Workbar Gallery
December 15 to March 15     Reception on January13, 5:30 - 8

  Sandra Cohen               Justin Pilotte
Mike Hammecker           Brent Refsland
Anna Koon                    Katrina Sustachek

Gallery at WorkBar is located at 711 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02111 - lower level

(Across from the South Station train platform and next to Boston Sports Club)

WorkBar has partnered with Alternate Currents in support of the local arts and to encourage commerce within the Boston community!  The Gallery @WorkBar is lined with wall-to-wall displays of artwork from local Boston artists! 

Normally I write about Boston based artists, but I was on the road to New York City last weekend and while I was there I got to catch up with Brooklyn based artist Tomokazu Matsuyama.

 Visiting his studio in an industrial warehouse in Greenpoint, I was instantly reminded of the Fort point section of Boston where I lived for many years. The dimly lit hallways, complete with peeling paint and steel doors made me feel very much at home. While navigating the hallways, you could almost feel the energy of all the artists that have used this building as their home base. After a quick phone call I was let in from the stairwell and, while walking down the hallway to his space, Matsuyama explains to me that a lot of what I’m about to see is for an upcoming show at the Frey Norris Gallery in San Francisco.

The space was pretty typical for a building of this nature, though the art was anything but. The first sight you see is a huge floor to ceiling 180 x 100 inches triptych, below.

The images jump out at you, and draw you in to the point where you feel like you could almost step into Matsuyama’s painted world. While the scenes seem to be of very traditional Japanese images, it’s the approach that makes these paintings so fresh.


Using these images, he updates them by filling them in with multiple patterns and colors, (seen above in this detail) no doubt influenced by the various contemporary artists that he respects. 

Born in Japan and having lived for quite some time in the U.S., his style, much like his persona, is a hybrid of Japanese and American culture. Much like traditional Japanese art, his paintings rely heavily on composition, but — in spite of all the information being conveyed to the viewer — they remain busy yet simplistic, an interesting and playful contradiction. This frenetic mixture is also a nod to the identity crisis that Matsuyama felt by not exactly fitting in to either of the two worlds he grew up in. 

The mythical Kirin, in the 2 paintings above, is a mixture of various animals, and seems to be a fitting subject to showcase Matsuyama’s unique style.

Matsuyama’s work can be found online here
Frey Norris Gallery / 456 Geary St.  during the month of February, click here for more details.

Chase Gallery is featuring Holly Farrell this December, and I have to say, she’s one of my favorites.

Using acrylics and oil on masonite, Farrell paints still-life’s out of everyday objects and makes them interesting, but make no mistake these are not your grandmothers still-life paintings.

In the above painting, ‘Barbi Ski Queen and Ken Ski Champion’, she captures the duo in style and with a whimsical snowflake pattern background that lends itself perfectly to the Barbi phenom era.

‘Sofa’ is a fantastic piece of composition and color. The empty wall space above the couch leaves room for the imagination and provides a nice juxtaposition to the heavily patterned couch. The patterned floor adds just enough weight to the bottom of the painting, without taking away from the simplicity of it.

Holly Farrell is a self-taught painter who didn’t start painting till she was 29. She sold her first painting at 31. She is now a full-time artist and is represented by 6 different galleries. If you get a chance, head out to the Chase gallery this month and see in person what all the buzz is about. You won’t be disappointed.

The opening reception is this Friday, December 4th from 6-8pm.
The show will run from December 2 - 31 , 2009.

The pieces above are (from top to bottom)
‘Barbi Ski Queen and Ken Ski Champion’ 15.5 x 8.5 inches each, 2 pieces, acrylic and oil on masonite
 ’

Sofa” 18 x 28 inches, acrylic and oil on masonite

The Fort Point Arts Community Holiday sale is a unique
opportunity for artful holiday shopping, or to just treat yourself!

