FLUX.

It's Not Goodbye, It's Cya!

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:38:00 -0500

After a month hiatus, I have decided to shelf flux for a bit.

Why?

-Life happens. Lots of changes, lots of growth, lots of development. I realized I post about all these interesting things in the city and then I don’t even get to go to half of them myself. I need to start getting out there, start living, start painting more, start coding less, start emersing myself in the city and the culture.

I need to start picking up new skills and “diversifying my portfolio”(I’ve been in finance too long) so that when I open up an art gallery someday, which I will-I will feel equipped to make it a successful and healthy one.

ps. did you know there is a flux community in California, and a collective in Rhode Island?! jfc.-sigh-You try and be creative…..

Anyway-I’ll be back. Not in a creepy terminator cyborg kind of way, but I’ll be back tinkering on flux or in some other creative incarnation. promise. Now, don’t shed a tear—I’ll be that (STUNNING) doe-eyed girl double fisting wine* and talking your ear off at the next open studio.

Xo-Liz.

*make sure to say hi and that i get home safe. ;)

Home For the Holidaysss… see you in 2k10!

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:30:04 -0500

Home For the Holidaysss…

see you in 2k10!

Upcoming Events for the Week of December 7th

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:56:34 -0500

Baby It’s Cold Outside
When: December 05- December 19, 2009
Where: Washington Street Art Center
321 Washington Street
Somerville, MA 02143
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: ““Baby It’s Cold Outside” presents curator and artist EL Putnam’s vision for a new type of feminist discourse in the arts that involves a variety of media, from painting to performance, a multitude of viewpoints, and works by men, women, or anygenderwhatever.
This show is about how each artist does/does not define, dismiss, despise, and/or devote her- or himself to “feminism.” This show is about creating a dialogue concerning gender in art, with emphasis being placed on ambiguity and confusion. Instead of creating a series of vagina monologues, the works in this exhibit presents a cacophonic version of gender discussion in all of its messy glory. Artists were encouraged to offend, but to “just be mindful as to whom you piss off.” “

Tocsin
When: Deccember 05-December 20, 2009
Where: Engine Company 40 Firehouse
260 SumNer Street,
East Boston, MA 02128
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “(tok-sin)
n. 1. a. An alarm sounded on a bell.
n. 1. b. A bell used to sound an alarm.
n. 2. A warning; an omen.

A non-narrative multimedia installation based on the
simple tone as basic and effective means of communication.”

Fountain Street Friday Stroll
When: December 11, 2009 - 6:00-9:00pm
Where: Fountain Street Studios
59 Fountain Street
Framingham, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Meet artists and view their work during these informal strolls. Please contact individual artists for their schedules. “

Paper and Fabric
When: December 12- December 13, 2009
Where: Michelle Willey
8 Union Park Street
South End, Boston
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Italian-born Angela Liguori is an accomplished artist with a love of typography, design and quality materials. She will be at our store selling letterpress holiday cards, hand bound and limited edition books, as well as fine Italian cotton ribbon and twine.
Native New Englander, Jill Bent, designs bags and pillows from vintage and all natural fabrics. All items are designed and sewn by Jill in her studio and are one of a kind. Her work incorporates simple design and unique fabric. Each season, Jill offers a small collection of unique handmade items and postcards created exclusively by her.”

SOWA Holiday Market
When: December 12-December 13, 2009
Where: Cathedral HS Gymnasium
74 Union Park Street, Boston MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “A unique holiday gift show featuring 80 artists and designers from around New England”

Upcoming Events for the Week of November 30th

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Sorry last week was a no-go for event updates, and next week may prove to be a bit sparse as well. With the holidays coming up, my JOB job has been more hectic and flux has been left in its wake. Again, so sorry.

BUT—on the bright side, lots of fun happenings these next few weeks in terms of Holiday Art $ales and the likes that I thought I would share.

Hope you get to make it to some, buy me something nice!

Patterned Tactic(s)
When: November 30-December 11, 2009
Where:
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Patterned Tactic(s) brings together the work of Megan McNaught, abstract painter, and Christina Pitsch, sculptor. Both artists are linked by their use of pattern and repetition both in the process of making and in the finished imagery of the work.”

*note: not a Holiday sale, just thought it was a rad not-to-miss event

12x12 Holiday Show
When: December 02-20, 2009
Where: Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Contemporary artwork, 12 x 12” or smaller, by Bromfield gallery artists and guest artists from the Greater Boston area. Priced from $100-$500, the work ranges from painting and drawing to printmaking and photography.”

The December Salon-Affordable Art Sale
When: December 3-6, 10-13, 2009
Where: The Nave Gallery
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church
155 Powderhouse Blvd., Somerville, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Featuring the work of over fifty artists, this annual exhibit provides a unique opportunity to add to or start your own art collection while supporting one of Somerville’s most innovative art spaces.
This year’s artists include: June August, John Bailey, Susan Berstler, Kelvy Bird, Carol Blackwell, Pilar Botawa, Claire Bowers, Louise Briggett, Ron Brunelle, Matt Carrano, Richard Chase, David Columbo, Ira Cummings, Stan Czesniuk, Cathleen Daley, Michelle Fiorenza, Jen Flores, David Fox, Joerg Fraske, Melissa Glick, Elizabeth Goodnow, Edith Green, Stephen Horne, Nadia Widawski Irish, Jenny Jope, Karine Kadiyska, Charlotte Ellen Kaplan, Alexis Kochka, Zoe Langosy, Alvina Laudani, Maureen Liberatore, Wen Xzong Lin, Keith Maddy, Lee Mandell, Ricardo Maldonado, Sarah Meyers, Ted Ollier, Christopher Poteet, Susan Rice, Anne Russell, Margaret Ann Ryan, Rani Sarin, Annie Smidt, Lisa L.Sears, Rachel Silber, Annie Silverman, Cynthia Staples, Tim Stigliano, Mark Teiwes, William Turville, V Van Sant, Martha Wakefield, Laura E.White, Timothy Wilson, and more …”

Small Works
When: December 03-30, 2009
Where: Galatea Fine Arts
460 B Harrison Ave.
Boston, MA. 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free

Pet Aristocracy Cocktail Party Opening
When: December 04,2009 / 7:00pm
Where: 251 Newbury Street
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “A collection of Pet Aristocracy pet portraits will be on display for a few weeks in December at BLVD. Get yourself dressed up and come out for wine, snacks, music and paintings. Dave Curry and Jonah Sacks will be playing viola and cello as Empty House Cooperative. Original paintings and prints will be for sale.”

Fort Point Arts Community Holiday Sale
When: December 4, 5 and 6, 2009
Where: 12 Farnsworth Street
Fort Point, Boston
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “The Fort Point Arts Community Holiday sale is a unique
opportunity for artful holiday shopping, or to just treat yourself!
All in one convenient location, at Made in Fort Point/Art at 12:
***20 talented local artists will be set up, displaying their wares over the three-day event.
***The newly expanded FPAC Store will be open featuring works of art, craft and design by over seventy-five fort point artists.
***Art at 12 presents SMALL WORKS: artworks by Fort Point Arts Community members from December 4th through the holidays.

Find jewelry, paintings, prints, pottery artists’ books, photography, handcrafted clothing and accessories, furniture, lighting, prints, holiday ornaments, cards, and much, much more! Something for every budget.”

Rifrákt Holiday Art Sale!
When: Saturday December 05, 2009 / 3:00-8:00pm
Where: 345 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Rifrákt will host a Holiday Art Sale featuring work by Boston’s most promising emerging artists:
Siobhan Bledsoe, Nick Day,Colby Drasher, Amanda Gallagher, Sarah Gay, Stephanie Goode, Carolyn Hulbert, Jessica Lewis, Heather MacLeod, Aaron Morris, Chris Oneil
Pieces, $10 each!”

Upcoming Events for the Week of November 16th

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:31:00 -0500

First Exhibition at Gallery Benoit
When: November 06- November 30, 2009
Where: Gallery Benoit
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Gallery Benoit is pleased to present the first exhibition with the gallery by acclaimed artists Magne Furuholmen, Tim Kent, Robert Merton, Wilson Parry, Madeleine Paternot and Mette Tronvoll. This exhibition will coincide with the launch of Gallery Benoit in Boston’s premier art district SoWa, with a public opening reception from 6-9 pm on Friday, November 6.
Norwegian artist Furholmen’s monotypes and sculptures are on display throughout Europe and Asia. Based in New York City, Kent is a visual artist who recently completed a mural commission for the new Matteo Thun-designed Hugo Boss Concept Store in New York’s trendy meatpacking district. Merton’s abstract and gestural paintings, with their chalky, organic hues and thick impastos, are impressionistic and calming in appearance but contain undercurrents of melancholic introspection. Boston’s Parry concentrates on multi-media to create vibrant oil and acrylic paintings with a recent series focusing on men with masks and fragmented bodies. Swiss artist Paternot’s paintings are mainly in charcoal, Chinese shellac (crushed beetle shells) and gold pigment, delicately staining the canvas, while the main themes are figurative, revolving around the female face and body. Tronvoll, also based in Norway, has studied art in New York, Berlin, Paris and Cologne. She specializes in photography and has shown her work in museums and festivals globally.”

