The moment you walk into the Bates College Museum of Art’s Lesley Dill exhibit “Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me” (until March 26), you’re engulfed in a torrent of words. They fill banners that span entire walls and adorn clothing with ghostly sculptures standing or hanging in the gallery, not toRead More →
Back in the stunned wake of September 11, 2001, Graydon Carter, then editor of Vanity Fair, was lambasted for declaring “the end of the age of irony.” His argument was that after such an inconceivable and profound tragedy, flippancy and snark were no longer acceptable. More than two decades later,Read More →
“In anything that can be called art,” Raymond Chandler wrote in a 1944 essay, “there is a redeeming quality.” This is certainly true in the work of Lewiston native Charlie Hewitt. But his luminous paintings and sculptures, a selection of which are on display at Elizabeth Moss Galleries on ForeRead More →
I like to think of myself as someone who behaves with a minimum of decorum in public places. But that self-image evaporated when I walked into the Maine Jewish Museum’s current exhibit, “Enter the Space: Oliver Solmitz” (through February 25). I gasped as I exclaimed “Holy cow!” out loud. LuckilyRead More →
There is good old-fashioned photography, and there will be plenty more. By old-fashioned I mean no gimmicks or fancy techniques or digital manipulation (at least for the most part) – just color, black and white and cyanotype images done the old fashioned way, by a photographer working alone with aRead More →
Don’t be surprised if you think you hear tunes from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” as you approach 100 Fore Street, the address of the new Old Port outpost of the Elizabeth Moss Galleries. Moss does not actually show the opera in the gallery. But it is not necessary. Paintings from “LynneRead More →
“There’s a Woman of All Colors: Black Women in Art” has been on display at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art since mid-September and runs through January 30. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth it, both for the way it fills one of the most gaping holes inRead More →
There are so few sculpture exhibitions in Maine that the very appearance of an exhibition is a special occasion. This is certainly reason enough to go to the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland where “Spatial Relations” (until January 9) occupies the main gallery. But it also turns outRead More →
In a review of a 1998 Bob Thompson retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Times art critic Roberta Smith praised the painter’s “raw talent and unquenchable ambition.” But, she writes: “Too many of these paintings are irresolute and indifferently painted. Their figures and colors intertwine ratherRead More →
Christopher Walken found himself in a peculiar situation as the beloved actor painted over a real piece of Banksy street art in Bristol, England, while filming a TV show, BBC reported. The elusive and renegade street artist had infiltrated the set of Walken’s new BBC series ‘The Outlaws’, filmed inRead More →
We tend to believe that scientific explanations of phenomena are absolutely rational, quantifiable, and reproducible under certain controlled conditions. Yet two exhibitions by Portland-based artists at the Maine Jewish Museum – paintings by Michel Droge in “Deep Sea” and experimental objects from the PSBL collective in “Reflectors, Emitters and Diffusers”Read More →
We certainly don’t need another reason to go to Chase’s Daily in Belfast. The food is fresh, healthy and delicious. The market sells the most magnificent, often unusual, produce you will find. But it’s also the home of the Perimeter Gallery, where Freddy LaFage and Karen McDonald put on top-notchRead More →
Earlier this summer, I reported that Corey Daniels had stopped hanging specific exhibitions at his always intriguing namesake gallery in Wells. Daniels is still iconoclastic about the whole enterprise, perhaps because his tastes are so varied, his curiosity practically promiscuous, and his gallery rooms so large and rambling that it’sRead More →
Although it is almost impossible to corroborate, medieval poet Dante Alighieri is often attributed to the statement “Nature is the art of God”. Whether this is true or not, much evidence of this appears to be on display in the lower galleries of the Bates College Museum of Art, inRead More →
For the second time this season, we have the opportunity to see the impact that an influential and beloved art teacher has had on his students and his circle of contemporaries. Earlier in the summer there was “Acquired Symbols” at the Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset, which featured the workRead More →
David Kapp, “Rue du canal ouest”, 72 x 72, 2017 Photo courtesy of the artist Two exhibitions at Cove Street Arts take different conceptual approaches to their subject matter, both of which offer richness. “Here and There” (until September 11) is varied, often wonderful and at times quite heady andRead More →
The raison d’être of most artist-run galleries is often to present alternatives to the restrictions, bureaucracy, and politics of market-oriented commercial galleries and museums, frequently by showcasing more experimental work and bringing in more experimental work. engaging avant-garde conservation concepts. In West Bayside, New System Exhibitions is that kind ofRead More →
A title like “Maine Masters of Modernism” – as the show at the Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth is called (until August 20) – creates quite high expectations. It involves artists at the zenith of their talents doing something revolutionary, iconoclastic and/or at an impressive level of skill and technique.Read More →
To use an old saying, no artist is an island. Artists are impacted by their immediate environment, of course, but also by much more. Although the isolation and natural beauty of Monhegan Island have attracted artists since the late 19e century – perhaps the most famous George Bellows, Robert Henri,Read More →
