Hybrid creature, hybrid materials

Rose B. Simpson‘s 2022 sculpture, Sip 1, on view at the Rose Art Museum is constructed of various materials–fired ceramic, string, steel, stones, and grout. The resulting creature is a hybrid of animal and human parts–a human head, lizard tail, reptilian scales, a serpent’s neck.

Rose B. Simpson, a young Tewa artist, has said “I think in clay…Clay was the earth that grew our food, was the house we lived in, was the pottery we ate out of and prayed with. So my relationship to clay is ancestral and I think it has a deep genetic memory. It’s like a family member for us.” Sip 1‘s unearthly presence is both belied and accented by its heavy, earthly materials. Simpson’s foremothers were also artists, and her work eloquently represents both deep knowledge of materials and construction, and a melding of spirit and clay.

At migration time, a new piece online

I am pleased to be in the WEAD exhibit, “Birds in Flight and Plight” on Kunstmatrix:

https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/12211739/kinship-with-birds-in-plight-flight

My digital photograph of an installation in my (old) studio is from a series called “Blue Plastic;” another in the series is below. The installation involved projections of plastic detritus, drawings, small sculpture, and old biology slides.

For some interesting related reading, here’s Mary Ellen Hannibal’s latest writing on the Anthropocene: https://stanfordmag.org/contents/this-is-epoch

Black Rain at the Rose

Stunningly installed, on aqua and turquoise walls, “Black Rain” leads us to inhabit the world of Iranian women and girls restrained physically by chains and walls, and psychically by social convention. Arghavan Khosravi’s work crosses boundaries between painting and sculpture, incorporating repeating symbols of hair, wire, black elastic cord, golden armor, flames, and secret gardens. The protagonists of Khosravi’s work are alike: young Persian women whose lips are padlocked or whose eyes are blinded, experiencing the world through curtained windows and walled gardens.

Khosravi skillfully navigates the spaces between two and three dimensions, creating large and powerful constructions which chiefly use painted images of human beings, and three-dimensional elements of assemblage. The work draws heavily on symbols and conventions of traditional Persian miniature painting, while manipulating this vocabulary to new ends. A wall of beautiful miniatures accompanies the exhibit and provides both context and contrast.

Says Khosravi: “I’m not interested in perpetuating notions of cultural exoticism and portrayals of Iranian women as victims. My work is a vehicle for shifting power, validating personal storytelling and connecting to universal messages about human rights.”

At the Rose Art Museum through October 22^nd.

A new job, a new community

I’m so delighted to have been hired by ArtSpace Maynard as the Administrative Arts Coordinator. The new artist community relocated September 1 to a vibrant downtown space at 74 Main St. Maynard, MA. The nonprofit art center houses studios for 17 artists and a gallery, so I’m back in my element, hanging group shows by wonderful local painters and sculptors. Awesome new Executive Director Suchita Mumford (below) is creating a more inclusive and welcoming space! Visit us at Maynard Holiday Stroll, Dec. 2