Streaking- Carrie Gundersdorf & Melissa Oresky
When: November 07- December 05, 2009
Where: The Distillery, 516 E. 2nd Street
South Boston, MA 02127
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Proof Gallery is pleased to present Streaking, an exhibition of works on paper by Melissa Oresky and Carrie Gundersdorf.
A flash: of insight, of flesh, of color, of image. Streaking engages forms of movement both physical and perceptual. Exploiting the indexical nature of drawing as a document of movement, the works in Streaking locate the artist and viewer in a historical continuum of the ultra-present and evident past. Resolute abstraction as well as an investment in color to convey transcendental meaning are the hallmarks of this conversation.
Gundersdorf’s colored pencil drawings reference the paths traced by stars in their travels across the sky from earth. The presence of her gestural mark collapses the space/time of the image and the making of it into a singular composite space.
Oresky’s large series of collaged drawings, Variant, acts as a streak of disjointed animated moments. The collaged fragments which range from images of muscle cells to trompe l’oeil shadows are constructed into radial disturbances, implosions, or explosions on a linear, grained field, creating a series of analog low-fi moments. Each drawing a muscular twitch, neural firing, or tiny cosmic event, the sequence becomes an exercise in rhythm and syntax- a sequence of wordless thoughts. “

A Very Beautiful Art Show for You
When: November 09- November 21, 2009
Where: Meme Gallery
55 Norfolk Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Jeff huckleberry received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He is the son and grandson of far more practical people, which he tries to express in his art. His spirit animal is a chicken crossed with a bear.
“For this “show” at MEME Gallery in Cambridge, MA I will try to come up with something to do…no, that isn’t right. I will make a few performances for a few individual people, for video and then I will “show” these videos to whom ever would like to see them. So the “show” is really at the end of the show, on November 21st at 7pm. But then again, there is also the showing of the making of the “show” which I very much believe is just as relevant as the “show” at the end of the showing of the making of the show…I’ll post a schedule for the work times so that if you would like, you may come down and watch that part of the process.”

Icons and Altars
When: November 13-December 13, 2009
Where:The New Art Center
61 Washington Park
Newtonville , MA 02460
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “icons + altars features work by 106 regional artists who have created work specially for this exhibition + sale to benefit the New Art Center. Artists respond to the themes of “icons” + “altars” in many media including painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, ceramics, + sculpture.”

Diane Ayott: Upstream
When: November 17- December 19, 2009
Where: Carol Schlosberg Alumni Gallery
23 Essex Street
Beverly, MA 01915
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Ayott’s paintings integrate lush, vivid colors in sophisticated structures of dots, dashes, lines, circles, ovals and loops. Describing her most recent work, the artist says, “the intensity of color relationships has deepened, generating stronger spatial depth within the images.” In addition, the rich colors and evocative depth of field conjure emotional responses and even, with the assistance of titles and occasional collage elements, hints of narrative. Ayott’s paintings and works on paper engage viewers viscerally, with textured paint application and persistent repetition, and intellectually, with considerations for relationships of color and form. “

Henry Schwartz: The Eternal Footman
When: November 21, 2009 - February 28, 2010
Where: Danforth Museum of Art
123 Union Avenue
Framingham, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “The Danforth Museum of Art continues its commitment to Boston Expressionism with this important exhibit of complex works that depict human emotion by Henry Schwartz. This along with shows by Gerry Bergstein and David Aronson are part of the Museum’s on going exploration of work by Boston Expressionist painters, beginning with Jack Levine: Political Discourse in 2005, Hyman Bloom: A Spiritual Embrace in 2006, Arthur Polonsky: Thief of Light in 2008, and Jason Berger: Directed Vision in 2009. Visit the Museums Boston Expressionism page (here) to learn more about this important artistic tradition in Boston painting. “

Inside Out Art Sale 2009
When: November 18- November 22, 2009 (times vary)
Where: School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
230 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “InsideOut, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s celebrated annual sale. Once a year we let the public in and the artwork out. Thousands of pieces of fine art from one of the best art schools in the country. Student pieces intermingled with works by SMFA alumni and affiliated artists including Mike and Doug Starn, Nan Goldin and Ellsworth Kelly among others. Besides being an exclusive opportunity to add these works to your collection, InsideOut is the largest fundraiser for the SMFA. Every purchase will support scholarships, making it possible for students to forge new directions in art.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see such a large breadth of original work. You’ll find paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, new media and more. And maybe even a new outlook on life.”

Upcoming Events for the Week of November 9th

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:42:00 -0500

John Randall Nelson, Candace Walters, Arthur Simms
When: November 01-November 30, 2009
Where: Clark Gallery
145 Lincoln Road
PO Box 339
Lincoln, MA 01773
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “Clark Gallery is honored to announce the exhibition of recent work by John Randall Nelson, sculpture by Arthur Simms, and new paintings and mixed media works by Candace Walters from November 3 through 28, 2009. This will be the inaugural exhibition of Nelson and Simms’ works in the Boston region, and Walters’ first solo exhibition at the gallery in nearly a decade. All are welcome to join the artists for an opening reception on Saturday, November 7th from 4-6pm.
John Randall Nelson has worked within the traditions of American Folk Art since the early 1990’s. Pursuing painting and drawing with mixed media collage materials, Nelson combines and melds identifiable imagery with text and opaque abstract surfaces and textures. In Nelson’s hands, iconic American forms (white diner coffee cups, candy kisses, and fruit-laden trees) are transformed into contemporary and conceptual windows into Nelson’s ironic and often humorous compositions.
Nelson’s work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the country and abroad. His work is included in the collections of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Tamarind Institute, and numerous corporate collections. He earned his MFA from the Herberger College of Fine Arts, Arizona State University in 1995 and resides in Tempe, Arizona.
Arthur Simms creates compelling sculptures influenced by his personal experiences, provoking viewers to contemplate memory, cross-cultural exchange, and spiritual and physical transitions. Simms was born in Jamaica and now lives in Brooklyn, where he collects the skateboards, bottles, toys, and other cast-off materials used in his work. Seemingly precariously stacked objects are obsessively wrapped in knotted wire or twine, applying an element of abstraction and sense of sophistication to what may otherwise be mistaken as a heap of junk. Critics have noted that Simms integrates elements of modernism, Australian Aboriginal art, and the domestic crafts of the Caribbean.”

Glyphs / Constructions and Works on Paper
When: November 04-November 28, 2009
Where: Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: ” Based on doodles in her son’s high school notebooks, these paintings and wood constructions by gallery artist Adria Arch recreate a secret, indecipherable language that she found crammed between lecture notes. An installation of wall constructions—rich with color, in playful juxtapositions—fills one gallery, while 10-foot-tall paper scrolls festoon the second space.”

New Gallery Alert!-Galatea Fine Art Gallery
When: November 04-November 28, 2009
Where: Galatea Fine Art
Galatea Fine Arts,
460 B Harrison Ave.
Boston, MA. 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Boston’s newest contemporary cooperative art gallery in the SOWA district at 460 B Harrison Ave. , promoting and exhibiting a variety of artists based in and around the Boston area.
Join us for our grand opening celebration Friday, November 6th, 6 to 8pm 2009!
The inaugural members’ exhbition will be on view in the gallery from November 4th through the 28th.”

Mosaic Voices
When: November 05-December 13, 2009
Opening Reception: November 08, 2009 4:00-6:00pm
Where: Somerville Museum
1 Westwood Road, Somerville, MA 02143
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “10 artists. 10 voices.”

No Man’s Land - Bonnell Robinson | Dana Mueller
When: November 05-December 05, 2009
Where: The AIB Gallery at University Hall
1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
How: Official Website
Cost: Free

CLOUDCUCKOOLAND
When: November 06-December 18, 2009
Where: MFJ
65 Thayer Street-Garden Level at 450
Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “MFJ is pleased to present the work of Los Angeles based artist Mark Schoening. Since leaving Boston just over a year ago for the west coast, Schoening returns with a new series of work that embodies his experience while working in Southern California.
Cloudcuckooland refers to an unrealistic state where everything seems to be perfect. The concept is at the center of the works construction. A palette of neons and metallics distracts, attracts, and separates multiple layers of an information explosion. Instability and chaos have become the norm. Creating a world in which one must remain partially unaware of reality in order to exist.”

Natural Light
When: November 06-November 28, 2009
Where: Walker Contemporary
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why: “My work illustrates a fantastic landscape. It represents nature’s subtle way of dealing with the peculiar aspects in its relationship with mankind. A giant glow-in-the-dark heart, or a pile of precious gems tells us that we are loved, just as blood squirting from an oak tree trunk says, all is not well. I am inspired by my conversation with the landscape, I imagine long monologues when pine forests make me laugh and mountains test my patience.
My paintings are created with a photochemical process known as cyanotype. The cyanotype is a civil war era process that when exposed to sunlight and developed gives a vibrant blue image. I paint with this light sensitive medium directly on paper or canvas. With everyday items such as baking soda, bleach and peroxide I am able to achieve a range of colors and textures thru controlled chemical reactions. I repeat this process adding many layers until the image is fully realized, often finishing with watercolor painting or a collage element.
It’s not as nerdy as it sounds. “

Upcoming Events for the Week of October 26th

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:25:00 -0400

South Boston Open Studios
When: October 31-November 01, 2009
Where:”Public transportation is easy, take the Red Line to Broadway and walk East, or take the #7 City Point bus from South Station to Elkins St.”
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Artists and craftspeople of South Boston will open their doors to the public Saturday and Sunday, October 31st and November 1, 2009, as part of the annual South Boston Open Studios event. Visitors will be able to talk to and make purchases directly from the artists while touring the creative environments in which the artwork is produced. The weekend-long event also provides a great opportunity to sample many of this historic neighborhood’s restaurants, cafes, pubs, and retail shops.
Numerous disciplines will be represented throughout the dozens of participants, including: sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, installation, photography, video, jewelry, ceramics, woodworking, fabric and performance art. Much of the work will be in-process and the artists will be on hand for questions and conversations. Participating organizations and galleries include The Distillery (which will showcase three galleries and over 50 artists) located at 516 East 2nd Street, King Terminal at 110 K Street & 570 E 1st Street, and Norman Crump Studio at 793 East Sixth Street.
The event is free to the public, rain or shine, noon to 6pm each day. “

The Shadow of Italy
When:October 29-November 28, 2009
Where:Rolly-Michaux Gallery
290 Dartmouth Street
Boston MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”“Italy - rich with artisanship, splendor and beauty - is part of my heritage, and has cast its influence upon my life and family. In this series, I have focused on the elusive shadow to accentuate and counterpoint the color, texture and feel of my photographic images.”

