Boston area artist Lindsey Kocurexplores interior and exterior landscapes in graphic architectural paintings. These mixed media works were part of her MFA thesis “Interiority Complex,” exhibited when she graduated from Tufts University in partnership with the School of Museum of Fine Arts. (I actually discovered Kocur’s work at the SMFA Art Sale in 2012).
She says about her work, “Elements of idealistic contemporary living spaces blend with references to past architectural movements to highlight social issues surrounding structural design that persist today.” Kocur sources highly staged images online and from magazines. Her hope is that her hand-painted boards “reveal a human quality” as juxtaposed against the glossy, flawless interior photography.
I’ve been thinking about Boston artist Cathy Moynihan’s ceramic bird sculptures ever since Marc Gurton at 13 Forest Gallery in Arlington just outside Boston, told me about her last May. (I was pulling together bird decor, and even though he doesn’t represent her, he kindly sent me a link to Moynihan’s “Aviary” collection.)
I promptly contacted Moynihan, and she invited me to a ceramics show at Harvard, but I was unable to attend. Fast forward seven months, five days before Christmas when I email her in a panic, pleading for one of her ceramic bird sculptures in turquoise to give to my mother-in-law. Luckily, I’m meeting Moynihan today to make the purchase.
Moynihan describes her ceramic bird sculptures as focusing on life — tender, whole, and new. The minimalist birds are soothing and serene, with graceful silhouettes, clean lines, composed posture, and pleasing proportions. Each takes Moynihan hours to make (even the smallest ones), since she hand builds each one using the coil method, then carefully examines each bird, scraping and shaving off the irregularities on the surface until the form is flawless.
Cathy Moynihan studied sculpture at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee and earned Art Education Certification from Massachusetts College of Art.
For this season’s Style issue of the Boston Globe Magazine, in addition to a few profiles of Boston’s Most Stylish (friend and art/science documentary producer Alberta Chu, jewelry designer/computer scientist Jessica Rosencrantz of Nervous System, and Deborah Z. Porter Founder and Executive Director of the Boston Book Festival), I also wrote “Jewelry’s Big Moment.” The spread includes nine pieces from wonderful, emerging local jewelry designers. With Mass Art and the SMFA in town, (not to mention RISD in nearby Providence, but that’s a whole other post) the artisan jewelry scene is absolutely thriving. Below are additional works from the featured artists, as well as a number of local metalsmiths that we didn’t have room to feature in the magazine. Lots of talent!
