Attleboro Arts Museum Presents Eight Compelling Visions

Through August 28, an exhibition at the Attleboro Arts Museum explores the remarkable variety one can find within the work of just eight artists. The show, titled 8 Visions, features photographic collages by Monica DeSalvo, drawings by Craig Elliott, ceramics by Lindsey Epstein, textile-based work by Virginia Mahoney, paintings by Kat Masella and Alexander Morris, photographs by Lisa Redburn and jewelry by Chuck Tramontana. The process for selecting these eight artists began with sixty applications, first juried down to twenty finalists by Jennifer Jean Okumura, with exhibitors selected by Anne Corso and Lauren Riviello. The result is an impressive group that speaks to the richness of style and technique that can be found in the New England art community.

The show is wonderfully varied and viewers will find captivating details around every corner of the museum’s generous gallery located in the heart of downtown Attleboro. Across a spectrum of media, the exhibition brings out the individuality of the featured artists. The connecting thread is often a distinct interest in texture and surface, be it real or illusion. Particular standouts in the exhibition include the highly tactile drawings and paintings of Craig Elliott and Alexander Morris, the poignant mixed media works of Monica DeSalvo, and quiet photographic triptychs executed by Lisa Redburn.

Craig Elliott, an artist who trained as an architect, exhibits a series of charcoal drawings undergirded with thoughtful design. Included in the exhibition, one finds a collection of diminutive preparatory sketches for Totemic, one of Elliott’s large scale drawings. This gives a deep sense of the artist’s knack for craftsmanship and informs a better appreciation for the completed works on view. The little drawings, though preliminary, are actually quite exquisite and hold their own against the more “finished” works on offer.

A wall of Craig Elliott’s large charcoal drawings invites close inspection.

When looking closely at the surfaces of Elliott’s images, one can find folds in the underlying paper layered over with shadowy details that have a sculptural sensibility. Elliott’s artworks elevate charcoal, often considered an elementary medium, bringing it to the same level as painting. Once completed, the artist’s intricate drawings are varnished. This technique has the effect of coalescing the surfaces of his images into velvety and satisfying wholes. 

The painter Alexander Morris, originally from Utah and now based in Rhode Island, is exhibiting a collection of highly textured works that include, among other details, great use of mysterious calligraphic line. Morris’ paintings in the exhibition are tall and columnular, a scale and format which takes on an almost architectural significance. One can return to his work again and again, constantly finding new details. It is tempting to puzzle out how exactly Morris has applied his paints but the weathered quality of his work tends to hold its secrets even to the sophisticated observer.

Like Elliott, Morris has a smaller study included in the exhibition. Although tiny by comparison to his wall-height paintings nearby, Crow’s Nest has an equal compositional power that is impressive and merits admiration.

Wall-height paintings by Alexander Morris are rich in weathered textures.

Monica DeSalvo’s contributions to 8 Visions are deeply personal and unravel issues related to her care of her late father, who experienced dementia. In layered artworks that collage and enhance photography and found objects, DeSalvo excavates her father’s archive, unearthing materials that she combines with imagery to evoke his own words near the end of his life.

An accordion book titled What Do You Think About When You’re Not Sleeping? brings a wonderful dimensionality and duality to the experience of DeSalvo’s work, which will be impactful for the many viewers who have experienced dementia first-hand in their own families.

An accordion book by Monica DeSalvo stands out alongside her two-dimensional collages.

Some of the textural complexity found in artworks on view is captured with great sensitivity by a camera lens, rather than by pencil, pen, or brush. In alluring triptychs, Lisa Redburn utilizes a well-known historical template to honor nature. While the format with which she frames her images echoes tiny altarpieces, Redburn’s subject matter is bright and botanical. In her photographs, one finds a certain meditative quality that can also be found in the solace of the natural world, on a hike, or in a garden. They are beautiful photographs with a hint of Transcendentalism. 

A collection of Lisa Redburn’s triptych photographs paired with ceramics by Lindsey Epstein.

While Redburn, DeSalvo, Morris, and Elliott have some of the strongest works on view, all of the participating artists should be lauded for the aesthetic verdancy of their contributions to this delightful show. 8 Visions is a thoughtfully assembled exhibition that invites visitors to relish in an exciting variety of art-making by talented creators living and working in New England today.

8 Visions is on view at the Attleboro Arts Museum through August 28, 2021. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am - 4pm each day. Masks are required for all visitors regardless of vaccination status and admission is a suggested $3 donation. Learn more at www.attleboroartsmuseum.org.

My "Inside Art" Articles from July 2021

In July, I contributed four new articles to GoLocalProv. My column, which premiered in early June, continues to focus on local exhibitions and artists, contextualizing local art for a broad audience. This month, I wrote about Rhode Island Latino Arts reopening their gallery space in Central Falls and reviewed an exhibition of photographs by Mary Beth Meehan at WaterFire Arts Center. I also reviewed an exhibition of contemporary art at Jamestown Arts Center and produced a profile of artist and arts advocate Paula Martiesian.

Below, you can find links to each of these articles. I hope you will read them and consider sharing one or more with your own network. By sharing stories of art and artists in Rhode Island, we can support our creative community, encouraging patronage of our artists and galleries.

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I hope you will consider following me on social media, where I will be announcing each new article and other ongoing projects. Joining me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest is the best way to stay up to date.

I will continue to regularly share highlights from Inside Art here on my own blog, and will continue to produce articles here on the visual arts outside Rhode Island as well as interviews and other content. Your continued readership is deeply appreciated. If you have a tip for a show I should review, please feel free to email me.

-Michael

In New Bedford, a Rare and Wonderful Exhibition of Albert Pinkham Ryder

Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847 - 1917), may not be a household name but his contributions to American art are significant. An exhibition on view through October in the artist’s birthplace of New Bedford, Massachusetts, explores his art in its own right as well as within the context of modernist movements that came in his wake. Mounted by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the show is a rare and wonderful opportunity to see many of Ryder’s paintings in one place. A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and a Century of American Art is a must-see exhibition which will reshape perceptions of American art history.

One of the most exciting elements of the show is that it gathers together many of the artist’s paintings in one exhibition. This is the first significant display of Ryder’s work since a 1990 retrospective at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Some of the paintings on view are indeed on loan from the same institution and give viewers the opportunity to explore works that they might otherwise have to travel to Washington, D.C. to experience. Other artworks come from major institutions like the Metropolitan Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Phillips Collection, making this a mini-blockbuster exhibition.

A quote from Ryder illustrates his independent sensibilities alongside his paintings.

Seeing Ryder’s work in his hometown rather than in New York or the nation’s capital is part of the thrill of this show. Not far from the Whaling Museum’s galleries, the sights and sounds of this historic maritime city are reminders of some of Ryder’s inspirations. Bells are heard from nearby trawlers and seagulls fly low overhead. New Bedford’s bustling port is one of the busiest and most lucrative in the country. In Ryder’s day it was a similarly busy place and the realities of seafaring play into the aesthetic and philosophy of his art.

Ryder’s work is not easily classified but many of his treatments of land and sea bear markings most readily associated with the Tonalist school which heavily influenced American art in the late nineteenth century. Inspired by European counterparts, such artists often sought to create poetic and romantic imagery defined by particularly moody palettes. Where Ryder’s work often differs from his contemporaries is in brushwork, composition, and the sheer expressive energy of his scenes. Ryder’s paintings give viewers a sense of the raw power of the sea, the glittering beauty of atmosphere, and the possibilities of historical or mythological narratives. 

A painting by Wolf Kahn (1927 - 2020) forms an interesting contrast to an earlier piece by Ryder.

The exhibition does not feature Ryder alone, though. The show pairs a wonderful range of the title artist’s paintings with works by later makers who similarly broke boundaries and reconsidered the potential of expression. Works by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Marsden Hartley, Wolf Kahn, and Richard Pousette-Dart form a fascinating pendant to the excellent selection of paintings on view by Ryder.

While Ryder was born in New Bedford, he spent a good portion of his adult life in New York before returning to his hometown at the time of his death. He was an unusual and often lone individual who cuts something of a melancholic figure. While his painterly contributions may not be fully appreciated by a broad audience, this exhibition is an important step in bringing viewers a more complete picture of American art. Ryder’s paintings are beautiful and mournful and provoke emotional reactions as well as appreciation for his remarkable handling of paint. He is, in short, one of the great American artists of any generation and this exhibition is a fantastic chance to learn more about him and his incredible impact.

A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and a Century of American Art is on view at the New Bedford Whaling Museum through October 31, 2021. For full details and information on planning your visit, go to www.whalingmuseum.org.

"Inside Art" Column Premiers on GoLocalProv

Arts writing and reporting is an essential element of a thriving local art community. As someone who believes in the importance of such arts journalism and crticism, I am happy to share that I was recently invited to write a regular column on the visual arts in Rhode Island for the local online news service GoLocalProv. My column, which premiered in early June, will focus on local exhibitions and artists and will contextualize local art for a broad audience. Below, I have included the announcement about this new feature as well as my first three articles from June, 2021. I hope you will follow along with this new project and consider reading and sharing my articles.

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My first piece for GoLocalProv focused on a summer exhibition at Bert Gallery in Providence that will highlight the work of local modernists Walter Feldman, Gordon Peers, and Florence Leif.

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My second article for GoLocalProv previewed the schedule for summer salons focused on a variety of contemporary artists at Coastal Contemporary Gallery in Newport, Rhode Island.

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My third column for GoLocalProv was a review of the reopened RISD Museum in Providence.

I hope you will consider following me on social media, where I will be announcing each new article and other ongoing projects. Joining me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest is the best way to stay up to date.

I plan to regularly share highlights from this new project on my personal blog, and will continue to produce occasional articles here on the visual arts outside Rhode Island as well as interviews and other content. Your continued readership is appreciated!

-Michael

An Artful Perch Remade at the Providence Athenaeum

The nineteenth century in America was a notable boom time for the visual arts in the United States. Between the end of the American Civil War and 1900, many of the nation’s most notable arts institutions were founded, including Yale’s School of Art, the Metropolitan Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Pennsylvania Academy, to name a few. Americans were, more or less en masse, taking hold of their own cultural aspirations. They developed their own schools in which to study art and museums in which to showcase their growing collections. In Providence, Rhode Island, the arty excitement of the moment was borne out too. In 1877 the Rhode Island School of Design was founded, in 1880 the Providence Art Club followed, and in the mid 1890s the established Providence Athenaeum added a new space dedicated to the visual arts. Recently, the Athenaeum’s Art Room was remade in glorious style. The result is a delightfully artful enclave within a bookworm’s paradise.