All in one convenient location, at Made in Fort Point/Art at 12:
***20 talented local artists will be set up, displaying their wares over the three-day event.
***The newly expanded FPAC Store will be open featuring works of art, craft and design by over seventy-five fort point artists.
***Art at 12 presents SMALL WORKS: artworks by Fort Point Arts Community members from December 4th through the holidays.

Find jewelry, paintings, prints, pottery artists’ books, photography, handcrafted clothing and accessories, furniture, lighting, prints, holiday ornaments, cards, and much, much more! Something for every budget.

11th Annual Fort Point Arts Community
HOLIDAY SALE

December 4, 5 and 6, 2009
Friday 11am-7pm
Saturday and Sunday 11am-4pm

FREE TO THE PUBLIC

Special Opening Reception Friday 5-7pm
Festive holiday snacks and refreshments:
toast the holiday season with us!

12 Farnsworth Street
Fort Point, Boston
617-423-1100

12 Farnsworth is just off of Congress Street, one block east of the Children’s Museum and right next door to Flour Bakery and Cafe
Wheelchair accessible

Above painting by Andrew Woodward “The Docks” 2009 acrylic on panel 10 x 22′

Daniel Ellis Dec-Jan 2009
Opening: December 4, 6-8 pm

How do we define the chaos of our age? Is it estrangement? Our lack of control? Being recognized not as people but as social security numbers in this age of computers, digital bureaucracy, and high science and technology? How many degrees of apathy, madness, feigned calmness, and endless pleas for salvation have arisen from this, and what kind of atmosphere does it create?

Messages from all corners of the planet, even from the sea and skies, in many different languages and forms, are universal. Let’s take one - SOS. Help. Because of the volume and velocity of this repeated urgent call, which ultimately looks and sounds the same, the caller is essentially helpless. As self-preserving individuals, this state of being is a horror to us. But as participants in a chain of events, like links in very large chains, the impact on us is different. If we distance ourselves from this noise, there is a beauty and order to this seeming danger and chaos. It is life, and not just the human condition but the universal condition. Our pleas bind us and define life. They are energy, be it desire, motion, yearning, the pattern of which envelops, interconnects, and interweaves us as life beings to which we yield.

There are both psychologically unsettling and ecstatically freeing aspects of our current Golden Age of advancement of knowledge of astrophysics. The speed at which scientists are finding other planets and galaxies, the incredible expansion of the scope of this knowledge which could soon lead to the discovery of other worlds and life similar to ours, the realization that creation and destruction are mere inevitable phases of the process of the universe, the recent discovery that we ourselves are merely composed of DNA, being recombinant chains of billions of sequences of four proteins labeled C,G, A and T - all of this has and will continue to effect how we view ourselves. Currently, scientists claim to know approximately 24% of all matter in the universe; the remaining “unknown” 76% is dark matter, or dark energy. This scientific mega-advancement is machinelike, other-worldly, estranging, and yet oddly freeing. These paradigms are the backdrop of Ellis’s enlightened work.

Ellis has absorbed the advancements of Modern Art and his work philosophically reflects upon the complex levels of helplessness and triumph in today’s digitally saturated and scientifically strange techno-sphere. We see minimalist traces of the Muse paintings of Brice Marden and the repeated grid of Agnes Martin. He combines Op Art with the large scale color saturation of Rothko and Barnett Newman. The mesmerizing character of each work, similar to a musical orchestration by Philip Glass, transmits a universal message. One work pacifies, perhaps hypnotizes, us to ponder the significance of a plea for help, while another jars our senses, entrancing the viewer into a calm yet disturbing vein of another unique atmosphere.

This interplay of color and pattern creates a compelling visual experience which, in these large canvases, enshrouds in a sort of starry night, or fog. The images are a reflection, a repetition, a scream among many, repeated mechanically, and the copies produced by this scream machine elicit apathy, white noise, static, and a sort of freedom as well.

460 harrison avenue
boston 02118
617.482.0055
wednesday to saturday

12 to 6 pm and by appointment
info@anthonygreaney.com

Pieces above, SOS - Black 54 x 97 inches, ink on canvas.
SOS - Blue 54 x 97 inches, ink on canvas.

