Filed under: Boston, Review | Tags: Anthony Palocci Jr., Boston, Leonie Bradbury, Lot F Gallery, Montserrat College, Montserrat College of Art Galleries, What It Is
Anthony Palocci (NAP #104) is a thing painter. He likes to paint things, household objects mostly, such as phones, air conditioners and ovens. He likes to paint the things that he sees in his every day life. His latest work on view at Lot F Gallery in Boston features many items taken directly from the artist’s environment. One of the most striking paintings is a huge, blue and yellow tiled shower stall straightforwardly titled Shower, 2013. Palocci includes a bit of white tile floor and a small section of wall both of which add to the lifelike quality of the image. A perspectival tour de force, the painting’s vivid colors and irregular tile pattern invite you to step right in and get wet. Across from Shower hangs the equally graphic and large-scale Tub, 2012, which features a close-up view of the faucet, drain and knobs from inside the same shower stall. All of the elements are strikingly lit from above, the light causing brightly hued, contrasting shadows underneath each knob and faucet. The drain is painted is such a simplified, direct manner that it almost becomes a cartoon rendition. - Leonie Bradbury, New England Contributor
Anthony Palocci Jr. Installation at Lot F Gallery, Photo Courtesy of the Artist
Filed under: Boston | Tags: Andrew Katz, Barbara Grad, Carroll & Sons, Howard Yezerski Gallery, Nona Hershey, Sandy Litchfield, Soprafina
It’s not that I don’t get out much. It’s not that I don’t visit our friends and neighbors around our office in Boston. But, it’s rare that I’m able to do so AND I happen to have my camera at work. So here we are again, regretfully months after my last post highlighting some excellent exhibitions that are within a stone’s throw. There are too many to document, so I stuck with painting exhibits this time around. Up right now at Carroll and Sons is Sandy Litchfield’s (NAP #56, #68) “What Blooms in the Rubble.” Across the courtyard, Barbara Grad (NAP #26, #62) is showing “Lost Horizons” at Howard Yezerski Gallery. Then, back across the brick walkway to Soprafina, where there is an fun works on paper show featuring past NAP artist, Nona Hershey (NAP #50). As usual, that will be all I have to say about the shows, I’ll let the work and installations speak for themselves. ENJOY! - Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher
Barbara Grad | Lost Horizons at Howard Yezerski Gallery
Filed under: Boston, Review | Tags: Anthony Palocci Jr., Boston, LaMontagne Gallery, Saul Chernick
Saul Chernick’s current exhibition, A Skyward Gesture, at LaMontagne Gallery, consists of two bodies of work including a series of relief prints and another of ink and marker drawings with watercolor on paper. He uses medieval landscapes and images of saints, demons, and other mythical creatures to draw connections to our contemporary situation. Though his characters may be out of place as the prophets and other roles they might have represented in antiquity, they remain symbols of an older world, a place filled with magic and superstition. The all seeing eyes of God, the inevitability of death, the joys and sins of life, and the miracle of birth are all present here. We see giant floating eyes with wings and long beards over looking Bosch-like worlds, demons showcasing their genitalia and an old man with a peg leg serenading a camp fire alongside a cat and a skull. - Anthony Palocci Jr, Boston Contributor
Saul Chernick | A Skyward Gesture, 2012, archival marker & white crayon on paper, 15.5” x 13” Photo courtesy of LaMontagne Gallery
Filed under: Boston | Tags: Ambreen Butt, Andrew Katz, Carroll and Sons, Howard Yezerski Gallery, Michael Krueger, Sam Trioli, Steven Zevitas Gallery
It’s been far too long since I posted pics from our neighboring galleries in Boston’s South End. There is a lot to see, but three exceptional shows this month that I wanted to share. First, I stopped by Howard Yezerski to see the Sam Trioli show, Brumaire. Then, a quick jog to Carroll and Sons to see the Ambreen Butt’s Beyond The Ideas of Rightness Or Wrongness There Is A Field, I’ll Meet You There. I wrapped up the quick morning stroll by taking some photos at Steven Zevitas Gallery, which happens to adjoin our offices here at The Open Studios Press. On exhibit here are drawings by Kansas-based artist, Michael Krueger. – Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher
Ambreen Butt at Carroll and Sons
After the jump you’ll see pictures and a little more about each exhibition. Be sure to click on the images for larger views.