The Athenaeum is one of the region’s cultural gems. Founded in 1836, it draws on a heritage of book lovers that can be traced as far back as 1753 when one of its predecessor organizations, The Providence Library Company, was established. A members’ lending library with a populist appeal, the Athenaeum is housed in a stoic temple designed by William Strickland and sited gracefully on the brow of College Hill. The building, which has the look of an ancient vault of knowledge, was opened in 1838. A stone's throw from Brown University and RISD, the Athenaeum is not only the reserve of bibliophiles, but counts among its membership and its wider fanbase people of diverse backgrounds. These days it isn’t uncommon to find an Instagram influencer making a pitstop in the library’s hallowed carrels.

The stately facade of the Athenaeum on a late spring afternoon. A banner with the Rhode Island state motto “Hope” is strung between the doric columns that flank the main entry.

Recently, Athenaeum Director of Collections and Library services Kate Wodehouse generously offered to host me for a visit to the library’s refurbished Art Room. On a bright afternoon I made the five minute walk from my office at the Providence Art Club to our neighboring organization to take Kate up on her collegial hospitality. Located on Benefit Street, itself lined with an unparalleled collection of homes dating to the eighteenth century, the Athenaeum’s crisp and stoney grey facade is set off against the verdant foliage of late spring in New England. Upon my arrival Kate quickly whisked me through the library’s warren of stacks to the uppermost room of the building. Ushered through an unassuming door, one finds a glimpse of the enthusiasm for art that abounded just prior to the turn of the century.

Created in 1896, the Art Room was to be both a place of studious solitude, as well as a latter day cabinet of curiosities. It is tucked away just behind the revival pediment of the Athenaeum’s facade and is accessed from the library’s distinctive and cozy mezzanines. At the entrance one is greeted by a bust of the Providence-born art critic Albert J. Jones, who famously left the bequest that resulted in the foundation of the neighboring RISD Museum. This was to be another hallmark moment in the advancement of art in the city during the period. Just outside the entry to the Art Room the careful observer will also find a fantastic diminutive nocturne of the Athenaeum painted by printmaker Eliza Gardiner hung discreetly under a sconce.

Entering the Art Room from this curated landing, one finds a space that has received a top-to-bottom restoration. Refreshed in new tones, a lush green canopy of a ceiling overhangs the space, where paintings and busts from the Athenaeum’s collection are displayed together in artful repose. Here, portraits of the likes of Edgar Allan Poe surmount shelves filled with texts on art of all kinds. A window in the space looks out on the library’s photogenic main hall. It is both a suitable backdrop for cultured contemplation as well as a fitting vantage point for people-watching. The window’s inviting seat is newly bedecked in a William Morris textile, a pattern popular among Arts and Crafts devotees who were also experiencing an expansion in their ranks around the time the space was devised.

The Athenaeum’s refurbished Art Room sports freshly repainted surfaces and newly reinstalled art.

Within this context, one is immediately impressed by the density of the installation. Although wall space is at a premium in this bookcase-lined room, there is ample art on view. Primarily a collection of portraiture, the result is a feeling of accompaniment in the pursuit of knowledge.

In the center of the ceiling, a generous skylight has also been glitteringly refurbished. It fills the room with natural light, which falls glintingly on the glass-topped stuffed raven that holds court at the center of a Chinese-export inlay table. Nearby, a bust of Charles Darwin by nineteenth century sculptor Jane Nye Hammond stares out unflinchingly. Pendant tables at either end of the room are now encircled with elegant black chairs designed by the local firm O&G Studio in a style appropriate for an institution of this period. Each has a brass plaque with the name of a donor who commissioned it for the purpose of this restoration.

Other details include an expertly conserved portrait by Hugo Breul, tiny silhouettes of reading characters, and an enormous patriotic bronze relief installed creatively to hide a meddlesome air vent.

A window in the Art Room looks out on the main hall of the historic library. It is topped by a bronze frieze installed during the restoration.

Even after an all-too-brief visit, the Athenaeum’s Art Room is already one of my new favorite places in town. To those who were already well-acquainted with it, seeing the remodel is akin to reuniting with an old friend who looks better than ever. The whole assemblage is not only a beautiful and thoughtful restoration, but a tribute to the spirit of the library’s community throughout the years and an exploration of a zest for art that dates to the 1890’s.

Much of the handiwork involved in making this revised Art Room a reality was that of Tripp Evans, a passionate member and volunteer. When he is not busy painting woodwork and reinstalling art, he also teaches art history as a professor at Wheaton College. The work he, and other volunteers, and Athenaeum staff like Kate have done is a continuation of the labor of many art lovers through history.

To step into the Art Room is to step back in time and to be in the blossoming art world of the late nineteenth century. I found myself at one point saying to my host that I myself wish art people today might take the same sort of bohemian glee in creating an environment as our counterparts did over a century ago. Far from being stuffy or staid or polite, the American cultural scene of this time was an exciting and even boisterous one. Rooms like the one recently restored at the Athenaeum were not just venues for quiet reading, but for serious and spirited debates about the visual arts in America.

It would be appropriate then, if this renovation sparks the kind of excitement that it merits and helps those who enter the Athenaeum’s Art Room to reimagine and interrogate art’s histories and its futures.

Under the glow of brass light fixtures and the Art Room’s skylight, portraits peer out over art books.

As much as it was an exciting place when the Art Room was added in 1896, The Athenaeum is also one today. In the last decade or so it has undergone, to use a much overused word, something of a renaissance. Always a great institution, it has recently become a decidedly hip one. It has mounted exciting public programs, refreshed its digital presence, and even restored the long dormant fountain which stands in front of its main entrance on stately Benefit Street. The renovation of the Art Room is just another feather in the cap, and a crowning one, which celebrates the unique and timeless spirit associated with this great landmark.

As my visit to the wonderfully inspiring Art Room came to a close I headed back out into the main body of the library. When exiting the space, one passes through a door newly clad in supple caramel leather. Tacks in the center of the door spell out “1836”, the year of the institution’s founding. Exiting onto the snug landing outside, one is faced with the latin phrase Ars Longa, Vita Brevis freshly stenciled in gilded letters on the green wall. To one side, the bust of Albert J. Jones stands sentry next to a vintage photograph of the Roman ruins that inspired him.

The quotation above the steps, which was added to the space during the successful remodel, rings true from antiquity to today. It means Art is Long, Life is Brief.

Below, enjoy a gallery of photographs below that I took on my recent visit to the Athenaeum’s Art Room. Thanks again to my colleague Kate Wodehouse for her gracious hospitality. As of this writing, the Athenaeum is open only to their members due to current restrictions. Visit providenceathenaeum.org for more information.

Ten Questions with Connor Gewirtz

Connor Gewirtz is a talented painter and printmaker who is about to finish out his senior year as a student in the Illustration Department at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Connor was featured in the 2019 College Exhibition at the Providence Art Club, which I juried. At the end of that show, we selected Connor as the recipient of a special Best in Show Award that came with a solo exhibition at the Club. On view in the Art Club’s Mary Castelnovo Gallery through Friday, May 28, 2021, Connor’s exhibition Changeling shows off both his technical acumen and his unique knack for storytelling. I am thrilled to have had the chance to work with this rising talent and look forward to following his career. I am also pleased that Connor was willing to take part in my Ten Questions Interview Series to complement his show. I hope you’ll read the interview below, then join us for a special virtual Artist’s Talk on May 26, or visit the show before it closes on May 28.

-Michael

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Michael: As a senior at the Rhode Island School of Design, what advice would you give to students considering an "art school" education. What are your key takeaways from your time at RISD?

Connor: Art school can provide a solid critique environment, but one thing that’s nearly impossible to teach is how to be your own artist. I came in with the expectation that I would be handed the key to making successful work but felt a bit lost when I realized this wasn’t going to happen. If I could give advice to somebody beginning at art school, I’d recommend nurturing the ideas you love within your own work rather than trying to make work for your instructors.


Michael: Your solo exhibition Changeling at the Providence Art Club contains images that touch on deeply personal themes. Can you talk about making and sharing work that reveals private stories?

Connor: I think the title of the exhibition gives a direct allusion to many of the themes within the work. I started the series by making narratively abstract works, but as I learned more about my family tree, they began to steer more into a mishmash of personal history. Much of the work is a reflection on this family tree and rethinking the traditional definition of family. 


Michael: Can you talk about your process in beginning a painting? Do you start with a drawing? Your images are intricately layered - how do they come together?

Connor: Drawing is such a vital part of the painting process. I often start by making collages and sketches and then I create a final drawing on canvas based on the best ideas. I spend the most time on the drawing stage because any mistakes in the drawing tend to haunt me when I’m building up the painting. 


Michael: The palette of your recent paintings is a key element of your storytelling. Can you speak to how you use color to delineate space and time in your work?

Connor: I try to use color in a deliberate way. Like you mentioned, I often use my palette to convey a separation between different spaces. As I’m colorblind, it can be very difficult to differentiate subtle differences in hue, so I try to have my symbolic colors contrast from the background.


Michael: Do photographs and family archives play a significant role in your work? If so, how do you utilize them?

Connor: Yes! As I mentioned, collage features heavily in my imagery. I often start working backwards from a particularly important photo by trying to find other related images that fit the idea. This process is vital to the current work as a means of tracing my own memories back to their source along with trying to demystify my own nostalgia for my past. 


Michael: You have a number of prints in your show. Can you talk about your printmaking and how it and your painting interact with one another?

Connor: I’m so thankful for getting the chance to learn printmaking. I started learning about a year and a half ago through a couple of classes across RISD. Printmaking is a big extension of my drawing process. Where painting can be time consuming for one original work, printmaking  allows me to share my drawings with far more people by creating multiples. One of the big constraints I’ve put on my intaglio is keeping it monochromatic. Where nearly all of my paintings use palettes of 5+ colors, by keeping the prints monochromatic I can focus more on linework and tonal images. 


Michael: You have been preparing for your exhibition for some time. Can you talk about your process in creating, selecting, and editing the body of work you chose to share?

Connor: It was a total surprise to get the opportunity to do the show, so I started totally unprepared. Over the course of the year I went through at least five different series. The final presentation is only about a half of the number of pieces that could have fit thematically, but given the space I had to make some serious cuts. 


Michael: You also installed your own exhibition at the Art Club. I think many artists find installing shows to be a difficult task. Can you speak to your vision for the show and how you decided to hang your work?

Connor: I invested so much time in making and preparing the work that I wanted to have a hand in its presentation. In the past I’ve helped other artists curate their shows, so it felt right to finally do it myself. The work is hung in groupings that connect thematically with each other.


Michael: Although a young artist, you have already developed a great resume of exhibitions, awards, and residencies. What advice do you have for emerging artists on finding opportunities and sharing their work?

Connor: Hahah well I guess that’s true, but it still feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface. The only advice I can give for exhibiting is to keep working until you have a solid handful of connected pieces that resonate with you. 


