Highlights from the Boston Art Book Fair

Earlier this month we participated in the 2022 Boston Art Book Fair put on by the Boston Center for the Arts. It was an exciting opportunity to explore the galleries, artists, collectives, and creatives in our city. Check out some of our favorite booths we saw:

Boston Art Review

The Boston Art Review brought an assortment of issues to purchase. It was wonderful to see AOG artist Pelle Cass’ work featured at another booth at the Book Fair. Cass’ photograph is featured on the cover of Issue 03: Tracing Movement.

bostonartreview.com
Instagram: @bostonartreview

View of the booth for the Boston Art Review in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center of the Arts.

Praise Shadows Art Gallery

Praise Shadows had a mix of books, posters, and other art objects to check out. We were excited to see one of our new favorite books, Designing Motherhood, out on the booth’s spread. It was a great opportunity of visitors to get a taste for what this growing gallery has to share with the Boston art community.

praiseshadows.com
Instagram: @praiseshadowsart

View of the booth for Praise Shadows Art Gallery in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center of the Arts.

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

The ICA Boston had a selection of prints, books, and merchandise to choose from. We loved checking out the current exhibition book, To Begin Again: Artists and Childhood. The work of Barbara Kruger and Dr. Woo were showcased on apparel, as well as prints of Jordan Nassar’s work that is currently on view in the exhibition Jordan Nassar: Fantasy and Truth.

icaboston.org
Instagram: @icaboston

View of the booth for the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center of the Arts.

Adri Tan

It was great getting to chat with Tan about their process and learn more about their work. Tan uses portrait photography to explore identity and authority of self. Digital textile patterns are created by restating the body into repeating patterns in the zine, I Objectify Myself to Subvert Your Gaze. The textile becomes an object, allowing for the portraits of the artist’s East Asian models to reject the stereotypes and to yield autonomy of themselves. In another zine, Fashioning a Sense of Self, Tan's photographs reclaims and explores the identities of women and non-binary people of color by allowing the models to wear what they felt most themselves in. We can’t wait to see what else they will be working on next!

adriannatanphotography.com
Instagram: @atangerinee

View of Adri Tan’s booth in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center of the Arts.

Paige Mehrer at Plum Press

We are delighted by the work of Paige Mehrer of Plum Press. Her whimsical images are enchanting and there mystical blues and purples of her palette drew us in!

paigemehrer.com
Instagram: @paigemehrer

View of Paige Mehrer’s section of the Plum Press booth in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center of the Arts.

Kareem Worrell

We got to have an engaging conversation with photographer Kareem Worrell about his photograph and practice. At his booth he presented the zine, Passenger, which features Polaroids from the passenger seat of a pivotal road trip he took at the beginning of his career. He told me that he had lost the photographs from the trip for over 15 years, but thought of them often. This body of work inspired a new series call Lonely Highway that documents views from the passensger seat once again. His book, Mile Marker, is a part of the ongoing he was selling at the fair. The book showcases seventeen years worth of images that capture the ever-changing landscapes and unique atmosphere that only occurs on the open road.

kareemworrell.com
Instagram: @kareemworrellphoto

View of Kareem Worrell’s booth in the Cyclorama at the Boston Center of the Arts.

We were thrilled to exhibit three of our represented artists: Pelle Cass, Cassandra Jones, and Kristina McComb, alongside these talented creatives in Boston. It was a great opportunity for us to connect with our Boston community in a way we had not done before, and the whole team felt excited and energized by the fair - we are so grateful for all of the amazing visitors we had. Through a collection of prints, books, and small sculptural work, we showcased new and returning work by each artist: prints by all three artists gained excitement while Cass’ and McComb’s newly released books were a hit. The remaining inventory is still available for purchase on the buy now page for the fair.

Gallery intern Lauren Hill and Assistant Director Kaylee Hennessey at the booth

Exhibition Highlights from the Institute of Contemporary Art, May 2022

The Institute of Contemporary Art is known for its commitment to providing public access to reflective, inspirational, and provocative contemporary art, and its recent exhibitions are no exception. Last week, we were thrilled to visit our neighboring institution to see two stand out shows that examine the power of perception and the reimagined genre of figurative painting.