Fixed Chaos
When: October 30, 2009-January 23, 2010
Where:Montserrat Gallery
23 Essex Street
Beverly, MA 01915
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:” In Fixed Chaos, ceramic sculptures embody contemporary ideas of provisional form and ambiguous content. The works allude to traditional ceramic forms, but break down the relationship with alternately blunt and surreal qualities. A blue-and-white ware vase bloats in exaggerated lumps and saggy handles. Fu Lions with humorous grimaces flirt with tiny damsels in distress. A Buddha head balances upside-down with a rose garnish, and a hobo clown’s eyes open in continual bloom in a claymation video. The exhibition includes figural and abstract pieces by Mark Cooper, Ryan Mitchell, Saya Moriyasu and Allison Schulnik.”

Contemporary Outlook:Seeing Sounds
When: October 26, 2009-February 21, 2010
Where:Museum of Fine Arts
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Avenue of the Arts
Boston, Massachusetts
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Technology has rendered music more accessible and pervasive than ever before. MP3 players are omnipresent; every cell phone can make a statement about the owner’s musical taste. Music is everywhere, and in the process has become both more public and more private. We all travel through life with our own soundtrack—sometimes others can hear it; sometimes it’s ours alone.
Visual artists, however, have been inspired by music throughout history. They have responded by transforming something that is arguably intangible, into visual, physical form. “Seeing Songs” presents an eclectic mix of work—mainly from the Museum’s collections—that draws on music as inspiration, focusing on abstract as well as representational art and connections to musical forms as varied as classical, jazz, and pop. From lyrical works on paper by Wassily Kandinsky and a painting by Stuart Davis that depicts music as gesture and improvisation, to recent videos by Gillian Wearing and Candice Breitz that explore the relationship between pop stars and their fans, this exhibition brings together an international group of artists in whose work we see songs.”

Ben Norris: American Modernist, 1910-2006
When:October 26-November 14, 2009
Where:Childs Gallery
169 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”This retrospective spans the career of the artist, from his early impressions of Paris to painterly California landscapes and abstracted Hawaiian vistas, wrapping up with figurative works and dreamscapes painted in New York.”

Upcoming Events for the Week of October 19th

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:15:00 -0400

Where are We?
When:October 15-November 04, 2009
Where:The Chazen Gallery at Wheeler
228 Angell Street
Providence, RI 02906
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”The Chazan Gallery at Wheeler is showing an exhibition of figurative work entitled Where Are We? by artists Clara Lieu, Eric Sung, Julie Gearan and Brian O’Malley from October 15 to November 4, 2009. There will be an opening reception for the artists on Gallery Night, Thursday, October 15, from 5 – 7 p.m. The public is invited.
Clara Lieu’s large drawings are done in lithographic crayon on multiple translucent layers to “investigate ways to visually represent the emotional and physical experience of individual isolation in groups. The drawings depict figure groups wading in water to portray loneliness as the experience of feeling unseen and unknown within a group.” Lieu has an MFA degree from the New York Academy of Art and a BFA from RISD. She has taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and The Art Institute of Boston, and more recently been a critic and lecturer at Wellesley and RISD and has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions.
Eric Sung sees his images as “photographic relics, captured as the participant enacts a prescribed ceremony. Influenced by Taoism and Buddhism, the interaction of ritual performances, matter, and location describes the act of transformation. The long exposures ensure both the suspension of sequenced movement and the disappearance of other elements.” Born in Korea, Sung has been a resident of the US since 1993 and has exhibited his work in several solo and group exhibitions. He holds an MFA from Indiana University and is currently an Asst Professor of Photography at Providence College.
Julie Gearan’s recent paintings “explore and visually define the liquid nature of the human experience… My subjects are drawn from life and memory, and it is often the observation of a small domestic moment that will inspire a greater theme.” Gearan holds a BFA from Tyler School of Art and an MFA from Indiana University with studies at Yale, Temple and the Art Students League. She has shown her work in numerous exhibitions and she is the recipient of several grants, including a Rhode Island State Council of the Arts fellowship in 2007.
Brian O’Malley’s small ink drawings are part of a larger series entitled Survey of Human Activity. The drawings “engage with human activities, gestures, emotions, fantasy” and explore “how these elements illuminate stories/narratives.” O’Malley holds an MFA from the University of Miami and a BFA from the University of Rhode Island. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions and he is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Rhode Island.”

Second Nature
When:October 16-November 29, 2009
Where:Provincetown Art Association and Museum
460 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA 02657
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Vico Fabbris, Susan Lyman, Michael Mazur, and Nathalie Miebach-The four artists in this exhibition explore contemporary responses to nature, re-interpreting Hans Hofmann’s dictum, declared in 1950: “The creative process lies not in imitating, but in paralleling nature-translating the impulse received from nature into the medium of expression, thus vitalizing this medium.”“

Mechanical Migration; A Flight of Fancy
When: October 16 - November 22, 2009
Where:Gallery 263
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Miniature cranks, pulleys and music boxes bring to life the images and characters in these mechanical collages; Erica von Schilgen’s artworks are intended to be played with. The works stir a silent awe that quickly blooms to audible joy, and while hinting at Victorian collages, Cornell’s assemblages, surrealism, and early stopmotion animation, the works are their own imaginative contemporary creations. By using vintage magazine images, many works in the show tend to bring back memories of a place, person or time that no longer exists.
The title piece of the show, “Flight of Fancy”, features a young girl climbing on piles of huge green peas and flying a living kite while birdlike creatures beckon her kite in unison. The largest piece is a family portrait of sorts in which five siblings and various animals come alive amid a dream-like landscape as they engage in the task of catching fully articulated mechanical butterflies. Please come in and join us on this mechanical migration, on this flight of fancy… “

Make A Wish
When: October 20-November 14, 2009
Where: 119 Gallery
119 Chelmsford St
Lowell MA 01851
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”A three-channel video projection, Make a Wish combines images of thunder storms and water with an accompanying soundtrack of voiced concerns to envelop the gallery in an electrical storm of uncertainty. Watery surfaces spill with a myriad of visions that form a layered collage of contemporary troubles. Mixing real and virtual imagery, Dumas creates multiple points of view that redefine domestic, political, ecological, social, and economic ideas.
“My work addresses psychologically charged situations, while exploring the language and its inventive uses, to visually translate aspects of human behaviour and consciousness. This takes form in the metaphorical situations I create, in which I perform, film, or use my sculptures as theatre or as actors.” — Dumas
Dumas’ installation is intended to empower us eliciting our resolve in the face of real and conjured threats. Like the artist, we are to summon our own sense of individual identity as a rudder to navigate through confusing circumstances and environments.
A Canadian sculptor and multi-media artist, Denise Dumas investigates boundaries and identity. As an immigrant, she is keenly aware of the borders and intersections of cultural, social and political interaction. Dumas believes that reality changes according to the environment and social context that we inhabit. She finds that current economic ills and political fears have created an insidious climate of insecurity that permeates our daily lives. Dumas’ video installation is a metaphor for this troubled climate, her stormy environment mirroring the unsettling times in which we live.”

‘Geomorphics’-Changing Art for a Changing Landscape
When: October 23-November 22, 2009
Where:Nave Gallery
PO Box 43600
Somerville, MA 02143
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Nave Gallery presents the work of 13 contemporary artists investigating landscapes and their changes. The effects of human activity on these fragile spaces is questioned and depicted. The exhibit includes abstract painting, photography, and installation. Curated by Karl Gustafson. Artists: Joan Barker, Jason Burch, Kay Canavino, Cathleen Daley, GroundView, Julie Jankowski, Sarah Meyers, Ted Ollier, Christopher Poteet, Doug Purnell, Alicenne Reid, Blake Roberts, Noah Wilson.”

Upcoming Events for the Week of October 12th

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:08:00 -0400

Queer Animals
When:September 17-November 13, 2009
Where:13 Forest Gallery
167A Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA 02474
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:” Writer Charles Mortimer got it right in his 1947 book of children’s verses Some Queer Animals and Why when he declared “I think by now it’s pretty clear, most animals are somehow queer.” The work selected for the show ranges from Bren Bataclan’s cozy cartoon characters to Ann Smith’s whale constructed with the detritus of the modern age including old windshield wipers and typewriter parts.
Resa Blatman will be among the artists in Queer Animals who depicts animal personalities. In her large-scale painting Aphrodite’s Garden, two great herons sit atop an abundance of plant life, looking off to the side with regal detachment from the viewer. Calm and quiet, the painting captures the assured soul of one of North America’s greatest birds.
In stark contrast to her work are a number of personifications. In the drawing Brotherhood of the Powdered Wing, for instance, Joe Keinberger evokes the spirit of Egon Schiele with his image of an oddly solitary insect. Bundled in fur and holding a candlestick, the subject makes its way through the dark with the apparent trepidation of humans who, unlike insects, have an innate fear of the night.
Book artist and printmaker Peter Madden’s work Icarus, retells the myth of the man and his son who plunged to their death while attempting to fly on wax-and-feather wings. This strongly vertical and delicately stitched work presents a dispassionate sun, a torrent of waves and, between them, telltale feathers drifting silently downward. But all is not lost, painter Scott Chasse reminds us. In his work Burt Reynolds the subject is captured in his youthful glory. Hairy and smug yet still approachable, here the celebrity is a wolfen archetype as much embraced as feared by American culture.”