Michael: As you finish up school and consider your future plans, what's next for you? Where do you see yourself going both creatively and professionally

Connor: I’m going out on a limb and moving to NYC with the hope of being able to continue making and showing my artwork. Wish me luck!

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Connor’s solo exhibition Changeling is on view in the Mary Castelnovo Gallery at the historic Providence Art Club through May 28, 2021. Gallery hours are Sundays - Fridays, 12-4pm each day. Connor will also be participating in a free Artist’s Talk on Wednesday, May 26 at 6pm Eastern Time. Register for Connor’s talk on Eventbrite. To inquire about Connor’s exhibition, email michael@providenceartclub.org.

You can also learn more about Connor at his website connor.art and you can follow him on Instagram at @connorgewirtz.

Connor Gewirtz, Back of Our Minds, acrylic on canvas, 16” x 20”, 2020

Connor Gewirtz, Descent, intaglio print on paper, edition of 6, 8.5” x 9", 2020

Connor Gewirtz, Last August, acrylic on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2020

Connor Gewirtz, Echo, intaglio print on paper, edition of 6, 8.5” x 9", 2020

Connor Gewirtz, Curio, acrylic on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2021

Connor Gewirtz, Outsider, acrylic and watercolor on paper, 19.5” x 12”, 2020

Connor Gewirtz, Candle, acrylic on canvas, 22” x 35”, 2020

How Looking at a Lost Rembrandt Can Help Us See

In the early 2000’s the British singer Kate Nash had a song which began “Simply knowing you exist ain’t good enough for me.” The same can be said for art. It simply is not enough to know an artwork is out there somewhere. Art must be seen close up to be fully appreciated. In a world sodden with digital media, the quest to view art in person is a virtue, but developing virtual connoisseurship skills is a necessity and learning to love art we have not yet seen is  something to aspire to. In the new Netflix series This Is a Robbery, the infamous theft of artworks at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum highlights one painting in particular that is easy to love without seeing. Considering this lost object, we might learn something about how to look at art anew. 

Rembrandt van Rijn’s 1633 painting Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee was one of the dozen plus artworks stolen from the Gardner in the notorious 1990 heist. If you are interested in the investigation surrounding this event, Netflix’s new This is a Robbery does an excellent job of outlining key facts, identifying the potential thieves, and detailing the crime with the storytelling of a police procedural. While tempting, it is difficult to highlight any of the stolen artworks as the most important of the lot because they were all significant for different reasons. Of all the missing works, though, Rembrandt’s seascape is in many ways the most beguiling.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, Christ in The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Although we cannot view the painting now, as it disappeared three decades ago, it is easy to see its intrinsic qualities. Though in all likelihood Rembrandt’s depiction of Christ is moldering away in some mafia don’s basement, it is possible to know and to love, even in absentia. Moreover, the strategy in developing an eye for such absent artwork is transferable. As contemporary viewers, we are increasingly faced with digital versions of plastic arts that remain effectively unseen to us. Training the skills of looking is a necessary practice and by looking closely at this missing Rembrandt through archival photographs it is possible to relearn how to look at all art in the virtual world. 

In the Gardner painting, a swelling wave raises up to heave a small vessel filled with Jesus Christ and his tempest-tossed followers. The result is an angular composition which naturally draws our eye across the scene in an exciting way. We are invited to peer into the boat as terror sweeps through the crew of Apostles. In the snapshot the painting captures, Christ is caught in the moment of being awakened. This prompts him to question the faith of his followers. It is the apex of the drama. In the ensuing moments, Christ quells the sea and saves his friends. It is a well-known parable, so the imagery is itself a reminder of the importance of faith rather than a narrative cliffhanger. A devout Christian viewer of this picture would know that all ends well in this stormy sea and would read it as an admonishment to trust in God. 

Other elements of the canvas go beyond the illustrative or theological and towards the sensory. We can feel the salt spray splashing across the creaking deck. We can hear the wet slap of the flailing sails against the mast, which glistens in a shaft of light that breaks through the bleak all-encompassing sky. The howling wind is so real that it chills our bones in the same way it impacts the Church Fathers, who run too and fro in futile attempts to secure the vessel or can be seen to kneel in prayer for salvation.

So, through the image we do have of the painting, taken before its hasty departure from the Gardner, we can learn the basics of its composition and the elements of its value. But how can we deepen that knowledge and how can we enrich our appreciation for this lost masterpiece?

Looking at the many other extant paintings by the Dutch master, one can develop a sense for his technical bravura, including his handling of paint. Without seeing this specific painting, one can imagine the thick impasto of the northern Baroque and the richly painted seascape veiled with tones of brown and gold. With this information in hand, we as viewers can easily imagine the textures of this lost painting and find an appreciation for a great work of art in spite of the fact that many of us were not able to see it before it was yanked from its frame. 

Looking at Rembrandt’s numerous examples of self-portraiture, one can also find the face of the artist in this scene. The artist is depicted as the lone character to stare directly out into our space, to encounter us, and to invite us into the action with his gaze. Through looking at other Rembrandts we can learn the language of his pudgy and expressive face and recognize it again here. He becomes a stabilizing influence, an old friend in a lost ship. 

Detail in which Rembrandt’s self-portrait appears at left, bookend by Christ. In between the two an Apostle heaves overboard while another kneels to pray for the storm to cease.

Through an appreciation for Rembrandt’s larger body of work, too, we might realize that the topic is unusual. We may recognize Rembrandt as a painter of portraiture or history or religious subjects, but we would not be able to put our finger on another instance of him painting a seascape like this one because this was his only such painting. Maybe it is this realization that would crystallize the grief one might encounter when considering the long ago robbery of this painting. Whether it is in a warehouse in the outer boroughs of New York or in a garden shed in Connecticut is irrelevant, because it is now lost to us and to history. The pain of this reality is visceral.

Rembrandt’s Galilean sea looks like a gorgeous and remarkable painting. If it were still in its gold frame in the sumptuous Dutch Room at the Gardner Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee would undoubtedly be one of the best regarded paintings in America. This attribution would not just be because of its rarity, or technical brilliance, or even for its dramatic narrative. If this painting was still on view, it would be loved within and because of the wider context of Rembrandt’s meaty production.

By reconsidering this lost painting, unseen to us now and probably forever, we might find a new appreciation for Rembrandt’s oeuvre and may too find the tools we need to consider other kinds of art. This is not to say that a contemporary painting that lives in a museum hours away is as lost to us as the Rembrandtian fishing boat, but that the skills needed to hewn a sense for one are also key to the other. To know a lost painting like the Gardner’s Rembrandt, one must train their eye and use that knowledge. To get to know art in a digital space without seeing it in real life in a gallery or studio, one must do the same. 

To know that Rembrandt’s painting is out there somewhere is certainly not enough for any of us who love art and who long to see it close up. We would all love to see it again under the glare of gallery lights. After watching This Is a Robbery, we might all pine to go back in time and take one last look at its craquleured surface before the infamous night that two faux policemen strode into Isabella’s museum. To look closely and see the placid face of Christ or the knowing glint in the eye of Rembrandt himself would be a pleasure and a delight.

In the meantime though, it is worthwhile to try and love Rembrant’s picture in the passionate, imperfect way that we can. Through a few digital photos on our screens we can imagine and reimagine a great painting and find a new way of looking at art.

Making a Community Exhibition at the Providence Art Club

When telling the story of the local art community in any state, region, or locality, it is important to share a broad scope of what contemporary visual artists are making. Over the last year, here on my website, I have begun developing a program of virtual juried exhibitions to highlight artists from all over the country. When I jury them, I work to pick artworks that are of high quality and that are reflective of what was submitted by applicants. I don’t try to reframe the submissions to suit my own perspective, but rather select a body of work that is both representative and also exciting. On view now through May 7, 2021 at the Providence Art Club, a physical exhibition I helped to organize has the same aims. Namely, that goal is to share a broad view of the community of artists who are at work in the State of Rhode Island today.

The Rhode Island Community Invitational Exhibition is the first such exhibition held at the Club in recent years. The Galleries of the Providence Art Club have been exhibiting artworks by members as well as non-member artists for over 130 years. Since 1885, the Club’s main gallery has been housed at 11 Thomas Street on picturesque College Hill. In the ensuing decades, it has played host to exhibitions that included the work of artists ranging from Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot to Ellsworth Kelly. Although the Club mounts a popular annual National Open Juried Exhibition and often partners with other organizations to exhibit the work of non-member artists, most of the exhibitions remain member-focused. In recent years we hosted a reciprocal exhibition with a peer arts organization in Boston and displayed a juried scholarship exhibition for Rhode Island college students. The current show was born out of an idea for an exhibition that would allow us to share recent artworks by more of our neighbors from across the State of Rhode Island.

One wall of work at the Rhode Island Community Invitational Exhibition, on view through May 7.

Sometime before 2020, I pitched the idea of a Community Invitational Exhibition, in which the Club’s gallery staff could select artists and invite them to exhibit in a diverse group show. Although the pandemic disrupted our plans and our schedules, we were finally able to make this show a reality and it is on view through May 7. I think that the resulting collection of work provides a fun and engaging view into what artists across the state are creating. I thought it might be of interest to artists to know how such a show comes together.

Together with my gallery colleagues Abba Cudney and Brianna Turner, we assembled a list of well over 100 non-member artists based in Rhode Island with whom we thought we might like to work. In putting together this roster we aimed to list artists who worked in a breadth of media, in a range of styles, who focused on varying themes and who came from all over the small state. As we determined which of the Club’s three galleries we would use for the show, we edited down our list but still invited over 50 artists to be featured in the exhibition. Due to scheduling conflicts and other commitments, a number of invited artists were not able to take part this time so the completed show includes about forty talented artists.

In the exhibition, viewers can see a cross section of Rhode Island artists are making today. There is realism and abstraction. There are paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs. There is sculpture, glass, and works in ceramic. The featured artists live in towns and cities dotted across the state and come to the exhibition with a wide variety of expertise, education, and unique contributions to the art community. Because artists tend to wear so many hats, the exhibitors on view also have other credentials outside their respective practices. Some are gallery owners or directors, several are teachers or professors, and some are small business owners. Longstanding and mid-career artists are showing alongside younger and emerging art-makers. The exhibition even includes artists who are still studying in undergraduate programs at schools like Rhode Island College and The Rhode Island School of Design.

Another view of the exhibition in the Art Club’s historic Maxwell Mays Gallery.

One of the benefits of working in a small place like Rhode Island is that everyone knows everyone. As we considered an artist, that individual’s work might lead us to the work of another. There is also the digital happenstance of finding a new artist by accident online while searching for something or someone unrelated. The process of making our list was lively. The tools we used to create our list included both traditional avenues like gallery rosters and past exhibitions we had seen, as well as more novel means like social media. A number of the artists in the show became known to us solely through Instagram. 