Installation View: A Place for Me: Figurative Painting Now. On view at ICA Boston through September 5, 2022.

Doron Langberg, Bather, 2021, Oil on Linen, 96 x 80 in.

Gisela McDaniel, Legacy, 2020, jewelry from subject-collaborator, flower, resin, sound, 36 x 50 x 5.5 in.

A Place for Me: Figurative Painting Now, located on one of the ICA’s top floor galleries, was the first stop on our visit. The exhibition features work from eight different artists, serving as an evocative examination of what it means to see and be seen through an array of techniques and perspectives. Doron Langberg’s work stood out: in particular, his large-scale format and vivid palette providing a sharp juxtaposition of the mundanity of everyday life and the figurative reality that exists beyond. Langberg effectively captures the intimacy of the ordinary and transforms it into something extraordinary, creating a space where queer voices can flourish. 

AOG intern Sidney Pilot notes: “I was also drawn to Gisela McDaniel’s work, her use of audio and portraiture working in tandem to create a powerful statement about the reclamation of power for female and nonbinary people of color.” McDaniel uses the term “womxn” when speaking about her subjects, aiming to create a space built on trust and care. She invites each sitter to decide how they are portrayed, pairing  the finished work with an audio interview captured during the process. The result is a captivating multi-media display of strength, resilience, and empowerment of both community and self. 

Napoleon Jones-Henderson: I Am As I Am – A Man 

Installation view: I Am As I Am— A Man. On view through July 24, 2022. (might want to edit to tone down the yellow floors)

Located right across the hallway was Roxbury native, Napoleon Jones-Henderson’s solo exhibition, I Am As I Am – A Man. The show serves as a snapshot of over 50 years of work, featuring a variety of mixed-media pieces displayed against vibrant backdrops of sunset orange, lime green, and sky blue. Intricate woven textiles, shrine-like sculptures, and eye-catching mosaics work to capture the experiences and cultures of the African diaspora, creating powerful pieces that both affirm the struggles of the past and look towards advancements of the future. 

His textiles were incredibly intriguing, and leaves visitors thinking about their respective messages long after visiting. Jones-Henderson’s use of glittering thread, poignant phrases, and saturated color creates pieces that are as captivating as they are expressive, serving as a commentary on racial justice and Pan-Africanism in America.

There is still time to catch both shows on view at the ICA Boston!

Written by Sidney Pilot

Looking Back at 2020: Arts in Boston

2020 was a strange and challenging year for the art world. The pandemic forced galleries and museums to adapt quickly, find more flexibility in programming, and double down on safety. As Mayor Walsh calls for the extended closure of Boston’s museums, we at AOG are reflecting on the resiliency and perseverance of the Boston arts community. Many museums and galleries have had to shift focus this year from in-person shows to virtual events, often traversing unknown territories for both organizations and audiences. The arts community has persisted in keeping the arts alive and thriving for the city of Boston through innovation and ingenuity in the face of uncertainty.  

See below for a few ways your favorite museums and galleries created new virtual artistic spaces in 2020, so we may all continue to look to the arts as a source of light and hope as 2021 begins:

A screenshot from the MFA Boston’s online content available for viewing. From the MFA Boston: “Katie Hanson, associate curator, Paintings, Art of Europe, and curator of “Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression,” discusses Monet’s unique way of seeing t…

A screenshot from the MFA Boston’s online content available for viewing. From the MFA Boston: “Katie Hanson, associate curator, Paintings, Art of Europe, and curator of “Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression,” discusses Monet’s unique way of seeing the everyday and how he “trained the modern eye” through his paintings.”