People, Places and Horses
When:October 01-October 22, 2009
Where: The Distillery Gallery
516 E 2nd St., first floor
Boston, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”The Distillery Gallery presents “People, Places & Horses,” a straight-forward exhibit of four Boston-based painters individually consistent in their chosen subject matter.
People:
Nick Ward’s close-up portraits reveal exaggerated elements of facial characteristics mixed with sparse use of text or vivid color as a backdrop. Each work is an uncontrived study of texture and form punctuated by the suggestion of everyday routine.
David Wooddell exhibits a clear appreciation of his predecessors and a mature, diligent work ethic by painting live models in a modernist manner. The focus of his rich, heavy-bodied figure studies balances between the subject and the individual brush stroke, resulting in luminous portrayals of the human form.
Places:
Aimee Belanger blurs the lines between imagination and reality with landscapes based on photographs, memories, and dreams. Her juxtaposition of stark architectural elements with colorful organic settings results in imagery of places that may or may not exist.
and Horses:
Monica Nydam’s “Horse Series” entertains the viewer with painterly renditions of snapshots involving the subject. While some pieces use thick linear brush strokes to create “pixelated” visions of the mare or stallion, others involve hints of distortion or motion. Each work shares a candid, stolen-moment quality with the next.”

Leslie Wilcox:Canniballistic
When: October 09-November 08, 2009
Where: Boston Sculptors Gallery
486 Harrison Ave.
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Canniballistic carries dual connotations in the hands of Leslie Wilcox. While utilizing a sculptor’s prerogative to mutate
a previous sculptures’ materials onto new work, she simultaneously realigns the scale, bulk and opacity of each piece with
the sole purpose of locating its essence from within. Each of these unseen and incomplete works becomes drastically
transformed in the process. And rather than building from scratch or removing the unnecessary bits, she re-works each
piece until she finds the works’ only and best possible configuration; its’ guts or soul or essence.
The show’s installation also facilitates Wilcox’s intentions by showing both a “before” and “after” for each piece. Her wall
line drawing of the unseen work (the “before’) is juxtaposed near the finished new work (the “after’) to clearly follow her
thought process and compare incomplete idea with finished thought.”

Rebecca Chamberlain
When: October 15-November 14, 2009
Where:Judi Rotenberg Gallery
130 Newbury Street,
Boston MA 02116
How: Official Website
Cost: Free

Arlington Open Studios 2009
When: October 17-October 18, 2009
Where: Gibbs Center
41 Foster Street
Arlington, MA 02474
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Featuring 80 artists from Arlington & surrounding communities.
Artforms include: blown glass, collage, fiber arts, handcrafted paper and books, jewelry, mosaic, mixed media, oil painting, original poetry, photography, sculpture, sumi-e brush painting, watercolor, woodcuts, wood turning, and more…”

Upcoming Events for the Week of October 5th

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:42:00 -0400

Elements
When: October 02-October 29, 2009
Where:Montserrat College of Art Gallery
23 Essex Street
Beverly, MA 01915
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”California-based sculptor Margaret Realica will be on view at Frame 301 during the month of October. Inspired by the transformative effect of contrasting elements, these sculptures repreent both modern technology and nostalgic imagert. These works are grounded in their ultra-modern characteristics: steel rods, gears and electrical parts, complemented by porcelain elements, in which Realica pursues the purest of organic forms.”

Making Connections: Contemporary Cuban Printmakers
When: October 02- November 22, 2009
Where:Laconia Gallery
433 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:” These prints offer humor, pain, honesty, truth. They show the ingenuity and dedication of 93 contemporary Cuban artists making outstanding art under difficult conditions. Continuing its history of international collaboration, the Boston Printmakers is proud to celebrate the richness of Cuban culture in conjunction with exhibitions at the Fuller Craft Museum and the Massachusetts College of Art. “

Pixilerations [v.6]
When:September 24- October 11, 2009
Where:RISD’s Sol Koffler Gallery
169 Weybosset St.
Providence RI
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Now in its sixth year, Pixilerations returns to showcase the work of an international array of cutting-edge new-media artists, animating Providence with interactive gallery installations, surround-sound electronic media concerts, experimental nightclub jams, special guest artist talks and video art screenings.”

This Comes from Within
When: October 05-October 16, 2009
Where:Medicine Wheel Productions
110 K St # 9
Boston, MA 02127
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Upon entering the gallery one is stuck by the power and emotion of the piece. You enter this dark world through a membrane of tulle and find yourself at the base of a glowing, larger than life dress of eggshell and papier-mâché. As your eyes adjust, the rest of the fecund environment reveals itself”

H.E.A.P. HQ
When: October 05-October 16, 2009
Where:Godine Gallery
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
621 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”H.E.A.P. HQ will acquire, archive, assemble and arrange every free object that can be found on Craigslist, in dumpsters, and on curbs for the duration of the two week exhibition. We intend to visualize the immense waste of our material wonderland by accumulating the often transient and invisible byproducts of the consumer world. This process-based installation will evolve each day and culminate in a closing reception in which each item will be reposted on Craigslist and offered free to the public.”

Mothers Expressing: Sharing the Work
When: October 6th - October 31st, 2009
Where: Axiom Gallery
141 Green Street
Boston MA, 02130
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Mothers Expressing: Sharing the Work is a creative process made visual. Nita Sturiale and Amber Davis Tourlentes share many things: the love of young motherhood, the sweat of taking care of others, and an indignation for the low value this job earns in the culture. This binds them to the histories and futures of caretakers everywhere. This exhibit is an introduction to their collaboration as well as an invitation to re-value the work and beauty of feeding, nurturing, cleaning, teaching, and scolding. Mothers Expressing: Sharing the Work presents photographic work by both artists, launches their social networking efforts, and invites you to sit down and talk to an expert about the work of caretaking.
Mothers Expressing: Sharing the Work asks how can online communities and social educational networking provide resources for “working” mothers as well as make the labor of raising children visible and valued; how can photography illuminate and build momentum; where can these discussions and interactions between care providers grow; and how can political action overcome differences in socio-economics, education and ethnic diversity?”

Upcoming Events for the Week of September 28th

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:57:00 -0400

Walking-A-Long
When: September 08 - October 16, 2009
Where: Foster Gallery
Noble and Greenough School
10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA 02026
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”In this new body of work—two new site-specific installations and a series of drawings—Boston-based artist Daniela Rivera continues to explore the purpose, function, and associated expectations of contemporary painting practice. In the gallery space, paintings are installed on the floor rather than hanging on the walls; in the adjoining vaulted Arts Center Lobby, strips of sod soar vertically up a wall of windows. Both offer a compelling visual testimony to the many ways in which Rivera’s preoccupation with baroque ornamentation and minimalism combine in a surprising and subtle series of moments.
The gallery floor is covered with a grid of square paintings of grass seen from an overhead view, each unique and closely observed. The paintings illustrate Rivera’s interest in paint as a surface or skin and her expertise in creating illusion. She connects paint and grass as two skin-like media that one can use to change and alter a surface. Taking cues and inspiration from Richard Long’s performance-based “drawings” created by walking through grass, Rivera has arranged the installation so that the viewer can walk in a series of circles to view the paintings. The piece becomes performative, as viewers mimic and repeat Long’s gestures.
Using grass as both a medium and a subject, Rivera also addresses the concept of “landscape” from an art historical perspective and from its contemporary social and cultural definition. Rivera’s second installation, strips of growing grass sod, transforms a common product of the commercial and residential landscape industry, by upending its expected location (an interior, vertical space) but also its function. Grass, so often considered a necessary part of the exterior function of a stereotypical American house, becomes purely ornamental, adding a flourish to the windows and losing all additional functionality (one can no longer walk on it).”

The Model Project
When:September 25 - October 27, 2009
Where: Sienna Gallery
80 Main Street
Lenox, MA 01240 USA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”The culmination of a two-year long project, this work engages and draws in the viewer through Nessim’s distinctive avant-garde style. Opulent jewels, bold colors, and classic beauty come together in these collages to make permanent an ethereal moment. Working with a photographer and model Nessim began this work as an extension of her recent large black and white figural works. The opportunity to collaborate and extend her vision resulted in a series of large aluminum prints. Precious and sleek, these works exemplify Nessim’s intensity and ability to render and communicate, appropriating and elevating refined ornamentation.
Respected internationally for her groundbreaking use of the computer in the execution of fine art and illustration, Nessim will be honored September 26, 2009 as the first Artist Laureate of The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA A vital contributor and influential visionary in the art world over the past several decades, Barbara Nessim’s work lies on the cusp of art and illustration. A unique and determined career path has placed Nessim at the forefront of artists traversing these two worlds. Nessim’s artwork is included in the many private and public collections including the permanent collections of The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C and the Lund Konsthall, Lund, Sweden among others. Her illustrations have appeared in and on the covers of numerous publications including Time, Rolling Stone and Ms. Magazine.”

The Wedlock Project, Part 1 of 3
When:September 25-October 23, 2009
Where: Space 242
242 E. Berkeley St 2nd Floor
Boston MA, 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Artist team TTBaum and Michael Grohall present the multi-media exhibition Engagement that marks the beginning of The Wedlock Project. Engagement includes the photo series Bound To, the performance piece Romeos, and interactive elements. Further, invited guest artists Jay Critchley, Nathaniel Fink, Brian Halligan, Killer Banshee, and Luanne E Witkowski present their own variations on the definition of “engagement” through video installation, photography, graphite drawings and conceptual work.”

The Liberation of Superwoman
When: September 30-October 21, 2009
Where: Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Ave,
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Through a series of paintings and large charcoal drawings, gallery artist Gail Martin explores the possibility of self-liberation, albeit by somewhat extreme means.”

A Thousand Little Wishes
When: September 30-October 21, 2009
Where: Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Ave,
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”In her installation of miniature drawings and photographs, gallery artist Kathy A. Halamka brings to life the countless wishes expressed by people every day, through blogs, Facebook, poems and graffiti.”

