Category: Art Monday

ARTmonday: Isabelle Abramson

Photo: Ben Sheldon

Boston-based ceramicist Isabelle Abramson, creator of Isabelle Abramson Ceramics,  is a self-taught artist who learned to work with clay while she worked as a school nurse for a day job. The kids must have been pretty healthy, because she absolutely perfected her craft. Her pieces are gorgeous.

Isabelle shows her work at her studio at 450 Harrison during SoWa’s First Fridays. Jane Miller offers a small collection for sale at her shop J.E.M.

Speaking of which, Jane is hosting an event this week at which Isabelle will be present and previewing new works:  “A South End Design Moment”, Thursday, April 22nd, 6pm – 9pm at J.E.M., 470 Shawmut Ave., Boston.

White Porcelain Berry Bowl, $175

Set of 4 Dessert Bowls, $185

Porcelain Lace Fruit Bowl, $550


Peacock Feather Vase, $275


White Porcelain String Tie Vase, $275

ARTmonday: Timothy Cummings

Over the weekend I chatted with Tyler Doran of Heir Antiques in Providence. I hope to actually visit his shop sometime soon. He has an amazing eye for the creepy and refined. One of the items that caught my eye on his 1st Dibs page is the colorful spot portrait below, by artist Timothy Cummings. Turns out he’s done a whole series of such works. Some are quite disturbing, but some are eerily beautiful.

SPOT PORTRAIT

Iris print with monotype and hand coloring 57/100
12″ X 10.5 framed
Heir Antiques, Providence


SPOT PORTRAIT 4
acrylic on board  – 8″x10″
Dabora Gallery, Brooklyn

SPOT PORTRAIT, 2001

Nancy Hoffman Gallery


SPOT PORTRAIT 8
acrylic on board – 8″x10″
Dabora Gallery, Brooklyn


The last two are not part of the Spot Portrait series, but have a similar aesthetic, I think.

Phantom III, 2008

acrylic on panel – 10″x8″

Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco

The Flowering, 2006
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York City

ARTmonday: The Art Bus


Now you’ve pretty much got no excuse for not checking out the art scene.

This past weekend, the Boston Art Dealers Association launched The Art Bus, a free shuttle between the Newbury Street and South End art districts.

The bus goes between the Back Bay and South End free of charge from noon to 4pm on the first Saturday of the month from through June, and will start up again in September.

The bus  runs a continuous loop making stops at:
• Thayer Street at Harrison Avenue
• Newbury Street at Berkeley Street (in front of the Church of the Covenant)
• Newbury Street at Dartmouth Street (in front of Fitz Inn parking lot)

Each ride requires a pass. Passes are free and are available at all BADA member galleries.

All aboard!

ARTmonday: Gurari Collections

This winter when I was checking out the galleries and shops in the newly converted 1880 mill building now known as 460 Harrison Ave. in SoWa, I wandered into  Gurari Collections, which bills itself as a gallery for antiquarian contemporary arts. An intriguing label and fitting.

Its focus is at the intersection of art and science, featuring etchings, engravings, drawings, watercolors, paintings, and interesting objects borne from architecture and design, urbanism, the human figure, fantasies and follies, and science and the allied arts. The gallery is basically a walk-in curio cabinet.

A few days ago, gallery owner Russ Gerard contacted me, inviting me back for a visit. I shall certainly go sometime soon, and take photos, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share images from his website.

Column Capital Frontal – Wendy Artin
watercolor

Cetaceous – Mollie Goldstrom
etching

Calderum Motorim – Vico Fabbris
charcoal

Perspective 39 – Jan Vredeman de Vries
engraving

Fountain 31 –  Georg Andrea Bockler
copperplate etching-engraving

Plan De Paris, 1739 – M.E. Turgot, Louis Bretez, Claude Lucas and Aubin
20 copperplate engravings

English Victorian Adjustable Zograscope

Crookes Tubes and Radiomete

ARTmonday: Carlos Estrada-Vega

I discovered the works of Mexican-born, California-based contemporary artist Carlos Estrada-Vega at Ernden Fine  Art Gallery in Provincetown. His three-dimensional chunks of color are so satisfyingly saturated and rich, like high quality Cray-Pas. In fact, many of the works are created from a mixture of materials that may well produce an oil pastel effect on paper. The paintings consist of tiny square pegs of wood, usually no larger than one inch in diameter, which are individually painted with pure pigment and then attached with a small imbedded magnet on the back to a steel plate. The effect is quite tactile; very much like a modern children’s toy you might find at an art museum gift shop. Here are some examples of his work:

Bonita Carter #43-III, 2008
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (8″ x 8″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Walt,  2005
Wax/Oleopasto/Oil/Pigments on Canvas on Wood with Magnet Inserts attached
to a Metal Plate (10″ x 10″)
Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago

Procopio, 2008
Wax/Oleopasto/Oil/Pigments/ Limestone Dust on Automotive Primer on Wood with Magnet Inserts attached to a Metal Plate (33.25″ x 33.25)
Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago

Bo’quecito, 2008
Wax/Oleopasto/Oil/Pigments/Limestone Dust on Automotive Primer on
Wood with Magnet Inserts attached to a Metal Plate (36″ x 36)
Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago

Saulito, 2008
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (6″ x 6″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Working Drawing #6, 2007
oil, wax, oleopasto, limestone dust, and pigments on panel (12 x 12 x 1″)
d.e.n. contemporary, Beverly Hills

Güerita, 2008
Wax/Oleopasto/Oil/Pigments/Limestone Dust on Automotive Primer on Wood with Magnet Inserts attached to a Metal Plate (8.25″ x 8.25″)
Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago

Maceo, 2005
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Working Drawing #8, 2008
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (5″ x 5″ x 1″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

79 squares
oil, wax, oleopasto, limestone dust and pigment on canvas on wood
Artnet.com

Stephanie’s, 2008
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (8″ x 8″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Caridad, 2007
Wax/Oleopasto/Oil/ Dry Pigments on Canvas on Wood with Magnet Inserts attached to a Metal Plate
(17.5″ x 17.5″)
Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago

Working Drawing #9, 2008
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (5″ x 5″ x 1″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Paulita, 2004
Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR

4 x 4 = 17
Wax, limestone dust, oil, pigment on canvas on wood (16.3″ x 16.3″ x 1.4″)
Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Sydney

Untitled, 2003
Ölkreide, Wachs, Pigment, Öl und Kalkstein auf Papier (9″ x 9″)
Art Forum Ute Barth, Zurich

Annemie, 2004
Limestone and wax on wood on metal (7.9″ x 7.9″ x: 1.2″)
Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Sydney

Working Drawing #5, 2007
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (12″ x 12″ x 1″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Aria II, 2008
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (8.25″ x 8.25″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Kazan, 2006
oil, wax, oleopasto, limestone dust and pigments on canvas on wood (38 1/2″ x 38 1/2″)
d.e.n. contemporary, Beverly Hills

Topside view of the cube, Carlitos, 2008
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC

Untitled Drawing, 2003
Oleopasto, wax, pigment, oil & limestone (9″ x 9″)
Margaret Thatcher Projects, NYC