: On view through February 07, 2017
Where: Miller Yezerski Gallery, 460 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA, 02118
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Featuring the work of Jonathan Bonner, Pat Falco, Eric Lebofsky, Rachel Perry, Joe Wardwell, Deb Todd Wheeler”
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Kirstin Ilse: “Unfriend, the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States”
Cynthia Maurice: “IN Bloom”
When: On view through January 29 2017
Where: Galatea Fine Art, 460 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
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DeCordova Biennial
When: On view through March 26, 2017
Where: deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, 51 Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773
How: Official Website
What/Why: “his exhibition represents deCordova’s longstanding commitment to artists working in New England, celebrating the most compelling and ambitious art-making in the region. The sixteen artists selected for the Biennial are from across all six northeastern states—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Their work represents a broad range of experience and explores diverse mediums and themes. These include creative translations of the natural world, innovations in abstraction, and investigations of digital processes and communication. Each artist is making a significant contribution to the contemporary art dialogue in New England today through the originality and dedication to excellence in their work.
The Biennial showcases recent works of art and newly commissioned installations that fill the main galleries of the Museum and extend into the Sculpture Park. It was organized by Jennifer Gross, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Sarah Montross, Associate Curator“
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Queer Painting
When: On view through February 25, 2017
Where:How’s Howard?, 450 Harrison Ave, Ste 309c, Boston, Massachusetts 02118
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Join How’s Howard at the reception for Queer Painting, a group show featuring the work of Hannah Barrett, Darlin Frometa, Dylan Hurwitz, Rebecca Ness and Sean O’Connor.”
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RACE, LOVE, AND LABOR
When: On view through January 28, 2017
Where: PRC, Boston University, 832 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA
How: Official Website
What/Why: “The PRC is honored to present this traveling exhibition of work from the Center for Photography at Woodstock’s acclaimed Artist-in-Residency program (www.cpw.org/create/artist-residencies) for artists and writers of color working in the photographic arts. Given recent dialogues surrounding the topics addressed in this thematic show—race, love, and labor—the PRC felt it important to bring this varied and vital work by emerging artists to Boston, now.
Originally shown at the Samuel Dorsky Museum
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The Me Nobody Knows- Works by AVOne
When: On view January 20th – February 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, January 20 at 7 PM – 11 PM
Where: LOT F GALLERY, 145 Pearl St, Boston, Massachusetts 02110
How: Official Website
What/Why: “Join us for the opening reception of Brooklyn’s AVone “The Me Nobody Knows” exhibit at Lot F Gallery. This event is free and open to the public, no RSVP required. Feel free to bring friends!”
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Hmm, I’m sensing a recurring theme among the arts happenings this week..
Let me know if I missed anything! Enjoy the weekend, see you in a minute. ♥