With our list of prospective artists assembled, we invited each participant to pick one artwork they were most excited to exhibit. Some artists asked for our feedback or gave us a choice between three or four equally lovely paintings. Others decisively sent us their submission within hours of being invited. All of the works submitted are of high quality and the entire collection works together very well. There are points of visual comparison and overlap as well as of difference and opposition. It has the feeling of a competitive national exhibition, even though every artist is based in Rhode Island.

When installing this Community Invitational, we thought carefully about sizes, media, and the potential aesthetic connections between seemingly divergent objects. We anchored walls with large works and then built collections of more intimately scaled items around them. In the corners of the historic gallery, we highlighted some of the fantastic three-dimensional pieces that were submitted. Across the exhibition, we worked to pair items in order to help viewers gain a better appreciation for each individual piece. The result is a cohesive show in which viewers can spend a long time looking at a plethora of great items.

One of the groupings in the Rhode Island Community Exhibition on view at the Art Club through May 7.

I am pleased with the outcome for our first Rhode Island Community Invitational and feel that it captures a snapshot of some of the exciting things being made in Rhode Island now by a wide range of artists. I am personally very grateful to all the exhibitors who, on very short notice, pulled from their inventories to provide us with a stunning array of visual art.

So far, the feedback I’ve received has been quite positive, with participating artists and gallery guests marveling at the multifaceted exhibition. In viewing this show I hope that visitors will chart their own visual connections across the works presented. Hopefully, too, viewers will discover the work of local artists who they might not otherwise know.

I enjoyed working on this special exhibition and hope that those who come to see it gain a deeper appreciation for the fine works of art being made in their community by their friends, acquaintances, and by those neighbors who they have not yet met.

The Rhode Island Community Invitational Exhibition is on view in the Maxwell Mays Gallery at the Providence Art Club through May 7. The show is open to the public Sundays - Fridays 12-4pm each day and admission is always free. For information on this show, you can contact me at the Art Club via email at michael@providenceartclub.org, or by phone at 401-331-1114 x 5.

Balance, Tension, and The Art of Robert Rohm

It is easy to misread sculpture as a static medium, or as one dedicated to inward-looking stillness. Great art, though, can upend such preconceived notions of its genre. One of the best regarded Baroque sculptures, Bernini’s David, for instance, is known for its remarkable torsion. Building up in the subject’s taut body, the drama inherent in tension and expected release is the key to this great work. In Down to Earth, a career-spanning survey of work by twentieth century sculptor Robert Rohm (1934-2013) another artist’s relationship with notions of tension, balance, and even motion is explored in depth. On view through April 25, 2021, at The WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, it includes selections from a diverse oeuvre created over four decades. A remarkable exhibition, it shows off the artist’s use of quotidien elements to create transcendent sculptural forms.

Down to Earth at The WaterFire Arts Center opens with a kinetic wood sculpture.

Rohm, a longtime professor at The University of Rhode Island, was an maker steeped in craft, an educator with a giving character, and an artist unparalleled in his capacity to examine structure through unassuming materials. Whereas predecessors like Bernini sculpted in marble, Rohm preferred rope, lead, encaustic, wood, and rebar. These components are used and reused, resulting in cohesive ties binding the far flung aesthetics of differing bodies of work.

The earliest objects in the exhibition were produced in the heady days of 1960’s conceptualism. The show opens with a rough hewn kinetic work in wood and moves into Rohm’s notable rope sculptures. The enormous rope work, Untitled May 16th, 1969, engages an entire wall but is constructed of simple Manila rope. Exhibited at The Whitney Museum alongside the likes of Carl Andre and Eva Hesse, the piece consists of a sixteen foot tall by twenty-two foot wide grid of two foot squares. Nailed to the wall, the work is based on the interplay between construction and disruption. When Rohm released several of the identical knots from their nails on the wall, the overwhelming grid began to give way and to dive into the viewer’s space. In Down to Earth, viewers see a reconstruction of this work executed to the exacting standards of the artist. This activation of the artist’s original intent is an essential element of conceptual art.

In later works, Rohm explored familiar figurative forms made up of materials like rebar and encaustic. This series is spookily fleshy and corporeal. In one piece, Untitled (Large Cascade), from 1996, a massive hand balances on a lone finger as its iridescent blue surface disintegrates into the sketchy contours of digits shaped in metal mesh. Hands and fingers are a reappearing motif in this group, as are shapely torsos and mantle-like forms empty of bodies. Limbs flexed and tense, or still and resolute shoulders, or a cupped palm, are all fashioned out of elements which could be procured from the hardware store. Rohm was able to play with material, with form, with the tensions between subject and object, in ways that reward the viewer who takes the time to look closely.

A view of Untitled (Large Cascade) in Down to Earth at The WaterFire Arts Center.

A grouping of tables, described in exhibition text as “Platonic work benches”, shows off Rohm’s taste for material as well as his wry sense of humor. Leaden wheels and sleigh runners serve as feet on two such tables, while another is ankle deep in metal buckets. Overhead, shop lights dangle to illuminate mysterious objects. The  whole series is a sampler of sketches in the type of craftsmanship Rohm enjoyed. These benches are strangely personified, totemic, and even altarlike. In one table, the viewer is invited to look through a glass surface into a void below which is shaped in the outline of a basilica or cathedral. Architectural forms undergird crafted objects. The hard lines of this series counterbalance the soft and amorphous edges of other sculptures on view.

Almost a quarter of the space is dedicated to a series of columns, all using rebar in one form or another. In this group, objects within cages seem to defy gravity, with the hand-formed metal canopies being the only thing to stop encaustic balloons from floating away into the cavernous space above them. These works are all about verticality, but also are almost leaden in their weighty footings. They are also largely transparent, with voids between rebar acting as windows onto still other sculptures beyond. Both solid and punctured, they are firmly clung to the ground but aspire to be aloft. The sense of the totemic object found in Rohm’s tables might be noticed here as well, as might a sense of the ceremonial.

Rohm’s production was singular, but while early works correlate to those of co-exhibitors like Andre and Hesse, some later objects reflect the sensitivity for materials more common in a different contemporary like Martin Puryear. Rohm and Puryear overlapped for a period and the warmly tactile quality found in Rohm’s work can also be seen in Puryear’s. Finding such stylistic connections between divergent artists is one of the delights of this exhibition.

Rohm was in command of an array of sculptural techniques, but also made enviable drawings. Throughout the exhibition, there is a smattering of works on paper by the artist which are nearly as obsessively textured as the surfaces of his encaustic-covered forms. Recurring objects like pianos, lightbulbs, or the jagged map of Rhode Island appear in these two dimensional pieces. They are lively and colorful. In two-dimensions, they express the same knack for specificity and exactitude that one sees in the artist’s three-dimensional work.

To close out the exhibition, a separate gallery features stage sets the artist created as well as intricate and beautiful maquettes. Rohm used these as the basis for many of his projects, some of which are on view in the exhibition. These tiny alter egos are so fantastically detailed that they could be mistaken for their full size counterparts. Here, macabre subject matter works itself out. Little gibbeted and dismembered figures that recall Goya are examples of such imagery. In another maquette, a window looks onto a winch, where a coiled rope appears on the verge of snapping. Another small sculpture features an electric chair. The tension in these small works is as intense as that in the full scale objects nearby.

The last gallery of the exhibition is lined with maquettes and features stage sets created by Rohm.

As one exits the show, there is a drawing on view Rohm made in the days before he passed away. In this diminutive work, a forest of brown trees parts to reveal a sliver of sky, which transitions through tones of blue. Depending on how it is read, it could either be a scene of dawn breaking or evening falling. This type of tension or ambiguity is poetic, and beautiful, and is present throughout much of the work on view. 

This is a rich and varied exhibition, and one which serves as a necessary primer for Rohm’s significant production over a lifetime. From the 1960’s into the 2000’s, it charts his skillful craftsmanship of core materials and his sensibility for design, balance, and tension in many wonderful forms. 

Down to Earth: Robert Rohm Sculpture, 1963-2013 will run March 24 – April 25, 2021. The exhibit is free for all, donations encouraged. The WaterFire Arts Center hours are: Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m, Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. In following Rhode Island’s COVID-19 protocols, all visitors are required to self-screen before entering the WaterFire Arts Center and practice safety rules: keeping a 6’ distance from others and wear a mask at all times. For more information, visit www.waterfire.org.

Below, explore a slideshow of my photographs of my favorite details from the exhibition.

New Podcast Episode: A Conversation with Artist, Educator, and Exhibitions Manager Douglas Breault

In new episodes of my Fine Art Insights Podcast, I am looking forward to interview art world people and share their unique points of view on the industry today. In the second installment of this new series I was happy to welcome the multi-talented artist, educator, and exhibitions manager Douglas Breault for a conversation on everything from art-making to millenials.

Doug Breault is an artist, a professor, and currently serves as exhibitions manager at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, MA.

In addition to being an emerging artist who has exhibited his own work widely, Doug also teaches art at several local colleges and manages the exhibition program at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In my interview with Doug, we discuss how he came to studio art, how he juggles his many roles in the arts, and other topics including the place of millennials in the current art scene. You can follow Doug on Instagram at @dug_bro.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Doug and that you’ll subscribe to my podcast, so you don’t miss my upcoming interviews!

Enjoy some examples of Doug’s personal work.

Doug also curates exhibitions at the community-focused gallery space, Gallery 263.

A recent exhibition Doug mounted at Gallery 263, featuring the work of Shabnam Jannesari.

Resources:

www.douglasbreault.com

@dug_bro

New Podcast Episode: A Conversation with Artist and Gallerist Shari Weschler

I am working to update my somewhat dormant Fine Art Insights podcast and in my forthcoming episodes I will be interviewing professionals in the visual arts in what I hope will be interesting and informative conversations. In the premier installment of this new series I was happy to welcome a talented colleague from the Rhode Island gallery scene, Shari Weschler.

Shari Weschler is an artist who also directs Coastal Contemporary Gallery in Newport, Rhode Island.

Shari is a multitalented Rhode Island based artist and gallerist who lead’s Newport’s Coastal Contemporary Gallery. Shari is a very insightful visual arts professional and I enjoyed talking to her about her background, her art, and her unique point of view as a gallery director. I hope this is the first of many fun and varied conversations in this new series, and I hope you’ll subscribe to my podcast so you don’t miss any.

Enjoy some examples of Shari’s paintings.

Shari leads Newport’s beautiful Coastal Contemporary Gallery, housed in an historic storefront on Thames Street.

Coastal Contemporary Gallery’s light filled space.

Resources:

www.coastalcontemporarygallery.com

@coastalcontemporarygallery

My Go-To Art Book Shops in Providence, Rhode Island

I live out the philosophy that one can never have too many art books. Having acquired my art library from a variety of sources, I’ve also found that one doesn’t have to trek to The Strand for great selection, though. Closer to home, in New England, a couple other favorite vendors include Harvard Book Store in Cambridge and the Book Barn in Connecticut.