David Driskell, “Self-Portrait”, a 1953 oil on panel painting, 15-1/4 inches by 11 inches. Image by Luc Demers, from the collection of the Estate of David C. Driskell, courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York Much has been written about the polymath nature of David Driskell: artist, curator, instructor, collector,Read More →
Assemblage of objects in the back room of the Corey Daniels Gallery in Wells. Photos courtesy of Corey Daniels Gallery At least for now, Corey Daniels Gallery in Wells is not holding any specific art exhibitions. “Before the pandemic, we had three or four shows a season,” the eponymous ownerRead More →
Meg Brown Payson, “Stele: Echo Lake 2”, thermal sublimation printing on aluminum Photos courtesy of June LaCombe It’s June time, by that I mean the month, as well as the woman: private art dealer June LaCombe. Twice a year, in June and October, LaCombe brings together the work of artistsRead More →
Ben Shahn, ‘Grocery Carts’, hand painted lithograph, 25″ x 38″, 1957 Images courtesy of the artists The crucial importance of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in the history of post-war American art cannot be underestimated. Founded in 1946 on portrait painter Willard C. Cummings’ 350-acre farm in ruralRead More →
Gertrude Fiske, “Purple Orange Trees” Pictures of Jay York For a springtime art outing, it’s hard to beat the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, which opened on May 1. Perched dramatically above Narrow Cove, it’s a perfect place to explore art indoors and outdoors in the beautifully landscaped sculpture gardens.Read More →
“Volta”, sculpture by Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen Nguyen Photo by Dave Clough Photography There are four exhibits at Cove Street Arts worth seeing – and examining – but here only space and time will allow for a close examination of three. If you can make it to the Portland ArtRead More →
Patt Franklin, “Rainforest Series 1-9”, 2009-2011, oil on canvas. Photo courtesy of Mayo Street Arts It’s always interesting to see artists working in different media. In some cases, as with Edgar Degas and Pablo Picasso, the imagery of their painting translates quite intact to another medium. Degas’s bronzes seemed fairlyRead More →
“Freedom, a Fable” is on view at the Portland Museum of Art through May 2. Ben McCanna / Personal Photographer “Mythmakers,” an exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art this fall that juxtaposed works by Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington, contextualized the social attitudes of these artists — especially thoseRead More →
Installation of “Tad Beck: Eyes of” at Grant Gallery Wahlquist in Portland. Courtesy of the artist and Grant Galerie Wahlquist, Portland In 1970, conceptual artist Mel Bochner created an artwork called “Misunderstanding (Theory of Photography). For this work, Bochner, who enjoyed nothing so much as interrogating modes of representation inRead More →
Marci Spier, “Forget”, oil on gesso paper, 8.5 x 11 inches Courtesy of Ocean House Gallery & Frame As the October series of large gallery exhibitions come to a close and the November exhibitions wait behind the scenes to be set up, now is the time to attend a smallRead More →
“A Field of Blackbirds”, by Abby Shahn. Photo by Kyle Dubay I needed to see art. Weary of the stress and social isolation of the pandemic, mourning our universal loss, I, like everyone else, was slowly trying to adjust to our new normal. Then came the double punch of theRead More →
“Common Sense; Portland, Maine” by Sheila Pepe, with “Swiss Bramble” by Carrie Moyer in the background. Photos of Luc Demers Militant art often has a bad reputation. The term can conjure up images of direct and brutal political protest, the loud and angry rebellion against the establishment that dominated theRead More →
Installation “Continuum” by Grace Gennaro. Photos courtesy of the Maine Contemporary Art Center In the years leading up to its biennial with jury, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art organized exhibitions organized around a theme. “Temporality | The Process of Time ”is the second in the series. It tackles “currentRead More →
DesignInquiry didn’t waste any space, even covering the four columns of a large interior gallery with media. Photo by Daniel Kany DesignInquiry’s “Futurespective” at the Maine College of Art’s Institute of Contemporary Art isn’t simple, pretty, or easy to digest. The sight can be overwhelming at first glance, if you’reRead More →
“After the Show”, Roy Germon Photos courtesy of the artists I love watching Cove Street Arts trying to figure out what it’s going to become. It’s not meant to be critical. Cove Street is a massive space that’s far more stylish than any other art venue in Portland. It’s likeRead More →
In an introduction to the catalog of the extraordinary exhibition “Darkness and the Light” currently on display at Maine College of Art’s Institute of Contemporary Art, guest curator and artist Lissa Hunter writes: “I use the terms, darkness and light, as nouns. , not adjectives. They have substance. We areRead More →
Andy Curran, “Fleet at Fort Gorges” Photos courtesy of the artists Abby Johnston’s untitled photo printed on linen shows Fort Gorges from afar, largely silhouetted against the scalloped summer sky off Portland Harbor. The fort is seen from afar and the image looks like a daguerreotype – silver gray, flatRead More →
An assortment of abstract works by Henry Wolyniec in “Relief” at Speedwell Projects. Photos by Kyle Dubay / Courtesy of Speedwell Projects We tend to consider music as an art of harmonies. But, really, it’s about managing the dissonance. Without dissonance, there is no movement or development. Music and theRead More →
“Taraxacum”, Nathaniel Meyer, 24″ x 36″, oil on canvas Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Moss Galleries I like paintings that burst. In fact, I love all kinds of paintings, including quietly meditative works. But paintings that jump out — the ones that jump out at you visually — are at theRead More →