Upcoming Events Between August 24, 2009 - September 06, 2009

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:53:00 -0400

Gelah Penn-Clash by Night
When:August 20-October 11, 2009
Where:Real Art Gallery
Hartford Connecticut
Directions
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/why:”Gelah Penn’s work is both sparse and substantial. Her site-specific installation presents jagged, three dimensional lines, shapes, and colors set against stark white walls. The unconventional materials used in her work include vinyl lanyard, monofilament, plastic mesh, rubber & vinyl tubing, plastic & Styrofoam balls, and upholstery needles.
Artist Statement:“In my recent work I explore the linear language of drawing in three-dimensional space using the lexicon of gestural abstraction. By manipulating colored monofilament and other tendril-like materials, I mean to construct a kind of substantive ephemerality, an accretion of marks and their shadows delineating maelstroms of visual noise; a luminous expanse in suspended animation, conjuring microscopic activity, arterial systems, dust, and weather.” “

Image/Imaged/Imaginary
When: August 21, 2009 - September 25, 2009
Where:Fort Point Artist Community
300 Summer Street M1 Boston MA 02210
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/why:”An exhibition of photographs, and objects by Providence artists Lauren Kalman and Millee Tibbs. The work explores the construction of the body through mediated photographic images. “

Jacob Ireland - What (of Me) Can Only Be Seen by Others
When:September 04 - September 19, 2009
Where: Gallery Meme
55 Norfolk Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/why:”Jacob Robert Ireland, born 1986, Canada. Lives and works in Toronto. Ireland’s interests lie in occult theory, poetic logic, and melding lived experience with secondary sources to destabilize reality.
For the mixed media installation What (of Me) Can Only Be Seen by Others, Jacob Ireland draws inspiration from the life and work of occultist Sylvan J. Muldoon, who at an early age claimed to have began undergoing out-of-body experiences (OBE). Born in 1903 into a family interested in the occult, Muldoon was subsequently introduced to the phenomena known as astral projection. In 1929, Muldoon published the book The Projection of the Astral Body, writing most of the manuscript from his bed due to illness which had plagued him since childhood. As the first full volume on the subject, it details numerous ways to acheive and control OBE otherwise known as astral projection. Along with Muldoon’s writings, Ireland pulls from texts by the French writers Marcel Proust and Roland Barthes to create the central piece of the installation. Synthesizing excerpts from Muldoon’s The Projection of the Astral Body, Proust’s Swann’s Way (1913), and Barthes’ The Neutral (2005), the text presents prose seemingly written by a single author that describes an experience of disorientation, contemplation, and an encounter with the unknown. “

Christy Georg-Nautical Body
When:August 31 - September 30, 2009
Where:The Trustman Art Gallery
Main College Building, Fourth Floor
300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115-5898
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/why:”In “Nautical Body,” created for the Trustman Gallery, Georg, who is known for kinetic sound sculptures and sculptural apparatuses, has launched a new series that links art to maritime culture. Using materials and techniques familiar to sailors of yesteryear, Georg painstakingly knots rope and fashions witty sculptural objects that evoke Boston’s seafaring origins. Georg explains, “I make sculptural instruments and devices that function either actually, or metaphorically. Often created for use in a specific location or inspired by a particular historical account, their meticulous craftsmanship lends them authority as functional objects, but upon inspection may seem quite absurd, fetishistic, alchemical, or otherwise baffling.”

We are Made of Dreams and Bones: New Work by Claire Burke
When:August 31 - October 9, 2009
Where:Lynn Arts, Inc
25 Exchange Street
Lynn, MA 01901
How: Official Website
Cost: Free

Anna Hepler: Intricate Universe
When:August 22 – October 17, 2009
Where:Montserrat Gallery
23 Essex Street
Beverly, MA 01915
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/why:”Portland-based artist Anna Hepler uses simple materials to create sophisticated prints, drawings, and elaborate three-dimensional spatial constructs. Over the past five years her artistic obsession with the movement of particles suspended in space has taken on impressive proportions. Sources of inspiration include ephemeral natural phenomena such as flocks of birds, fireworks, dandelion whorls. She combines this with an interest in skeletal frameworks either from the natural or built environment. Says Hepler, “I am interested in portraying fleeting moments of suspended or built geometries.” By combining visually cohesive forms, such as the oval or the sphere, and filling them with chaotic structures, Hepler takes on the duality she sees in nature’s systems. The resulting installation is incredibly elegant and filled with a peaceful, Zen-like energy.
”

Upcoming Events for the Week of August 17th

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

A Forest in Mind: Mixed-media Paintings by Terry Boutelle
When:August 17-September 13, 2009
Where:Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall
Arnold Arboretum
How:Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Terry Boutelle’s vision of trees and forests is shaped by memory, meditation, and imagination. Initially inspired by birch trees in the Arboretum, Boutelle has moved beyond realism into psychological and emotional realms. Using mixed media such as acrylic, pastel, wax, and plaster, and often incorporating natural objects such as leaves, twigs, and seeds, she creates paintings that are at times richly textured and at other times, smooth and veiled. Her images evoke mystery and yearning for things we cannot quite grasp.
Largely self-taught, Terry Boutelle has also studied at the Fine Arts Work Center, Massachusetts College of Art, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She is the current president of the Jamaica Plain Artists Association and a painting instructor at the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts.”

Women’s Caucus for Art “Sense(of Humor)” and “Heat Wave”
When: August 17-August 29, 2009
Closing Reception: Saturday, Aug 29, 3-5 pm
Where:Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Ave,
Boston, MA 02118
How:Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Gallery I:Who says feminists don’t have a sense of humor! Juried by Carolyn Muskat of Muskat Studios, this group show includes work by the Boston chapter of the WCA, dedicated to creating opportunities for and expanding recognition of women in the arts.
Gallery II:Hot color, hot vibes, hot flashes. In the spirit of the season, this sizzling group show features members of the WCA, Boston.”

You’ll never return, yet you will go back-New Work by Meghan Bernal
When:August 17-August 29, 2009
Reception:August 28th 6-9pm
Where: Washington Street Art Center
321 Washington Street
Somerville, MA 02143
How:Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”The Washington Street Art Center presents the opening of photographer, collagist Meghan Bernal’s new work, “You’ll never return yet you will go back” on Saturday, August 1st. Using Polaroids, old slides, journals, box collages, and large prints, Bernal explores the way her cameras play a romantic and twisted role in her daily existence. Her relationships with these cameras impact the experiences with her surroundings and human interactions more than she’s ever really let on. “You’ll never return yet you will go back” will be on view through August 29, 2009 with a closing reception on Friday, August 28th.
“Just by opening the shutter of one of my many cameras I am able to release tension in my own body. There also moments when using cameras to get through something creates more of that tension. I am a different person when I am away versus when I am at home. The only constant I have are the ways I document where I am. I am in love running off to a new place while knowing I will eventually return to a comfortable and somewhat stable environment. When I’m in my apartment I can examine what happened while I was away and when I am away I can examine what it is I left behind. The two extremes tend to dance and battle in my head and in my pieces.”
In “You’ll never return yet you will go back” Bernal attempts to shed light on traveling to places in the apartment and city she lives in, nearby cities, and countries thousands of miles away. Using cameras and the interactions with the people met along the way, she figures out what gets her through it all, why she was there, and what makes her want to go back.”

“Simply the Best” 2009
When:August 17-October 18, 2009
Where:Courtyard Gallery
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston
How:Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Each year, “Simply the Best” presents award-winning works from the previous academic year by Museum School students. On view this year are a selection of works that received special recognition in the Boit Awards, Dana Pond Competition, Yousuf Karsh Prize in Photography, and the Sumner Cooper Award.”

Back from London with a new beast in tow. Meet Sadie-Mae:

A southern belle who has been a time/energy wrangler, but also an inspiration to put more time/energy into the things I love.

Hope you have a chance to check out some of this week’s offerings.

xx

Upcoming Events for the Week of June 29th-???

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:37:00 -0400

The Old, Weird America: Folk Themes in Contemporary Art
When: June 06-September 07, 2009
Where:DeCordova Museum
51 Sandy Pond Rd
Lincoln, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Adults$12.00/Seniors $8.00/College Students $8.00/Youth (6-18) $8.00
What/Why:”This summer DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum hosts the award-winning traveling show The Old, Weird America, the first museum exhibition to explore the widespread resurgence of folk imagery and mythic history in recent art from the United States. Organized by Toby Kamps, Senior Curator at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the exhibition illustrates the relevance and appeal of folklore to contemporary artists, as well as the genre’s power to illuminate ingrained cultural forces and overlooked histories. The exhibition borrows its inspiration and title—with the author’s blessing—from music and cultural critic Greil Marcus’ 1997 book of the same title that examines the influence of folk music on Bob Dylan and The Band’s seminal album, The Basement Tapes.”

Don’t Hassle Me I’m Local
When: June 29-July 05, 2009
Where: Fourth Wall Project
132 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”From June 27th through July 6th, Fourth Wall Project will be presenting a collection of new work by Nick Z entitled, “Don’t Hassle Me I’m Local.” This exhibition will consist of new paintings, works on paper, objects, as well as a site specific installation.
Nick Z is a mixed media artist who uses his drawings as a foundation to make work that ranges from small scale pen and inks to large scale on site installations.
He grew up in Massachusetts a skateboarding spraypainting teen who also was into exploring abandoned environments and the woods. In college he went on to study painting and printmaking at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Since graduating with a BA in 2001 he has spent time living in the cities of Boston and New York making artwork, traveling, and exhibiting globally from Hong Kong to Montreal, Canada and extensively on the East Coast, most notably a two person exhibition alongside Kai Althoff at Gladstone Gallery in New York.
Nick Z has attracted the likes of commercial clients such as PEPSI co., Converse, and even Neiman Marcus with his eye catching youthful aesthetics.
His work embodies a defiant punk kid-like attitude mixed with subjects of wonder, hope, wants, needs, paranoia, physicality, and love. Nick Z’s work was recently published in the 2009 Northeast edition of New American Paintings.”