Artists and craftspeople of South Boston will open their doors to the public Saturday and Sunday, October 31st and November 1, 2009, as part of the annual South Boston Open Studios event. Visitors will be able to talk to and make purchases directly from the artists while touring the creative environments in which the artwork is produced. The weekend-long event also provides a great opportunity to sample many of this historic neighborhood’s restaurants, cafes, pubs, and retail shops.

Numerous disciplines will be represented throughout the dozens of participants, including: sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, installation, photography, video, jewelry, ceramics, woodworking, fabric and performance art. Much of the work will be in-process and the artists will be on hand for questions and conversations. Participating organizations and galleries include The Distillery (which will showcase three galleries and over 50 artists) located at 516 East 2nd Street, King Terminal at 110 K Street & 570 E 1st Street, and Norman Crump Studio at 793 East Sixth Street.

The event is free to the public, rain or shine, noon to 6pm each day. Public transportation is easy, take the Red Line to Broadway and walk East, or take the #7 City Point bus from South Station to Elkins St.

This is a call to all you cultured and not so cultured Bostonians.
Here’s your chance to see some awesome art, cool studios, and experience Boston’s oldest and largest arts community. 100+ studios are open to the public - painting, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, photography, crafts, performances and more, so you know there’s something for everyone in the eclectic and vibrant section of Boston.

Here’s a full listing of participating artists.

PDF map of builings here

FPAC’s 30th Annual Open Studios
preview event:
October 16, 4p-7p (selected studios open)

All studios open:
October 17, 11a-6p
October 18, 11a-6p

Since 1978, Fort Point artists have opened their studios to the public during the third weekend in October. Open Studios events attract about 10,000 visitors to our neighborhood, offering the public a rare glimpse into the living and working spaces of artists, while providing a valuable opportunity for artists to sell their work.

If you happen to be in the Burlington Mall head up to Center Court, Level 2 and check out the Wearable Art MassArt Fashion exhibit.

Wearable Art showcases a collection of 30 creative designs, including non-textiles, contemporary daywear, elegant eveningwear and expertly tailored coats. From over 200 ensembles produced by MassArt fashion students this year, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design, Jayne Avery, selected the top designs for the Burlington Mall exhibit. “As curator, my job was not easy. There were so many wonderful ensembles to choose from and arrange in one cohesive display to represent our students’ talent,” said Jayne Avery.

The show is supposedly up from Sept. 20th till Oct 10th, but it was still up today. I suggest you call the mall for the official timeframe. They are all very cool, but here are some of my favorites.


Designer: Kathryn Anderson
Class of 2011
“Small Change” Made of over 1500 penny, nickel, dime and quarter coin wrappers attached with hot glue.


Detail

Designer: Annika Benitz
Class of 2011
3,236 Johnson & Johnson Band-aids and nothing else!

Detail

Designer: Cindy Wong
40 placemats with yellow ribbon trim held together with binder clips, safety pins, clear thread and glue. Velcro closures.

W magazine is hosting its first annual art contest: “W: The Art Project,” searching for America’s most talented young photographer.  Coinciding with the magazine’s 4th annual Art Issue, “W: The Art Project” invites emerging, talented artists to share their works of photography, and gain a connection with some of the most influential art personalities working today.   The contest launches October 1st.
You can go to www.WDesires.com/theartproject for more info.

Smashin’ Fashion at Underbar Aug 27

Future Classic presents: An evening of high urban fashion + music.
Featuring a live fashion exhibition by adidas, 280 STUDIOS + Night Society
Styling by SHAG
Start: Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 10:30pm
End: Friday, August 28, 2009 at 2:00am

DJ’s Stenny, Silent Partner + Texas Mike(above) provide the soundtrack for the evening..
Hosted by MC Mike Tran with live video by Jellz

Underbar Super Lounge
275 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

More info + advance tickets available at http://www.futureclassic.net