I’m sure there are many great art bookstores in your own backyard, and in my case that’s Providence, Rhode Island. In spite of the size of this relatively small city, I have several go-to spots where even the most discerning reader is certain to find choice used and new art tomes to add to their own ever-growing “to read” piles.

I frequently recommend the following spots to students, colleagues, and friends, and I hope you’ll explore these stores if you’re in the area, or support your own local booksellers when adding books to your art library.

Paper Nautilus Books
19 South Angell Street
Website: www.papernautilusbooks.com
Instagram: @papernautilusbooks

Paper Nautilus was founded in 1996 and is a staple of the Wayland Square neighborhood. They feature a selection of both new and used books in a range of subjects, but their art section is particularly excellent. Whenever I visit, I find a book I didn’t know I had to have from a vintage two volume biography of Michelangelo to Preziosi’s Oxford Critical Anthology of Art History. As a bonus, they also regularly host art exhibitions and have shared the work of many talented artists from the area.

Cellar Stories Bookstore
11 Mathewson Street
Website: www.cellarstories.com
Instagram: @cellarstories

In business for over 35 years, Cellar Stories bills itself as the largest used and rare bookstore in the nation’s smallest state. In spite of its name, the store is actually up, not down, a flight of stairs in a nondescript building downtown. When you stumble inside you’ll find rows of shelves packed from floor to ceiling in every conceivable subject. Their art section is set aside in its own room and is typically a good place to find larger format texts. I’ve found more than a few gems in this “cellar”.

Symposium Books
240 Westminster Street
Website: www.symposiumbooks.com
Instagram: @symposiumbooks

Symposium Books is another downtown fixture. A well-appointed shop that fills a graceful storefront in the heart of Westminster Street, Symposium always has a great selection of erudite art books. Focused on new volumes, Symposium is the perfect spot to find cerebral and sometimes unexpected books on a range of specialized topics, from conceptual art to American furniture. It’s also a great place to browse before grabbing a cocktail downtown.

If you can’t find something that suits your fancy at Paper Nautilus, Cellar Stories, or Symposium, you can always order from Books on the Square, another Wayland Square landmark that sources harder to find books and offers pickup within a few days usually. Their friendly staff are always extremely helpful. You can’t go wrong with any of the booksellers I’ve mentioned here. Stop in and you’ll be sure to find something for your own library’s art section.

Before you visit, be sure to check with all the above mentioned book dealers about their current hours and shopping policies, but remember to shop local when buying your art books this spring!

Remembering Howard Ben Tré at The WaterFire Arts Center

If Rhode Island named a Sculptor Laureate, it is almost certain that Howard Ben Tré would have held the mantle. The artist, who passed away in June of 2020 at the age of 71, was one of the most significant contemporary artists to call the state home. Sure, many notables have passed through the doors of institutions like RISD only to disappear into New York or Los Angeles, with their local connections appearing merely as a footnote on their resume. For Ben Tré, however, many of his most productive years were had in the Ocean State and his final studio was housed in a modest industrial building in Pawtucket. On view through March 7, 2021 at The WaterFire Arts Center, an engaging exhibition captures Howard Ben Tré’s important legacy, a fitting tribute to an international artist who made his home in Rhode Island. 

Ben Tré was born in Brooklyn and his dedication to the craft of making objects can be traced back to his carpenter father. The artist’s dad studied at Cooper Hewitt before serving in the Second World War, but was denied the dream of being an artist out of a necessity to provide for his family. Ben Tré gained experience in the way many young people do, tinkering in his father’s shop and receiving a first hand apprenticeship in a more or less industrial setting. This dual beginning, which included a dedication to craft and an admiration for industriousness, has been noted as an influence that remained throughout his career. After spending formative years focused on political activism, he earned his undergraduate degree at Portland State University in Oregon before traveling back east with his family to pursue an MFA at RISD under the auspices of Dale Chihuly. 

For many graduates, Providence is a way post, but Ben Tré made it his base. The apex of his storied vocation as an artist coincided with the ambitious 1990’s renaissance of Rhode Island’s capitol city, which saw rail lines rerouted and rivers uncovered, transforming a mostly derelict downtown into a markedly more vibrant place. In those days, city leaders threw their lot behind the arts as a key engine driving urban rebirth, with the installation work WaterFire coming to the fore as an essential element of the city’s new identity as a creative hub. For this reason, it seems appropriate that The WaterFire Arts Center is hosting Private Visions, Public Ideals – The Legacy of Howard Ben Tré, a truly stunning exhibition charting the significance of Ben Tré’s output. 

Ben Tré’s cast glass forms glow in WaterFire’s bright space.

Rhode Islanders are spoiled to have a number of Ben Tré works accessible in important public places. In 1996, he installed his Bearing Figure at the gateway to the Rhode Island Convention Center, one of the key landmarks in the overhaul of Providence. His BankBoston Plaza design, from 1998, offers a soothing oasis at the city’s densest crossroads. At the RISD Museum, Mantled Figure, completed in 1993, greets visitors who arrive through the Benefit Street entrance. Other projects were sited at Brown University, Wheeler School, and Hasbro Children’s Hospital. In November 2020, the Newport Art Museum unveiled a new installation of Ben Tré’s 2010 sculpture Two Capped as part of their campus renovation project. In short, examples of his work are ample here, but this exhibition puts a fine point on the best characteristics of his production, while helping local viewers to assemble a more cohesive understanding of an artist whose innovative techniques and global reach they may not fully appreciate.

Private Visions, Public Ideals captures the artist’s contributions to the realm of sculpture, to the technique of casting glass, and to the idea of public art itself. Shown off in the cavernous central hall of The WaterFire Arts Center, one will find an array of pieces that exhibit both creative process and artistic product. Maquettes of unrealized projects are paired with models for public plazas that were completed and are still being enjoyed by neighborhoods some twenty years on. Videos give visitors insights into Ben Tré’s background, his technical acumen, and his way of seeing. It is an engaging show, and one that poses a rare and excellent opportunity for guests to view a broad collection of work all in one place. As a bonus, the end of the exhibition space hosts an imposing array of monolithic moving crates, testifying to the complex art-handling necessary for works like these. This is an aspect of the art trade few gallery goers get to see, but one that is the specialty of the late artist’s wife, Wendy MacGaw, who worked with WaterFire staff to organize the exhibition alongside longtime Ben Tré patron Dr. Joseph Chazan.

A collection of Ben Tré shipping crates shows off hidden aspects of art exhibition preparation.

Ben Tré had a magpie-like ability to collect ideas from wide-ranging sources, from the ancient world to contemporary spirituality. The creative innovations he found in glass casting made his ideas, which occasionally verged on the utopic, a reality for all to enjoy. Part figurative, part totemic, and seemingly able to speak across time, his forms are minimal and essential, but also thrillingly alive. Repeating patterns can occasionally be found but perhaps the most direct is that of the glass form seemingly belted with metal, creating cinctures that underscore their medium-bending enormity and curvaceousness. Other exquisite details include bubbles frozen in the interior of the solid glass, cracks and striations that enliven their surfaces, and the incandescent quality they acquire in the bright sunlight. They reward close looking. And in the magnificent space of The WaterFire Arts Center, the next best thing to being outside, Ben Tré’s sculptures sing.

There is a sensuous quality to the works on display, something that invites the viewer to engage with them. It takes restraint to not run a hand along their cool surfaces. While Ben Tré’s work has a timeless beauty, it is also couched in the buoyant Postmodernism of the 1980’s and 90’s, one that imagined a kind of public art that could be transformational for the good. In his commissions for public spaces, the artist sought to make this dream a reality. One section of the exhibition is dedicated to the conceptualization and unveiling of BankBoston Plaza in downtown Providence, a case study in how the artist labored to improve common areas of city living.

The artist’s model for BankBoston Plaza (1998)

This large-scale installation, completed in 1998, includes, as many of Ben Tré’s projects did, several independent vignettes within a cohesive whole. First, a tall urn-like fountain encircled with high-backed benches, then undulating sets of seating that double as planters for a miniature grove of trees, and finally a wall-based installation and water feature. This work activated the urban core and gave a place of respite to the workers toiling in the surrounding high-rises. It brought the quintessential quietness and introspection of Ben Tré’s work to the center of the hustle and bustle. In doing so, it became a stage set against which the drama of urban life could be muted and tamed. After seeing the exhibition on Valley Street, visitors should travel downtown to see this site-specific work in order to feel, first hand, how objects like those on view in a contemporary art exhibition can translate to real life usefulness.

Coming away from Private Visions, Public Ideals, it is difficult not to appreciate the wide-ranging qualities of an artist like Howard Ben Tré. To create the oeuvre attributed to him, he recognized the need to build a team of dedicated collaborators in a variety of fields. He was equal parts creator, innovator, engineer, partner, diplomat, translator, and the list must go on. These are skills that go beyond those of a single-minded artist and towards ones associated with a creative visionary. Through his art he brought together talented craftspeople and industry professionals to make work that often served their counterparts in the more rarified environments of offices, apartments, and cities. Not to mention works that are appreciated in museum collections around the globe.  These interconnected linkages between the artist, his extended studio, and the world, are important ones and they are as much on display in this exhibition as Ben Tré’s elegant glass and metal sculptures.

It is indisputable that Howard Ben Tré will be remembered for his remarkable legacy, both in Rhode Island and far beyond its little borders. And in the years to come, this exhibition too will rightly be seen as a key work itself, thoughtfully and beautifully documenting the life and the creations of a uniquely visionary man.

Private Visions, Public Ideals is on view at The WaterFire Arts Center at 475 Valley Street in Providence through March 7. The exhibition is free and open to the public Wednesday - Sunday 10:00am - 5:00pm. Masks are required and guest temperatures are taken upon arrival. To learn more and plan your visit, go to www.waterfire.org.

Below, view a slideshow of scenes from the exhibition.

Destination: The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

It had been about a year since my last museum visit, until this past weekend when I made a visit to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1842, and open to the public since 1844, the Wadsworth is the oldest continuously operating public art museum in the country. It has strong holdings in American art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as in European paintings. It was the first museum in the United States to buy a painting by Caravaggio. His St. Francis in Ecstasy remains a major draw. The Wadsworth is not just a particularly good smaller museum, but also a worthy destination for a reintroduction to the world of museums in the time of Covid-19. 