Air and Ocean
When:July 01-August 01, 2009
Where: Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”In these new paintings, Jennifer Day explores the relationships between liquid phenomena in large-scale oils in black and white.
While Day’s work explores the mystery of natural phenomena, it communicates a vastness of air, water and space that suggests something has just happened, or is about to.
Few elements are solid; most are fugitive. The imposing shapes suggest an infinity which is both elegant and overwhelming.”

Above and Beyond
When: July 03-August 03, 2009
Where: Three Graces
105 Market Street
Portsmouth, NH
03801
How: Official Website
Cost: Free

Art Around Town
When: Friday July 03, 2009
Where: Portsmouth, NH
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”As a thriving community rich in history, Portsmouth retains and honors its past while continuously cultivating an ebullient, exciting contemporary art scene. Within its early-nineteenth century brick facades, cobblestone sidewalks, and urban streetscapes, the collective Portsmouth art galleries represent the work of international and national artists from as distant as Europe, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and as near as regional New England. The broad scope of these gallery exhibitions offer you the representational and recognizable, as well as the abstract and avant-garde.
Whether it’s your destination for dinner or a summer sojourn, this prestigious community built upon arts and culture will satiate your cravings for original art, food, music, and fashion. The first Friday of every month, downtown Portsmouth celebrates its inspired, intimate urban community with big city style by presenting its Art Round Town gallery walk.

Gardner After Hours: Legends
When: Thursday July 16 5:30-9:30pm
Where: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
280 The Fenway
Boston MA 02115
How: Official Website
Cost: $12 Adults/ $10 Seniors/ $5 College Students/ Free for Members
What/Why:”Explore paintings and works of art of fantastical myths and legends.
Courtyard Music: Soul Clap spins from the courtyard all night long.
Talks: Discover one of the museum’s most mythical paintings - Europa; chat with museum staff about some of the myths surrounding Isabella.
Game: True or False? See how well you know the Gardner - what’s myth, what’s reality?
Sketching: Drop by the galleries and sketch for a while, from 6-9pm.”

Treasures From the Boston Athenaeum: Summer Installation 2009
When: Now through August 28, 2009
Where: Library of the Boston Athenæum
10½ Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”The paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and manuscripts in this summer installation draw entirely from the Athenæum’s collections and add to the wealth of objects already on display on the first floor of the building.
Over forty artists are represented, ranging from Italian and Scottish to American, and from the 16th century to the present. “

Celebrating Kyoto: Modern Arts from Boston’s Sister City
When: Now through September 07, 2009
Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Avenue of the Arts
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
How: Official Website
Cost: Members FREE/Adults $17/Seniors and Students 18 and older $15/Youths 7-17 $6.50
What/Why:”Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston-Kyoto Sister City relationship at this vibrant exhibition focusing on contemporary ceramics and prints created by artists in Kyoto and the surrounding Kansai region. Included are ceramics on loan from private collections, including the magnificent porcelain vase above, Vertical Flower (2007) by Sakurai Yasuko, and ceramics and prints from the Museum’s collection. In addition, contemporary textiles by four Kyoto artists illustrate the rich melding of traditional Japanese textile traditions with innovative processes and methods.
”

……

So, I’m headed to London until the week of the 20th and hopefully will be able to take in the sights and sounds of Europe. Don’t miss me too much. x

Upcoming Events for the Week of June 22nd

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:25:00 -0400

Early Mechanics
When:June 3-June 27, 2009
Where: Bromfield Gallery
450 Harrison Ave,
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Using common materials like sheetrock, found wood, cement, and wool, Finlay creates sculptural events such as a tree branch on wheels sprouting new roots, or a many-wheeled cart fastened to the wall attempting escape. A psychological parallel may exist (or not), as she examines the mechanics of how we make the world work for us.”

Elise Wagner
When:June 3-June 27, 2009
Where:Chase Gallery
129 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:Elise Wagner-Artist Statement:”Painting has always been a good platform for me to negotiate the tensions between the real and the abstract, chaos and order, the unknown and the factual. I do this with every layer of the surface, making the evolution of the painting its own past present and future. The texture and complexity of the surfaces often represent the great unknown and celestial, while the scientific symbolism suggests the accurate and quantifiable. Daily studio practice and ritual becomes the narrative of the work; a process of making, reflecting researching and making again.
My work explores the relationship between science and art. By combining images of astronomy and physics, my paintings stand as symbols for the seemingly illogical and arbitrary order inherent in today’s uncertain world. My paintings intend to evoke the celestial, the philosophical and the emotional.
Alchemy in both its symbology and physicality also plays a large role in my work. My process has grown to rely mainly on the unpredictable nature of materials thereby coaxing the environment of my paintings to emerge. Always remaining unattached to the outcome, I often work on several paintings simultaneously. This way of working enables me to detach from the work to some extent in order to make way for a dialogue or theme to emerge. The surface, color and composition navigate me, almost as if the body of work is threaded together like the chapters of a book. Ultimately, my work draws from the more romantic notion of being among a lost series of maps whose places and origins are in the eye of those beholding them. “

Waterworks
When: June 4-June 27, 2009
Where:Atlanta Works
80 Border Street
Top Floor
East Boston, Massachusetts
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Karen Kemp’s recent landscape paintings (and etchings) in this show feature her fondness for the shoreline. The deep horizons of the marshes and wetlands conjure a serene and dream-like mood. Kemp is especially keen to ensure that her work is broadly accessible, and for some her work may evoke a recognition of place. Kemp studied fresco painting at Il Laboratoria Per Affresco di Vainella in Italy and received a painting fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center in 2003. She is represented by Danette Koke Fine Art in New York, the Christopher Gallery in Stony Brook, the Boston Drawing Project at Bernard Toale Gallery, and her work is in private and corporate collections, including the Bessemer Trust, New York and San Francisco and Morgan & Finnegan, LLP, NY.
Maureen O’Connor has been called ‘a masterful painter of some of our favorite things’ by Randi Hopkins of the Boston Phoenix and current associate curator at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Her new work continues her exploration of ceramic ducks as a subject matter. She combines these ducks with various fabrics such as stripes, polka dots, Marimekko and a 1960’s inspired psychedelic floral print. In her still life paintings, she likes to take an object and explore all the possibilities with it, and the possibilities are nearly inexhaustible. 2 teachers who have profoundly influenced O’Connor’s work are renowned landscape painter George Nick and Jason Berger founder of the Direct Vision Movement. Her work is represented by the Jack Meier Gallery, Houston, Texas and is in the collections of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, Children’s Hospital, Biogen and AOL.com “

Talk To Me
When:June 5-June 27, 2009
Where: Axiom Gallery
141 Green Street
Boston MA, 02130
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”AXIOM presents “Talk To Me”, the fourth annual collaboration with Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Studio for Interrelated Media. As part of Axiom’s mission to extend support to emerging artists working in new and experimental media, this year the show will also include students from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Two classes, the year long Electronic Projects for Artists class through MassArt’s SIM program, and the Kinetic Sculpture class at SMFA, have come together to present “Talk to Me”.
The title “Talk To Me” refers to the common theme of communication, person to person, robot to person and, yes, animal to person, between all of the works in the show. Works in the exhibition are both electronic and kinetic, ranging from interactive to wearable. Sabri Reed’s wearable sculpture is designed to be “signed-out” by gallery goers and used outside the gallery, where the apparatus provides the wearer with directions via an on-board compass. Other works in the show include a video synthesizer played by ants whose work in their colonies plays music, and an animated artificial life environment controlled by human breath. In addition, there will be a live performance including home-made synthesizers at the opening reception on June 5th.”

Trash Menagerie
When: June 06-May 01, 2010
Where: Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square
Salem, MA 01970-3783 USA
How: Official Website
Cost:Adults $15, Seniors $13, Students $11
What/Why:”Trash Menagerie presents over 30 improbable works of art created from things most of us simply throw away. This playful and poignant exhibition challenges visitors to think differently about the creative potential lurking in everyday objects. From an iridescent trout made from 70 different pieces of refuse to a flock of cheery birds made from tin cans, Trash Menagerie explores animals imaginatively made from recycled rubbish. The exhibition features hands-on activities, such as a trash collage magnet board and weekend art drop-in activities, to encourage visitors of all ages think creatively about trash in the museum and beyond. Trash Menagerie is on view in the Peabody Essex Museum’s interactive Art & Nature Center June 20, 2009, through May 2010.”

The Handsome and the Holy
When: June 11-July 11, 2009
Where:Judi Rotenberg Gallery
130 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:Ria Brodell-“I grew up watching musicals and old black and white movies with my grandma. I went to Catholic school (picture plaid skirts and itchy tights). Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, “Curly McLain” from “Oklahoma!” were handsome men with perfect hair and perfect features. I wanted to dress like them, dance like them and look like them. I played with G.I. Joe and He-Man. My aunt told me stories about the saints. Catholicism was a significant part of my childhood. I collected holy cards. I collected baseball cards. I only ever wanted one ‘Barbie’ doll, and it was Ken.
If I was to honor the lives of the saints, how could I possibly aspire to be the handsome man who always gets the girl? This series drawings intermixes how the different figures I’ve identified with or admired, co-exist in my mind, and how I see myself in them.”

Okay, you caught me..none of these exhibitions started this week, but they sounded too good to miss! xo

Upcoming Events for the Week of June 15th

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:11:00 -0400

I don’t even want to make long-winded excuses for where I’ve been. The kid is back, gainfully employed, and looking forward to continuing our relationship.

And to get back in your good graces, a joke:

Q:Why was the strawberry sad?

A:Because her mother was in a jam!

Allons-y!

