Boston artists Archives - Page 6 of 7

ARTmonday: Asia Kepke’s Self Portraits With Mannequin

Boston-based photographer Asia Kepke is a former model with a great sense of humor. Her series “Bridget and I” are self portraits starring a mannequin (Bridget, I presume) in all sorts of environments, indoors and out. She shot them over the course of ten years with a 4×5 camera (with the exception of the water images).

I discovered Asia Kepke’s self portraits at the SMFA Sale 2013, when I had one of her mannequin photographs in my hand, but ultimately didn’t buy it. (I now wish I had.) She also has a series of humans wearing horse and squirrel masks, but I will feature those another time. For now, let’s enjoy her journey with Bridget.

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Images courtesy of the artist.

ARTmonday: Lindsey Kocur’s Colorful Architectural Paintings

Boston area artist Lindsey Kocur explores 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.

Several of Kocur’s architectural paintings and drawings is currently on display (until this Thursday, April 24th) in “Prompt” at 13 Forest Gallery on Mass. Ave. in Arlington. The gallery also carries a fantastic selection of gorgeous handmade jewelry by Boston designers and others, as well as those lovely ceramic birds by Cathy Moynihan I featured in December.

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Case Study House #31

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Eastern Vista

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Flip Side

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Colormetric

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Newest Topographics

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Now House

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View Finder

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Case Study House #30

Images courtesy of Lindsey Kocur.

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ARTmonday: Alicia Savage’s Self-Portraits

I am totally smitten with the work of Boston-based artist Alicia Savage, who specializes in self-portraits. A graduate of Northeastern University, Savage returned to school at Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts for training in photography. Savage describes her self-portraits, which are atmospheric, imaginative, and at times surreal, as “an organic exploration and evolving documentation of her present and past.”

Gabrielle Schaffner, who organizes Fort Point Open Studios (the next one is May 15-17) here in Boston, first pointed out Alicia Savage’s work to me, correctly guessing I’d love it. I love it so much that I’ve reached out to her and I am excited to say that I will be hanging one of Alicia Savage’s self-portraits in the model apartment I am decorating at the new Troy Boston building in the South End.

I am deciding between the first and the second one below for the space. I’d also love to purchase one. For all the images of women in fields and levitating women in post here, I only own one similar photograph. That must change. If you happen to be in Bogota next month, Alicia Savage’s self-portraits will be exhibited in the International Bienniel Photo Bogota 2015. From the looks of it, I am about to discover a whole bunch of new artists to showcase here. You can find other, similar images on my Female Figures in Art board on Pinterest too.

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ARTmonday: Cathy Moynihan’s Ceramic Bird Sculptures

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.

Blue Bird

Parent with Egg

Expecting

White Nest with Turquoise Egg

Flock

ARTmonday: Sneak Peek into the SMFA Art Sale 2014

The SMFA Art Sale 2014 starts this Thursday. It’s also known as the Museum School Art Sale—the art sale that takes place every year at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), the renown art school adjacent to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston that has been influential part of the Boston art scene since it’s founding in 1876.

There are thousands of pieces of art for sale, hung throughout the galleries on the first floor, and shrink wrapped in bins in the central space. (It’s always fun to flip through and discover amazing finds, whether it’s and inexpensive piece by a student (I once scored tiny abstracts for $12; I often find photos I love for around $100) or additional work by artists whose work is hung in the galleries. Once a piece is sold, it comes off the wall and is immediately replaced by another piece, so the display is in constant rotation.

The Museum School Art Sale offers art in every price range and medium, including oil paintings, acrylic paintings, watercolor paintings, photography, textile art, sculpture, video art (I would love to buy a piece; I still think about one we passed up), ceramics, and jewelry. Pieces are done by SMFA students, alumni, faculty, and affiliated artists. Famous SFMA alums include Cy Twombly, William Barnett, Jim Dine, Ellsworth Kelly, Nan Goldin, and Doug and Mike Starn, many of which have pieces at the sale (and most of which are way out of my price range, obviously).

Each piece at the Museum School Art Sale is priced by the artists, with a fifty/fifty split between the artists and the School. Artwork sold to benefits student scholarships at the School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The SMFA Art Sale 2014 takes place this Thursday to Sunday, November 20, 2014 to November 23, 2014. The hours are 10am-8pm the first three days and Sunday until five.

Here’s a sneak peek of 20 pieces for sale at this year’s Museum School Art Sale. At the end I included links to the posts I did about past years’ Museum School Art Sales. Also, if you’re interested, these are pieces that I’ve purchased at the SMFA Art Sales over the last few years.