At an hour and a half, the drive from Providence to Hartford is a picturesque one. The route linking the capital cities of Connecticut and Rhode Island runs through kind of small and charming towns for which New England is renowned. At certain points the roadside becomes thickly dotted with fine Federal houses bedecked in Doric-columned porches. Occasionally, a ramshackle red barn is silhouetted against the backdrop of a rolling hill as the road curves through the shallow valleys of Eastern Connecticut. The snow of the last few weeks is still clinging to the roofs of houses, and barns, and general stores, whose eves are lined with perfect icicles. In a parallel universe, the whole scene doubtlessly lives on the lid of a cookie tin in some grandmother’s cupboard. When I arrive at Hartford, the city emerges almost as a surprise, startling me out of the idyll at the end of this country road.

The Wadsworth is situated in the shadow of the Travelers Insurance Tower in the heart of the city’s downtown. Comprised of five interconnected structures in varying styles, the museum is a labyrinthine collection of galleries, each with its own distinct personality. In 2015, the facility reopened after a multi-year renovation effort, which added thousands of square feet of exhibition space and saw the reinstallation of swaths of the museum’s collection. The result remains, some five years on, an impressive feat of reimagination. The Wadsworth, which has a collection in the range of 50,000 objects, is a museum of diverse and beautiful spaces, which are rarely at odds with each other. 

As of this writing, the museum is offering free admission to all guests, and is organizing visits with timed ticketed slots. Upon my arrival over the weekend, temperatures were taken and visitors were instructed to follow the paths laid out by directional arrows on the floors of the galleries. At certain points, specific paintings were paired with vinyl dots adhered to the floor to indicate where visitors should stand to look at a work whilst also maintaining social distance. Most of the museum-goers I encountered were considerate and well behaved, with Wadsworth staff providing courteous assistance and direction. As a first experience of museum life in this unusual time, the museum’s policies felt well thought out and geared toward visitor safety. It was reassuring of the potential for cultural life to return to something we all might recognize in the coming months.

The Wadsworth’s 1842 entrance is defined by its imposing Gothic tracery and rooftop crenellation. In the background, The Travelers Insurance Tower looms. Photo by the author.

Walking through the Helen and Harry Gray Court, the museum’s original building and grand main entrance, one is immediately entranced by Sol Lewitt’s Wall Drawing Number 793 C, a massive mural that encompasses the space and draws the eye up a storey. From there, arrows guide visitors into contemporary galleries, which were in between exhibitions on my visit, and through to The Avery Memorial. Constructed in 1934 and billed as the first museum wing built in the International Style in the nation, this space exhibits an array of objects and is dedicated to dealer, collector, and museum donor Samuel P. Avery. Around a central court surmounted by a gracious skylight, its three floors of galleries feature three-quarter-height walls, which are punctuated by Juliet balconies that look down onto a central fountain. It is a light-filled and buoyant and unusual assemblage of exhibition spaces, featuring a strong collection of work. One standout is a particularly stunning Georgia O’Keeffe painting dating to 1929. The subject is the brilliant night sky of New Mexico seen through the sinuous limbs of a ponderosa pine.

Georgia O'Keeffe, The Lawrence Tree, 1929, Oil on canvas, 31 x 40 inches, The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1981.23

For the Valentine’s Day Weekend, the museum hired a harpist who played contemporary classics while I milled through a gallery filled with treasures from the Hudson River School. Getting lost in the incandescent horizon of a Thomas Cole while strains of Elton John’s Your Song filter through the gallery is the type of surreal experience that can only be had in real life in a museum, and I was grateful for it. Later, while I examined the museum’s ruminative Caravaggio of St. Francis receiving the stigmata, echoes of applause could be heard for the musical performance concluding galleries away. 

At the heart of the intimate but rambling museum, the Morgan Great Hall holds an impressive salon style installation of European paintings. This is the prototypical art museum one imagines as emerging out of central casting, and gives viewers a sense of the substantiality of the permanent collection. Smaller galleries that circumscribe this space and others hold more specific treasures including a jewel-like portrait of an angel by Fra Angelico. Upstairs, paintings by the likes of Delacroix, Ingres, Rousseau, Monet and van Gogh illuminate later moments in art making. Another particular bright spot is William Holman Hunt’s dazzling interpretation of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shallott”.

William Holman Hunt, The Lady of Shalott, c. 1888–1905, Oil on canvas, 74 x 57 inches, The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1961.470

A number of laudable temporary exhibitions are currently on view at the museum. One show highlights the rhythmic paintings of the Iranian-born artist Ali Banisadr, which draw their compositions in part from the phenomenon of synesthesia. Another exhibition focuses on the ancient inspirations that shaped the Art Deco sculptures of Paul Manship, whose work will be recognized by anyone who has visited the artist’s famous Prometheus at Rockefeller Center in New York. Nearby, the museum’s Amistad Center for Art and Culture shares engaging works that in the museum’s description “document the experience, expressions, and history of people of African American heritage”.

A day trip to the Wadsworth is always a delight and it is always worth the beautiful drive. Particularly now, as many of us are just beginning to cautiously dip our toes back into the types of experiences we once foolishly took for granted, a visit to a museum of such digestible scope and scale is a renewing experience. One of my favorite, if overused, quotes is John Keats’s assertion that “a thing of beauty is a joy forever”. The Wadsworth’s collection is indeed a joy – and one which is more compelling now than ever.

To learn more about the Wadsworth, visit their website at www.thewadsworth.org. 

Note: Current guidelines in the State of Connecticut permit visitors from only Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey to visit without quarantining. Be sure to apprise yourself of the most up to date health guidelines before planning your visit and be sure to act responsibly when making such a trip.

Professional Development Workshops for Artists Spring 2021

This spring, I am pleased to offer a series of workshops focused on professional practices for artists. I have taught programs similar to these at RISD CE, the Providence Art Club, Plymouth Center for The Arts, Dartmouth Cultural Center, and other organizations. This series of classes will focus on sharing concise and useful information about specific aspects of art practice for artists of all backgrounds and skill levels. The goal of these programs is to make my most popular offerings available in an affordable and accessible format.

Each of these courses will run about an hour and a half long. Admission for all of them is just $15 each, plus applicable Eventbrite fees. All classes will be conducted live via Zoom. Questions and comments from students are very welcome. After class, students will receive a link to a private recording of the program. I hope you’ll explore the course listings below, and register via Eventbrite to join me. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

- Michael

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 Tuesday, March 23 at 6pm
How to Write an Artist’s Autobiographical Essay
Live via Zoom
Admission: $15 (Plus Eventbrite fee)

In this intensive workshop, learn how to share your personal story as an artist in a compelling and accessible way. Through the form of the short third person biographical essay, artists will develop their back-story in order to paint a more complete picture of themselves as artists and as people. By the end of the workshop, students will develop strategies and a rough outline to write their biography for use in a variety of applications including web and print.

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Tuesday, May 18 at 6pm
Pitching Your Art to Galleries
Live via Zoom
Admission: $15 (Plus Eventbrite fee)

For most artists, gaining gallery representation is a career goal. In this workshop, you will learn how to research galleries, find an appropriate venue for your work, and how to assemble a professional application for gallerists. By the end of the program, artists will feel more confident in their readiness to approach galleries in order to gain exhibition opportunities or representation.

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Tuesday, June 8 at 6pm
Pricing and Selling Your Art
Live via Zoom
Admission: $15 (Plus Eventbrite fee)

Pricing artwork can be a challenge even for seasoned artists. In this interactive intensive, you will learn the key issues to consider when devising a pricing strategy for your work. Various methods of pricing will be explored and students will leave with a better understanding of how to price their art in a way that is well-reasoned, fair, and attractive to buyers.

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Tuesday, June 22 at 6pm
Juried Art Exhibition Basics
Live via Zoom
Admission: $15 (Plus Eventbrite fee)

Juried exhibitions provide increasingly important venues for artists to share their work with new audiences. From exhibitions mounted by local art associations to nationally competitive calls, this class will break down how to research opportunities, how to select work for your application, and how to leverage being featured in such shows. The course will also detail what goes on behind the scenes from both a gallery and juror prospective.

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About Michael Rose

Michael Rose is an art historian, gallerist, and appraiser based in New England. Since 2014, he has served as Gallery Manager at the historic Providence Art Club in Providence, RI, where he oversees an ambitious exhibition schedule spread across three unique gallery spaces. Michael has worked with hundreds of artists and thousands of individual works of art. Under his leadership, the Galleries of the Art Club received two coveted Best of Rhode Island Awards for Best Art Gallery.

Michael is a sought-after speaker and teacher on topics related to art business and art history. He has taught courses in the Rhode Island School of Design’s Continuing Education Department as well as at organizations like the Plymouth Center for The Arts, and the Dartmouth Cultural Center. He earned his BA in Art History at Providence College and earned his Certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts at New York University.

Learn more about Michael at his website www.michaelrosefineart.com

Class Policies
Students should be familiar with the Zoom platform. Students will receive the Zoom link for the class the day of the event. There are no refunds for cancelled reservations, but all registrants will receive a link to a private video of the class so if you have technical difficulties or are unable to attend you will still receive the content.

For questions, please reach out to michael@michaelrosefineart.com

Netflix’s “The Dig” and What History Owes to Art

The author Donna Tartt concluded her 2013 novel The Goldfinch with a line that captures the feelings of most anyone who loves art and history. It is so good that it should really be the raison d'être for any self-respecting art historian. 

“And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next.” 

Netflix’s new film The Dig captures the feeling conveyed in the concluding lines of Tartt’s novel in cinematic form and plumbs the interconnectedness of art, history, and meaning. It is a beautiful and multi-layered exploration of the power of art to act as a historical through line; one which binds all of us to all of our predecessors and one which connects us to those we love. It also hints at the debt that spirituality owes to art and the way in which art and design can materialize ceremony, religion, and even the after life.

The Dig, which premiered on January 29 and was directed by Simon Stone, is based on the novel of the same name by the English writer John Preston. The story is a creative retelling of the events surrounding the discovery of the famed Sutton Hoo hoard by landowner Edith Pretty, played by Carey Mulligan, and amateur archaeologist Basil Brown, played by Ralph Fiennes. The veracity of the film’s depiction of the events that took place in the Suffolk countryside in the lead up the Second World War is somewhat in question. Artistic license has inflected both the book and the subsequent film with details that did not actually take place, but which marble the story with the kinds of romance and conflict necessary to a book or film that might engage with audiences broader than say, the archaeology department at your local university. 

Thankfully, as someone with next to no significant knowledge of archeology, I watched the film with just enough inexpertness to find it enjoyable rather than infuriating. Watching it, too, was a poignant reminder of why art matters to our understandings of history and how art and objects are essential to narrating long forgotten events. In the movie, a widowed landowner with an interest in archaeology hires a journeyman “excavator” to open up ancient burial mounds that swell in fields nearby to her country house. What ensues is an archaeological and art historical discovery that will change the understanding of British history, and unearth a fabulous collection of armor and jewelry buried with an anonymous warrior king.