First Mondays at CAC Gallery
Free Artist Receptions featuring live performance, food, and community.
When: Monday, June 1, 6-8pm Monday, July 6, 6-8pm
Where: CAC Gallery
344 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”In the age of television and the Internet, video is a medium of fast action and short attention spans. What happens when you slow down the medium - make it linger, unfold, bend, and suspend time?
Artist Michael Oatman and his team will transform the CAC Gallery (Cambridge Arts Council, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Cambridge) into a working video production studio. For two weeks, June 1-12, the artist will be creating 10-minute, ‘still’ video portraits of West Cambridge citizens.
In a nod to 18th-century English portraiture, You are Here will surround these sitters by objects from their daily lives. The portraits will be shot against a green screen - like those used by TV meteorologists - enabling the artist to create a “video collage.” Each sitter will choose a landscape background for their portrait from Cambridge area. In post-production, these two images will be fused, resulting in a new image - a lingering hybrid of portraiture and landscape using video.
The CAC Gallery will be open to the public during these portrait sessions. As the filming progresses, the gallery exhibit will build with collected items, raw footage, and still photographs from these sessions. The results of this process will constitute the gallery exhibition through July 15.
The final outcome of this project will be a permanent public art commission displayed on three large high-definition television monitors in the newly constructed West Cambridge Youth and Community Center/VFW on Huron Avenue. The vertically-oriented screens will feature 20 portraits of local residents - young and old - from all walks of life, entitled The Cantabrigians.”

Between Places
When:June 1, 2009 - September 1, 2009
Where:Singer Editions Gallery
300 Summer Street #44
Boston, MA 02110
617.423.3484
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”The ten Artists in this show have given us their photographic interpretation of the landscape that they have looked upon.
What is landscape?Landscape is inevitably an ambiguous concept; the term itself is a slippery one whose meaning slides between the actual and the virtual, the real and the represented.
Landscape is itself a physical and multisensory medium in which cultural meanings and values are encoded, whether they are put there by the physical transformation of a place in landscape gardening and architecture, or found in a place formed, as we say, by nature.
Landscape is already artifice in the moment of its beholding, long before it becomes the subject of pictorial representation.”

Celluloid Dreams
When:June 02 - July 20, 2009
Where: New England Institute of Art,
10 Brookline Place West
Brookline, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”For decades the movie theater and drive-in has played an important role in the fabric of American life. Sensing years ago that these pieces of American social history would be lost forever; photographer Stefanie Klavens began her quest to capture them permanently on film.
“Celluloid Dreams: America’s Vanishing Movie Palaces & Drive-In Theaters” is a photographic journey of
palaces that have survived and thrived as well as those that have faded into oblivion.
Klavens began her artistic obsession for old movie theaters on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey
in 1987, when the Strand Theater, with its neon lights shining at night caught her attention. Then a
student at the Museum School in Boston, she captured the image as part of a student project – a
photographic exploration into Americana. “I was glad I got that shot,” says Klavens. “The Strand still
stands, but has lost its former glory.”

Her fascination for the subject matter never left and this one-woman show features, among others, the
Somerville (MA) theater, the last of the city’s original 14 movie houses, the Bruin Theater in Los Angeles
and drive-in theaters across the country, both those still in operation and those that have been closed
and abandoned, their screens now blank and parking lots empty.”

Portals and Paths
When: On view June 1, 2009 - June 30, 2009
Where:80 Border Street Cultural Exchange Center
80 Border St
Boston, MA 02128
How:Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Soft, organic forms of indeterminate origin bulge from windows, ceilings, and walls. Sunlight filters through the forms, causing them to pulse as the light changes when the sun darts behind a cloud and then emerges again. These forms are the creations of artist Brooke Mullins Doherty, and they are part of her June 2009 solo exhibition at 80 Border Street Cultural Exchange Center in East Boston. The show, which is entitled “Portals and Paths,” presents several site-specific sculptural installations that seem to grow from the center’s architecture as well as a series of colorful line drawings.
“Portals” refer to Doherty’s window sculptures, which by transmitting sunlight act as portals to the heavens, and “Paths” refer to her drawings, many of which trace the path of a single line and all of which explore the passage of time and cycles of growth and decay. Using a variety of materials such as pencil, ink, enamel, and paint pen, Doherty’s drawings resemble imaginary plots of data, magnetic field lines, geological strata, and microscopic cross-sections of cells and organs, and she utilizes all of these influences in an often psychedelic way.”

Continuing Education Exhibition
When: Thursday, June 18 - Thursday, July 2, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 18, 6–8 pm in Grossman Gallery
Where:SMFA
230 The Fenway
Boston, MA 02115
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”This juried exhibition features 62 works by 47 students enrolled in SMFA’s Summer 2008, Fall 2008, and Spring 2009 Continuing Education courses and workshops.”

6th Annual Printing Arts Fair
When: June 21, 2009
Where:Letterpress Guild of New England
The Museum of Printing
800 Massachusetts Avenue
North Andover, MA 01845
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Announcing the 6th Annual Printing Arts Fair on Father’s Day, June 21, 2009 at the Museum of Printing located at 800 Massachusetts Avenue in North Andover, Massachusetts just across from the town common. The Fair is free to the public and runs from 10am to 4pm. Co-sponsored by the Letterpress Guild of New England and the Museum of Printing, it’s the perfect time to learn about the book arts and printing, with papermaking and bookbinding artisans demonstrating their craft. Also on hand are stone lithography, intaglio and letterpress printing demonstrations. And for the first time the fair will present Steamroller Printing in honor of the 100th anniversary of the beloved Vandercook Proof Press.
On display in the big tent and upstairs in the Museum are artwork, stationery, prints, books, decorative papers, crafts, posters, type and letterpress printing equipment from such vendors as Albertine Press, B Designs, Brookfield Paperworks, Carta Inc., Sea Dog Press, May Day Studio, Swamp Press, Sun Hill Press, and Zoetropa.
It’s a great way for the family to celebrate Father’s Day with plenty of children’s activities including printing your own Father’s Day card and punching your name out on an old fashioned stenciling machine. Also a wonderful opportunity to witness how the world communicated before the computer, from the hand-pulled iron press of the 1800s to the marvelous mechanics of the linotype typesetting machine and the satisfying kick of pulling your own print off the Vandercook Proof Press.The Museum has a fantastic selection of letterpress items for sale for those wanting to try their hand at printing. Vendors will also be donating items to the raffle that benefits the Museum.”

Happy Fathers’ Day, Dad ♥

Upcoming Events for the Week of May 11th

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:25:08 -0400

Alter-Ego-Images Made with Toy Cameras and Alternative Photographic Processes
When:May 11-May 21, 2009
Where: The Nave Gallery
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church
155 Powderhouse Blvd., Somerville, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”During times of change, there are always those who rebel. In the current era of digital media, many photographers are reaching for ways to create work that is relevant in the world today, but by using manual processes that have enriched photography since it’s inception. Be it with taped up plastic toy cameras from the 1970s, to making their own pinhole cameras, to creating cyanotypes outside in the sun—these are not photographers who simply want to plug in their memory card and click away to create an image. There is a lot of trial and error, duct-tape and elbow grease in making each of these images.
Many alternative photographers live by the mantra “don’t think, just shoot”. There are minimal options and settings in the cameras, and much is is left to chance, intuition and happy accidents. The process takes on a life of its own—be it light leaks in the camera, one frame overlapping to the next, or variations in environment and chemistry— the intentional loss of control over the medium gives the artist an ability to let go of what might be sacred, as what is being captured through these mediums many times is unknown until the film is processed. It is a balance of give and take between the artist and the medium.
These photographers portray work that is whimsical, nostalgic and engrossed in their respective mediums to create the work that has been chosen to display. With polaroid, cyanotype and other analogue techniques falling to the wayside in this digital age, we hope to celebrate these artists and their unique processes at the Nave.”

Figure and Form
When: May 11-May 30, 2009
Where:Clark Gallery
145 Lincoln Rd
Lincoln, MA 01773
781-259-8303
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Rebecca Kinkead: New Paintings, Janet Rickus: New Paintings and in the New Gallery Annex thru May 23: a Julie Levesque installation: SIFT”

Mad on Color
Paintings of Nineteenth-Century Venice
When:May 11-August 30, 2009
Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
How: Official Website
Cost: Members Free | Adults $17 | Youths 7-17 $6.50 | Youths 6 and under FREE
What/Why:”In keeping with the MFA’s Venetian theme this spring and summer, a display of European and American canvases is on view in the Upper Hemicycle in “Mad on Color: Paintings of Nineteenth-Century Venice.” Works by Renoir, Monet, Whistler, and others show the influence of Venice’s unique combination of water and light on the painting of the Impressionists and their contemporaries.”

Future Arts 2009: Urban Oasis
When: May 16, 2009 6:00pm-11:00pm
Where: The Roxy, Boston
279 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
How: Official Website
Cost: $17.00
What/Why:”This year’s Future Arts will feature over 20 prolific sound, visual and multi-media artists coming together to create an uplifting evening of urban expression.Event will begin at 6PM and end at 11PM. After-party to directly follow. More details about the after-party will be available soon.
You must be 21+ to attend this event. All art on-site at FutureArts 2009 will be for sale for $200 – $800”

Upcoming Events for the Week of May 4th

Sun, 03 May 2009 21:49:00 -0400

Children of Arcadia
When: May 04-May 15, 2009
Reception: May 04, 2009 6:00pm-8:00pm
Where:CAC Gallery
344 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”As part of the Cambridge Science Festival, the Cambridge Arts Council and Boston Cyberarts present Children of Arcadia, created by new media artists Mark Skwarek and Joseph Hocking. This interactive, multi-media exhibition brings a large-scale, 17th century, Baroque-style painting to life. The panoramic painting projected on the gallery wall, accompanied by high-quality surround sound, shifts between a representation of apocalyptic ruin and idealized utopia, depending on real-time local and national news generated from various Internet news feeds.”