One of the great things about being in Boston’s South End is that we have tons of great art all around us. You may think that we have enough art to look at, given the competitions we manage, but it’s always nice to see original works right in front of our eyes, rather than in digital and printed reproductions. Especially when the local installation belongs to one of New American Paintings past featured artists. I was passing by Samson Projects today (thanks to a lazy lunch during our 70 degree weather), just three doors down from the Open Studios Press, and had an urge to document the Steve Locke show, You Don’t Deserve me, and share it with our readers. So I grabbed my camera, and here’s what I got. You may recall Steve from a conversation we did on the blog a while back. He was also featured in New American Paintings, Issue #86. Needless to say, we are all fans here of Steve and his work. Andrew Katz, Associate Publisher
Filed under: Art World, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, DC, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Must-Sees, Austin, Miami, Houston, Philly, Santa Fe, Kansas City, Art Market, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Oakland | Tags: December, Must-See
In the 300+ gallery exhibitions that we previewed for this post, we discovered a number of New American Paintings’ alumni on view in December. Jim Lutes continues to produce a substantial body of work and, once again, demonstrates why he is one of Chicago’s leading painters. And check out Dolphin Gallery’s group exhibition “Push” which features several NAP artists, including a favorite of ours, Michael Krueger. Other shows that stand out: Fernando Mastrangelo at Charest-Weinberg, Byron Kim and James Cohan Gallery, and Cordy Ryman and Eli Ridgway. Enjoy the list! Please check them out and let us know what you think in the comments section after the jump!
Cordy Ryman | Shadow Boxed, acrylic, enamel and graphite on wood, 38 x 33.5 x 3.5 inches
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Filed under: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Must-Sees, New York, Philadelphia, Philly, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle | Tags: Editor's Pick, Must-See, New American Paintings, November
We reviewed upcoming November exhibitions at close to 300 commercial galleries from throughout the United States to compile this list. Once again, it is another extraordinarily strong month for the medium of painting. Highlights include the feverishly painted work of Alison Schulnik at Zieher Smith, Nathan Hylden’s complex meditations on the studio at Richard Telles, and Llyn Foulkes idiosyncratic landscapes at Andrea Rosen. - Must-See November painting shows after the jump!
Allison Schulnik | Yogurt Eater, 2011, oil on linen, 84 x 68 inches
Filed under: Alabama, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Must-Sees, New York, Philly, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle | Tags: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, DC, Houston, Los Angeles, Must-See, NAP, New American Paintings, New York, Northeast, Pacific Coast, painting, San Francisco, Seattle
The art world comes alive again in September, as galleries reopen and collectors return from far flung locations. We reviewed upcoming September exhibitions at more than 400 galleries around the country, and there will be a lot of painting on view.
As is typical, many galleries are bringing out the big guns for the new season – from Agnes Martin at The Pace Gallery in New York to a well structured survey of Bay Area figurative painter, Nathan Oliveira, at John Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco. Among the shows opening by emerging artists, it is hard to ignore the trend towards abstract painting that has swept over the art world.
Kimberly Brooks | Punk History, oil on linen, 40 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles.
Filed under: Art World, Boston, Competitions | Tags: competitions, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Dina Deitsch, Evan J. Garza, NEXT, Northeast
It’s time to begin preparations for one of our most anticipated issues of the year, the Northeast Competition! (The deadline to apply is August 31, and the competition is open to artists in CT, DE, ME, MA, NJ, NH, NY, PA, RI, and VT. Apply online!)
For nearly two decades, the Northeast book has featured artists of exceptional promise who have gone on to incredible international success, and NAP alums from the region include such celebrated contemporary artists as Matthew Day Jackson, William Cordova, Eddie Martinez, and countless others.
We are beyond thrilled to feature the perspective of talented curator (and friend) Dina Deitsch, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art for the deCordova Sculpture Park + Museum, Lincoln, MA. Dina’s years of experience working with emerging artists for the museum’s deCordova Biennial and her intensive work with multiple media, make her an incredible candidate for jurying the Northeast Competition.
I chatted with the Cambridge-based curator this week to talk up the competition and her experience with emerging work. She also shares with us her thoughts on recent developments in contemporary painting, which you don’t want to miss. Our conversation is below! More after the jump! —Evan J. Garza, Editor-at-Large
EJG: As the curator for a sculpture park and museum, how do you address painting in the museum’s program?
DD: Easily and often! While deCordova is a sculpture park, and a fantastic one at that, we also have a good 5000 sq ft of gallery space that we program with not only sculpture but general contemporary art. One branch of our mission is to collect and promote artists from the New England region, which we do through single-artist PLATFORM projects and our sprawling Biennial program. In that particular program, variety is the name of the game and there’s always room for painting! I also organize group thematic shows that often do and can include or even center on painting, such as the forthcoming show I’m curating with you, Paint Thing (working title), which looks at painting as a spatial art, and where and how it meets sculpture.
Filed under: Art World, Boston, Q&A | Tags: DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Justin Richel
Justin Richel of Rangeley, Maine recently participated in the group show Wall Works at DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts. In Richel’s mural, appropriately located in the museum’s cafe, cartoon-like desserts fly through the air in the midst of furniture and household appliances. I had a chance to ask the artist about the biggest misconception about his work (that it’s all light-hearted and whimsical) and whether he has a sweet tooth (he doesn’t). —Kate Singleton, NAP contributor