Within the context of this discovery, the film sets up characters to have probing moments of self-realization. It tugs at the heartstrings, occasionally veering perilously close to saccharine but mostly staying in its lane. The professional archaeologists in the movie meditate on how the finds will change history. The landowner Edith Pretty, herself dealing with a secret health condition, considers her own mortality and the nature of graves such as those being excavated. Brown, her trusty excavator, sidelined by museum professionals, worries about whether his contributions to the project will be remembered. Meanwhile, a fictional cousin of the protagonist makes the unsubtle observation that photographs he is taking of the dig will fix those moments in time, drawing a direct connection between the artistry dating to the 600s with the technology of the twentieth century.

The interlaid storylines of professional aspirations, personal passions, and intermingling desires form a tightly woven story exploring the facets of how culturally significant material like art and design can change how history is written and told. The Dig also explores the conflicts between professionals and amateurs and questions where great artistic finds should reside. Additionally, it considers the issue of “legacy” from multiple fronts. The legacy art leaves to history. The legacy historians leave to the ages. The legacy that love leaves with those around us. 

The objects found by an untrained local “excavator” and a laywoman who reads Howard Carter’s account of opening King Tut’s tomb for leisure are some of the most significant in archaeology and in art history. In particular, the remarkably detailed pieces of goldsmithery procured from the burial mounds shaped new understandings of the history of art in East Anglia and beyond. The interwoven ribbons of Celtic design that mark the surfaces of these pieces are as tightly knit as the new film about their discovery.

Some eight decades on, the art objects found at Sutton Hoo are still inspiring new generations of visitors at the British Museum, where an entire gallery is dedicated to their exhibition and preservation. Netflix’s The Dig, dramatizes the exhumation of these important pieces of art and does so with an emotive lilt that makes archaeological finds seem as thrilling and romantic as anything can be. So, like the work of an archaeologist, an art historian, or a curator, the film becomes a kind of time capsule containing the wisdom of one pinpoint in history. It is, of course, an imperfect piece of history though, because it sacrifices some truths in the service of movie-making. But, it is a movie after all, and one that will move you.

Overall, The Dig is a rich story, which explores important themes and dusts off the world of archaeology with a dose of Hollywood magic. It will remind those who, in the words of Donna Tartt, “love beautiful things and look out for them” why they do what they do and might convince others to do the same.

Both the film and Tartt’s book assert, rightly, that art is a gift to history. A gold and garnet Sutton Hoo shoulder clasp, a 1930’s photograph, a film dating to the year 2021 can all do the same thing. They can tell the stories of the past to both contemporaries and to those who come after. In doing so, all art can deepen our understanding of ourselves, our world, and our collective history. And it can do so in deeply beautiful and resonant ways that will remain as treasures to be found again and again by new generations long after we are gone.

One of the exquisite gold shoulder clasps found at Sutton Hoo, now in the collection of The British Museum.

Ten Questions with Shabnam Jannesari

Shabnam Jannesari is a talented figurative painter and a student working toward her Master of Fine Arts degree in the graduate program at the College of Visual & Performing Arts at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. A native of Iran, Shabnam’s paintings depict figures of her family, friends, and herself. She often explores the position of women in Iranian society and utilizes a palette that both invites the viewer into to each largescale composition, while also remarking on elements of Persian design. I featured Shabnam in my 31 Under 30 Virtual Exhibition in 2020, and was happy to have the opportunity to visit her studio and explore her paintings close up. Shabnam is the subject of a solo exhibition at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, Massachusetts on view through February 13, 2021. In the most recent installment of my Ten Questions Interview Series, I spoke to Shabnam to learn more about her work, her background, and her exhibition. I hope you’ll read the interview and then explore more of her work!

-Michael

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Michael: What brought you to the MFA program at The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and how are you liking it?

Shabnam: After I saw professor Suzanne Schireson’s paintings and interviewed with her, my wish was to work under this amazing artist.

Michael: How do you begin a painting? Do you utilize photographs in your process? 

Shabnam: Yes, I use photographs which I took from my home. First, I collage multiple photos and then I start painting. Though I work with paint, I am interested to maintain the immediacy of drawing and to avoid rendering my forms too closely. Working in this way allows me to experiment with form, color and abstraction in the imagined spaces that I paint for my figures. 


Michael: You tend to work on unstretched canvas on a wall. Can you talk more about that?  

Shabnam: I exhibited my paintings at Gallery 244, located at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, unstretched and pinned to the walls. The feedback I got from one of my professors was that the flatness of the unstretched canvas supports the concepts embodied in my current work. Recently I have stretched my paintings and put them in the Gallery 263.

Michael: Who are the subjects of your paintings? 

Shabnam: They are my family, friends and myself. I describe friendship or familial closeness. My paintings express my personal story, but they also reflect the life of Iranians and of suppressed women. I address the complexity of Iranian female identity in an imagined space that departs from reality; producing a special, secret and supportive space. I am searching for affinities between textures, marks or color relationships and moments.

Michael: How would you like viewers to respond to your paintings, and what do you hope they take away from them?

Shabnam: I am exploring the memories and nostalgia of distant intimacies in my life through narrative, I am creating imaginary spaces from personal reference and patterns. This departure from reality is a protest of female suppression and creates a special and secret space against reality.

Michael: What two artists, contemporary or historical, are most influential on you? Why?

Shabnam: Jennifer Packer is an amazing artist who I admire. Although her work centers on Black subjects, the artist makes skin color secondary to the psychological aspects of her sitters—her use of soft hues of yellow, ochre, red, and mauve express an intimate emotional sensitivity even when the figure is doing something as mundane as hanging out on a couch in their apartment. in her art the eye contact engages the viewer. Packer’s paintings are rendered in loose line and brush stroke using a limited color palette, often to the extent that her subject merges with or retreats into the background. Suggesting an emotional and psychological depth, her work is enigmatic, avoiding a straightforward reading.

I admire Alice Neel because she changed a societal perception of women. She did not represent women as a vulnerable, passive and weak creature of male gaze in western art. She was able to change the concept of the female body from an idealistic appearance to a powerful one. 


Michael: Can you talk more about your color choices and how you develop your palette?  

Shabnam: My bright, highly saturated palette is inspired by childhood memories including a colorful carpet in my grandparent’s home. I am passionate about the carpet’s warm colors and non-repetitive intricate pattern; I could stare at this forever. Michel Foucault writes, “The traditional garden of the Persians was a sacred space that was supposed to unite four separate parts within its rectangle, representing the four parts of the world, as well as one space still more sacred than the others, a space that was like the navel, the centre of the world brought into the garden…” (Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias). Persian carpets are famous for their elaborate colors, variety of spectacular patterns, and artistic design. It is a symbol of an ideal world or paradise. It represents the world out of convention. These are the kind of spaces I intend to build for the figures in my paintings. I am interested in heterotopic spaces, an ideal world outside of convention, a special and secret space against the real world.


Michael: Have you had a particularly influential instructor, either at UMass or before? Can you talk more about that mentorship?

Shabnam: Professor Suzanne Schireson is my primary advisor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I admire her not only as an wonderful artist also as an amazing person.


Michael: What are the goals for the body of work you’re creating in your graduate program?

Shabnam: I illuminate how Iranian women are censored by an overarching patriarchy. While my paintings are expressions of my own personal story, they can also be perceived as reflections on the life of Iranian women in general. My work addresses the complex reality of Iranian female identity from the unique perspective of personal experience. By this, I am claiming my identity in all of its complexity.


Michael: You have a solo show coming up at Gallery 263 in January. Tell us more about that.

Shabnam: Gallery 263 would offer me the opportunity to communicate with a greater audience and empower women. My work invites a dialog to reconsider assumptions about women who have been circumscribed by Islamic culture. I find that in America, society often misunderstands Islamic religion or Persian culture. Showing my work in public gives me the opportunity to connect with others and re-tell stories of Iranian culture from a personal viewpoint. I have seven paintings (approximately size 5x7 feet each) to occupy the gallery wall space. I would look forward to engaging your community with an artist talk and discussion. I have lived in Massachusetts for the past two years and I am eager to be involved with the wonderful community of artists in this state.

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Shabnam’s exhibition at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, MA is on view through February 13. Gallery hours are Wednesdays–Fridays, 4–7pm and Saturdays, 1–4pm. For more information reach out to the gallery at contact@gallery263.com.

Learn more about Shabnam by following her on Instagram @shabnam.jannesari or by visiting her website at shabnamjannesari.wixsite.com/portfolio.

Hierarchy, oil on canvas, 55" x 88", 2020

The Carpet Grew Like a Garden, oil on canvas, 55" x 66", 2020

Green House, oil on canvas, 66.5" x 54.5", 2020

Floating in Space, oil on canvas, 77" x 47", 2020

Untitled 9, oil and ink on canvas, 33" x 42", 2020

Azin is Getting Married, oil on canvas, 56" x 82", 2020

Blue, oil on canvas, 55" x 35", 2019

Call for Art: 21 Artists to Follow in 2021

In 2020, I was fortunate to host two exciting online exhibitions: my Social Distancing Virtual Exhibition and my 31 Under 30 Exhibition of emerging artists. These shows allowed me to use my platform to share the work of exciting artists in formats that were more accessible for both entry and viewing than the average juried exhibition. In 2021 I would like to continue curating virtual exhibitions, and the first show I’m working on will be a selection of 21 Artists to Follow in 2021. The full call for this show is below. If you know an artist who might be interested to apply, please pass this page along!

-Michael

Please note that the deadline for this call has now passed. Applications are closed.

Call for Art
21 Artists to Follow in 2021
An International Virtual Exhibition
Curated by Michael Rose
www.michaelrosefineart.com

Gallerist and curator Michael Rose seeks original artworks for a special virtual exhibition featuring twenty-one of the most exciting artists to follow in 2021. With the continued postponement and cancellation of so many physical exhibitions over the last year, it has never been more important to highlight the online presence of talented artists. This competitive, juried virtual exhibition will feature a thoughtfully curated selection of exceptional artists working in a diverse range of styles, themes, and disciplines.

This show is open to work in all media produced by artists of all backgrounds. Twenty-one artworks by twenty-one different artists will be chosen for exhibition. Selected artworks will be featured in a gallery on Michael’s website for three months, and will also be highlighted individually on his social media channels. One artist will receive a future solo virtual feature. All submitted works should be available for sale. Sales will be handled via the artists, who will retain 100% of the proceeds.

To enter, artists must submit their virtual application using EntryThingy. Applicants must fill out the application in full to be considered.

Specifications:
Each applicant may submit up to two artworks for consideration for a fee of $9. Works should be recent and original. Works in all media, styles, and themes will be considered. Along with their artwork images, artists must submit a full and detailed application including resume, statement, and description of work to share more about their background and process. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Sales:
All submissions must be available for sale, and the retail price must be listed publicly during the exhibition. There will be no commission on sales that result from this virtual exhibition. Collectors will be encouraged to contact artists directly, and should they inquire about a specific work with Michael he will relay them to artists to process sales, with artists retaining 100% of the sale price.