SMFA sidewalk sale
When: May 08-May 09, 2009, 10:00am-5:00pm
Where:School of the Museum of Fine Arts
230 The Fenway
Boston MA 02115
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”This popular annual sale features works by SMFA students in a variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture, and ceramics. A percentage of all proceeds benefits a local charity chosen by students.
In case of rain, the Sale will be held indoors. “

Exhibition 1-Opening Reception
When: May 09-June 13, 2009
Where:North Shore Arts Association
11 Pirates Lane
Gloucester, MA 01930
978-283-1857
How: Official Website (I hope you enjoy the looping seagull noise ;) )
Cost:Free
What/Why:”North Shore Arts Association will present the first exhibition of their 2009 season May 9th through June 13th. Exhibition I will be non-juried and an awards reception will be held on Sunday, May 10th from 2pm to 4pm. The public is invited to this very special event on Mother’s Day to kick-off what is sure to be an exceptional season at North Shore Arts Association.
In addition to an exciting series of artist member exhibits, NSAA will also present a number of lectures, demonstrations, youth classes, solo exhibits, concerts, art films and an annual auction. There are also over twenty different fine art workshops being offered through October beginning with a still life workshop May 15th and 16th with Carolyn Jundzilo.”

Fort Point Art Walk
When:Saturday, May 09, 2009 12:00pm-4:00pm
Where:Fort Point Arts Community
300 Summer Street, M1
Boston, MA 02210
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Art Walk is the Fort Point Arts Community’s Spring Open Studios Event. Pick up a map and explore studios of artists working in all media—meet over 60 artists, explore Fort Point, and have a chance to buy art, craft and design directly from artists.
To celebrate Mothers’ Day Weekend we are offering free artist-created flowers to mothers who stop by our information booth over the weekend, as long as they last!”

Happy Mothers’ Day, Mom*

*and all other moms as well(including those whose children have four legs and a tail)

Upcoming Events for the Week of April 27th

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Little Islands
When: May 01-May 30, 2009
Where: Walker Contemporary
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Through the conceptual exploration of light and painting theory, Udo Noger uses light - the sole source of energy with the ability to transform matter - as a physical material that transforms his two-dimensional paintings into objects with three-dimensional form. By cutting into and layering his canvas, Noger creates spaces that hold light from the outside while returning light back into ambient space. “I cut out parts of the paintings to use the light itself to paint light… I don’t have a physical open space like Fontana has… You cannot touch the inside of my painting but you can feel it…”“

Harvard Square May Fair
When:Sunday May 03, 2009 12:00-7:00pm
Where:Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA
How: Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”This annual festival celebrates the spring and the eclectic atmosphere of Harvard Square. Mayfair features over 200 Harvard Square merchants and vendors of artistic crafts, jewelry, clothing, and other gifts from around the world, along with a wide variety of ethnic cuisine and free entertainment for children and adults.

The 26th annual May Fair runs from noon to 6 p.m. in the heart of Harvard Square, featuring six stages of live entertainment, hundreds of street vendors and a host of sidewalk sales and games for kids. It is organized by the Harvard Square Business Association.

Harvard-grads-turned-pop-stars Chester French headlining the all-day sunshine affair. Also on the diverse bill are ‘BCN Rock N’ Rumble finalists the Luxury, all-female world music orchestra Zili Misik and the morbid performance art sounds of Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys. The full lineup and set times:

Noon: Sarah RabDAU & the Self-Employed Assassins
1 p.m.: Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys
2 p.m.: Zili Misik
3 p.m.: Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents
4 p.m.: The Luxury
5 p.m.: Chester French”

Somerville Open Studios
When: May 02-May 03, 2009
Where: Somerville
How: Official Website
What/Why:”Spring has sprung in the Boston area and that means open studios!
Somerville will be hosting theirs May 2-3, 2009 all over our great city. Stop in, stroll around, and support local artisits. Look for the bright yellow hands that are popping up around town now for additional info.
Over 300 artists in over 100 venues will open their homes and studios for the Eleventh Annual Somerville Open Studios Event on Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 2009 from noon to 6 pm. During this free showcase for the arts, mid-career and emerging artists working across a broad spectrum of fine art styles and craft media - including painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, glass, fiber, jewelry, furniture and ceramics - will exhibit their work to the public.
Visitors to SOS will be treated to displays of art in both traditional and non-traditional spaces throughout the city. Come see how Somerville’s artists and entrepreneurs have transformed garages, real estate agencies, salons, cocktail lounges, and churches into both impromptu and permanent art galleries. Plan your visit by picking up a copy of the Somerville Open Studios map or by visiting our online artist directory.”

Brookline Open Studios
When:May 02-May 03, 2009
Where:Brookline
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Open Studios is an annual springtime event, held in locations all over Brookline, since 1986. Artists working in all media participate by opening their homes and studios to the public for one weekend. This allows viewers to experience the dynamic impact of viewing original artworks within the artist’s creative space. The public connection to the artist nurtures an understanding of the creative process. Much of the artwork is for sale, providing an incredible chance for collectors and the general public to acquire original pieces directly from the artist.”

Upcoming Events for the Week of April 20th

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

We had a technological tragedy in the flux family, my 6 year old laptop has finally decided to kick the bucket. We had a really great run.. lots of klutzy drops, occasional wine spills, and harddrive failures whilst abroad. RIP.

Alas, I’m a week behind on the updates, but I tried to dig up some extra special posts for this week to soften the blow. Enjoy! :)

FLOAT
When:April 1-April 30, 2009
Where:Clark Gallery
145 Lincoln Road
PO Box 339
Lincoln, MA 01773
How:Official Website
Cost: Free
What/Why:”Artists: Christopher Armstrong, Richard Baker, Jerry Beck, Raine Bedsole, Mark Bercier, Timothy Berry, Carole Bolsey, Paul Bowen. Patricia Burleson, Jim Dow, Dave Fullam, Robin Freedenfield, Bob Harmon Jr, Dave Jordano, Tom Judd, Rebecca Kinkead, Mary McCleary, Catherine McCarthy, Rob Napier, Donald Saaf, Dawn Southworth, Joni Sternbach, Tabitha Vevers and Anonymous Artists and Objects.”

Architecture of Fragments
When: April 12-May 24, 2009
Where:The New Art Center
61 Washington Park, Newtonville , MA 02460
617-964-3424
How: Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”Though distinct in their visual composition, the works of Elissa Cox, Tannax Farsi, and Petra Kralickova depict the landscapes of human forms and emotions connected to personal memory, identity, and the physiological frameworks of the body. “

The Urban Wild
When: April 21-June 5, 2009
Where:The Trustman Art Gallery
Main College Building, Fourth Floor
300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115-5898
617-521-2268
How:Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”In the artist’s words:
Landscape painting is a composite of things seen, remembered and felt. By studying nature’s phenomena, I tie the visual observations to experience. With unpeopled views, scenes and vistas, one can enter a more philosophical, personal and timeless place. I grew up looking outward from the cliffs of the great lakes and the prairies of the northern plains. My world centered around nature and weather. Treetops, bays, rivers, forests, rocks, fields, and the human landscape edging these places fed my imagination. I remain in that world through the paintings and prints of nature close-at-hand.- Nancy Friese”

WSRC Salon of the Arts 2009: Cairns
When:April 23-September 25, 2009
Where:Women’s Studies Research Center
Brandeis University
MS 079, Epstein, 515 South Street, Waltham, MA
02454
781-736-8100
How:Official Website
Cost:Free
What/Why:”The WSRC Salon of the Arts 2009 includes an elegant and eclectic selection of art by WSRC Scholars, focusing on the theme of cairns. The exhibition showcases the range and depth of artistic talent at the WSRC, ranging from painting, photography and sculpture to theater, film and poetry.
Now commonly built as landmarks, cairns – artificial piles of stones – have a rich and diverse history. They have been erected as sepulchral monuments, commemorative landmarks, or for astronomical or supernatural purposes. The work exhibited in the WSRC Salon of the Arts 2009 explores the ancient concept of cairns both literally and conceptually.”

11 Miller Street Open Studios
When:April 24-April 25, 2009
Where:11 Miller Street
Somerville, MA 02143
How:Official Website
Cost:Free

DESTROY YOU, BOSTON!
When:April 24-May 22, 2009
Where:SPACE 242
242 E. Berkeley Street, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02118
How:Official Website
Cost:Free(Must RSVP!)
What/Why:”DESTROY YOU, BOSTON! is a joint exhibition by two long-time collaborators, MCA/Evil design and Magmo The Destroyer, who recently exhibited together at Orchard Street Gallery in Manhattan with DESTROY YOU, NYC! This exhibition, however, features new work by both artists, of varied mediums. MCA known for his Evil Ape and other illustrative characters, shows brand new sculptures of said characters, sandblasted of stone in varied sizes. His family business in central Massachusetts (gravestone engraving) afforded him the skill to transfer his kooky faves into long-lasting 3D pieces. Magmo The Destroyer, mostly known for his modern mixed media work, shows a series of new illustrative paintings and charcoal drawings of grotesque characters he calls “Voids” and “Suckholes.””

Art In Bloom
When:April 25-April 27, 2009
Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
How:Official Website
Cost:Free(on April 27th)
What/Why:”Celebrate spring at this annual festival of fine art and fresh flowers! See the MFA’s galleries transformed by fifty extraordinary arrangements inspired by magnificent works of art—from Asian sculptures to world-renowned European paintings.
Renowned floral experts lecture, demonstrate, and teach master classes for small groups. Order tickets below!
The Museum opens its doors with free general admission for all to enjoy Art in Bloom on Monday, April 27, from 5 to 9 pm. During the open house, free admission to the special exhibition “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice” is available on a first-come, first-served basis.”