Entry Fee:
$9 for up to two artworks. The purpose of this small entry fee is to defray the costs involved in assembling and promoting the exhibition. Should works sell, artists will retain 100% of the sale price. There will be no commission. Please note you must complete the official EntryThingy application for the show and pay using Paypal to submit your entry. Please make sure your entry is complete before paying. This step cannot be undone. There are no refunds for entry fees.

Deadline:
Sunday, February 28 at 11:59pm

Notification:
Accepted artists will be notified via direct email by Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

Exhibition Dates:
March 8 -  May 31 online at www.michaelrosefineart.com

Terms of Entry:
By entering this call, artists agree to all terms of exhibiting and give Michael Rose permission to use their imagery at his sole discretion for this virtual exhibition. Works may be reproduced online, on social media, in print, etc. Artists also agree to promote their participation in this exhibition on their website and social media.

Questions?
Email michael@michaelrosefineart.com with the subject line “21 Artists to Follow in 2021”

About Michael Rose
Michael is an art historian, gallerist, and appraiser based in New England. Since 2014, Michael has served as the Gallery Manager at the historic Providence Art Club, where he oversees a rigorous exhibition schedule spread across three unique gallery spaces. In addition to his work at the Club, Michael provides independent advisory services and appraisals, teaches classes on art history and art business, and regularly juries and judges exhibitions and competitions. He has spoken at organizations as varied as the RISD Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bristol Art Museum, and has taught courses in RISD’s Continuing Education Department. A passionate writer, Michael has published essays and reviews in Big Red & Shiny, Art New England, and his own blog, Fine Art Insights. Michael earned his BA in Art History at Providence College, and his Certificate in Art Appraisal at New York University. A sought-after art professional, Michael has a strong audience in the Northeast, as well as throughout the United States and abroad.

Looking at Morisot and Renoir’s Women

It is important to know art in its context. That is to say, to fully appreciate a work of art, it helps to see artworks of the same moment - to view another vision from the same time. In the case of a pair of paintings made by two different artists in the same year, in the same country, now held in the collection of the same museum, we can find divergent visions of women in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Bather Arranging Her Hair and Berthe Morisot’s The Bath were both products of the same revolutionary moment, both were painted in 1885, and both now reside not far from one another at The Clark Art Institute in Western Massachusetts. But for all they have in common, they share two opposing views of women as subject that couldn’t be more different.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bather Arranging Her Hair, 1885, Oil on canvas. The Clark Art Institute, 1955.589.

Renoir’s painting, like so much of his work, is as dully anesthetic and as psychically alleviating now as it was when it was made. An art to be a balm from the hustle and bustle. It is something pretty to look at, and with its cotton candy tonality and its imagined and idealized beauty, it gets the job done.

Renoir depicts an unknown woman, a purposefully unidentified individual, in nature. He draws on the trope of the bath in the woods that occurs so much throughout Western art that by the time he hit upon it, it would have been clichéd. Renoir’s lady looks away from us and toward an incongruous sea that itself melds with puffy clouds far away. She is dividing her ample and shiny brown hair into two parts. Her chemise falls away to reveal the curvaceous silhouette of her nude body: a breast, a belly, a buttock, a thigh. But Renoir’s is an unreal and sensualized figure. A body in space, surely, but a body nonetheless. To classify this painting as a masterclass in the Impressionist vision of landscape is to deny the fact that there’s a woman sitting in the middle of it. A woman with no identity, and no clothes.

A product of, and leader in, the Impressionist moment which would prove one of the agitating seedbeds of Modernism, Renoir is also a character whose own reputation is constantly being re-examined. Of the first generation of Impressionist painters, he is today one of the most, and perhaps most surprisingly, controversial. The #RenoirSucksatPainting movement, for instance, winkingly asks museums to “end the treacle”.

In spite of his Impressionist bona fides, Renoir’s nudes could almost be Rococco. They are unreal to the point of surreal, and sickeningly sweet. The kind of art that makes the rattle of the guillotine sound like a reasonable solution to political differences.

When looking at them and taking them at face value it is indeed often hard to tell if Renoir himself was in on the joke, or if he was making the type of paintings the market wanted, or if he genuinely believed they were any good.

Berthe Morisot (French, 1841–1895), The Bath, 1885–86. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 28 7/8 in. Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, 1955.926

In Morisot’s image of the same subject, the figure comes inside and puts her clothes on. We see a clearly bourgeois woman in a defined domestic space: France in 1885, a woman getting ready for the day. Morisot’s subject is an upwardly mobile denizen of the new middle class of the nineteenth century; both urban and urbane.

She looks out at us piercingly and unwaveringly while arranging her own hair not dissimilarly to her counterpart in Renoir’s picture. Her chemise is firmly on, however, while a brush sits in her lap and a ribbon rounds her neck. A gold bracelet and a wedding ring glitter on her delicate wrist and finger. Her clothing hides her body. She is a woman with both identity and agency. A thoroughly modern woman - at odds with Renoir’s mythological forest lady.

It is also noteworthy that Morisot’s painterly treatment of her own scene dovetails nicely with the technical elements of Renoir’s painting. These were, after all, two artists of a similar ilk, working within the same milieu. Where Renoir’s sitter is absorbed in ethereal atmosphere of light and clouds, Morisot’s is dissolved into a residential interior, with only a chair and a table to divide her from the wall. Both paintings are brashly Impressionist but their depictions of women still differ.

It is conceivable when looking at Morisot’s painting that her subject might have a life, a job, and even a purpose. She is decidedly unnymphlike and completely unsensual. She is dignified. A real woman in a real world. Renoir’s is not.

The bath as subject is an inherently voyeuristic enterprise. As the viewer of one of these paintings, we are always walking in on a woman, and typically a woman alone. We are either stumbling unwittingly, or perhaps sauntering provocatively, into a private reserve. In Renoir’s painting he allows and encourages the voyeuristic sensibilities of his audience. We become the proverbial elders to his own biblical Susanna. In Morisot’s however, the subject is aware of us and her unflinching gaze makes us aware of ourselves and of our trespass. We are seen, and the interaction is disconcerting.

Bath paintings were also often, even if subliminally, created for a male audience. Under the guise of such accepted subject matter a gentleman collector could also acquire a titillating nude. It is a kind of softcore mythology. Morisot’s painting undermines that too. Her painting defies expectations of a bath scene and could as easily be a painting for a female consumer, to whom her sitter would undoubtedly say “je suis tois”.

All of this is not to say that Renoir is somehow evil. It is not an attack on his painting(s), or, as some back door Freudian interpretation might read it, an attack on male painters more generally. To draw a comparison between these two pictures is merely to elevate our understanding of them both, and our appreciation for the societal changes occurring at breakneck speeds as the nineteenth century drew to a close.

Renoir’s nude is no doubt a product of history and of its time. But Morisot’s signals a future that she herself didn’t live to see - that of women who were not mere objects in painting, but who were makers of their own destiny. A world in which women climbed down from the pedestal in order to live in the real world. A world, for instance, in which women could vote. In Morisot’s native France, as an example, women were not enfranchised until 1944, over a century after the artist was born.

A woman in the boys club of Impressionism, Morisot was all too aware of the inequalities which faced her both within her movement and in society at large. In an incisive, telling, and heartbreaking quote from her diary, she wrote “I don’t think there has ever been a man who treated a woman as an equal, and that’s all I would have asked for – I know I am worth as much as they are.”

In The Bath Morisot turns the idea of her titular subject on its head and makes it a moment of engagement rather than of objectification. She depicts the new type of woman who populated Parisian streets as the world inched toward the turn of the century. Renoir’s Bather Arranging Her Hair, on the other hand, shows a type of female archetype who was herself already receding from art even as the paint was drying.

While Renoir’s bather looks backwards, Morisot’s looks forwards. Renoir paints an already fading history while Morisot paints a thrilling reality and a promising future. Indeed, Morisot’s bather incapsulates Modernity itself.

Call For Art: 30 Under 30

Call For Art
30 Under 30: Emerging Artists in The United States

A Virtual Exhibition by Michael Rose Fine Art

Gallerist Michael Rose seeks emerging artists for a special virtual exhibition celebrating exciting works by young artists. This show is open to work in any media produced by artists of all backgrounds living and working throughout the United States. Applicants should be aged 29 or younger as of October 1, 2020. Thirty works will be selected. Each selected artwork will be featured in a gallery on Michael’s website, and will also be highlighted individually on his social media channels. One artist will receive a future solo virtual feature. All submitted works should be available for sale. Should works sell, artists will retain 100% of the proceeds. Read the full call for art, and apply via EntryThingy.

Specifications:
Each applicant may submit up to three artworks for $8. Works should be recent and original. Works in all media, styles, and themes will be considered. Along with their artwork images, artists are welcome to submit a resume, statement, and description of work to share more about their background and process.

Sales:
All submissions must be available for sale, and the retail price must be listed publicly during the exhibition. Should collectors inquire, Michael will relay them to artists to process sales, with artists retaining 100% of the sale price.

Entry Fee:
$8 for up to three artworks. The purpose of this small entry fee is to defray the costs involved in assembling and promoting the exhibition. Should works sell, artists will retain 100% of the sale price. There will be no commission. Please note you must pay using Paypal to submit your entry. Please make sure your entry is complete before paying. This step cannot be undone. There are no refunds for entry fees.

Deadline (EXTENDED):
Friday, July 24, 2020 (by midnight)

Notification:
Accepted artists will be notified via email by Sunday, July 26, 2020.

Exhibition Dates:
Saturday, August 1 – Wednesday, September 30 online at www.michaelrosefineart.com

Terms of Entry:
By entering this call, artists give Michael Rose permission to use their imagery at his sole discretion for this virtual exhibition. Works may be reproduced online, on social media, in print, etc.

Questions?
Email michael@michaelrosefineart.com with the subject line “30 Under 30”

About Michael Rose
Michael is an art historian, gallerist, and appraiser based in New England. Since 2014, Michael has served as the Gallery Manager at the historic Providence Art Club, where he oversees a rigorous exhibition schedule spread across three unique gallery spaces. In addition to his work at the Club, Michael provides independent advisory services and appraisals, teaching services, and has juried numerous exhibitions. He has spoken at organizations as varied as the RISD Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bristol Art Museum, taught longer form courses in RISD’s Continuing Education Department, and published essays and reviews in Big Red & Shiny, Art New England, and others. Michael earned his BA in Art History at Providence College, and his Certificate in Art Appraisal at New York University. A sought-after art professional, Michael has a strong audience in the Northeast, as well as throughout the United States and abroad.