At the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the show Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression was set to open in April 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic. The exhibit “offers a rare opportunity to see all 35 of the Museum’s oil paintings by Monet, among the largest and finest groups of the artist’s works in the world.” The show officially opened on November 15, 2020 and will remain on view in the Linde Family Wing galleries until February 28, 2021. With the museum closed again, the MFA created a video to capture the exhibit as well as give viewers the opportunity to peek behind the scenes of the show with curators and experts. Watch the video here! Curator Kate Hanson discusses her vision stating, “I really wanted to keep the exhibition grounded in the artist’s lifetime...it places you with the artist in action and then keeping that at the heart of the exhibition using the artist’s own words and the words of the people, Bostonians, Parisians, others, who saw Monet’s paintings when they were brand new.” The virtual overview explores the acquisition history, provides historical contextualization, and delves into the stylistic choices of the curators that worked together to help tell the story of Monet’s life and work.

A screenshot from the ICA Boston’s First Fridays Contemporary Cookout with Tooky Kavanagh (September 8, 2020). View on Vimeo.

A screenshot from the ICA Boston’s First Fridays Contemporary Cookout with Tooky Kavanagh (September 8, 2020). View on Vimeo.

Another museum adapting to these strange times is the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, which is closed to the public but by no means shut down. Instead, the museum has reshaped their programming to meet the needs of their audience. Their website offers everything from cooking lessons, recordings of First Fridays, past musical shows, forums and celebrations, promising upcoming virtual screenings of documentaries that explore everything from Mass MoCA to the life of Louise Bourgeois. Check out the full array of virtual activities here! We found the First Fridays at Home to be particularly powerful, seeing artists in their intimate elements, transforming their own space into stages, to dance, to perform spoken word poetry, to live and breathe vulnerability. It is a uniquely art-in-COVID-times experience and well worth checking out. 

At Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, we too have adjusted in these shifting and unsettled times. We hosted several virtual events last year with both artists on view and as guest speakers. We connected over Zoom, tracing back to a time when gallery openings toasted rooms of crowded people. And while we miss the in-person energy, finding new ways to connect and learn has been a rewarding experience. To view recordings of our past events, visit our YouTube Channel.

The Boston arts community is strong and inventive, battling everything 2020 has thrown at us with a fervor. We hope that in 2021 the arts world will continue to uplift and unify, connecting artists and patrons as they always have, and always will.

Written by Alexi Fee, Gallery Associate





Six Upcoming Webinars not to Miss in October

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962, The Museum of Modern Art (NY), Photo by Abigail Ogilvy.

For the past seven months the world has seen a dramatic shift in programming. It seems like so long ago that we were attending opening receptions, artist talks, lectures, and events in person. After being faced with the obstacle of running our gallery remotely, we saw the emergence of webinars as a tool for events. Now, we have access to a multitude of informational tools through our devices, making it possible to do a studio visit with a Chicago-based artist without leaving your own city, attend an opening reception across the globe, or hear new perspectives from a panel of people outside of your own field.

In celebration of their use as a tool for knowledge, we’d like to highlight six upcoming web-based events that are free and open to the public:

  1. Black Boston: Transforming the Arts
    October 13th, 2020, 5:00pm

    From WBUR: “Join the Boston University Initiative on Cities, Boston University Diversity & Inclusion and WBUR CitySpace for "Black Boston: Transforming the Arts," the fourth in a recurring discussion series featuring transformative Black leaders from across Greater Boston. This event is free and open to the public but advance registration is required.”

    Panelists
    McCreary, Patti and Jonathan Kraft chief of learning and community engagement, Museum of Fine Arts
    Catherine T. Morris, founder & executive director, BAMS Fest
    Maurice Emmanuel Parent, executive director, Front Porch Arts Collective

    Moderator
    Crystal Williams, Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion, Boston University; Professor of English & award-winning poet

    Join the event here

  2. The Museum of Modern Art: Drop In with Philippe Parreno
    October 14th, 2020, 12:00pm

    This event is part of an informal weekly discussion series hosted by MoMA and features French artist Philippe Parreno in conversation with a MoMA curator. Learn more about his current practice and how today’s climate has affected it.
    Event details here: https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/6738

  3. Creating in COVID: A Conversation hosted by Rachel Kay

    October 14, 2020, 6:00pm

    This event is in tandem with the current exhibition Creating in COVID. This week’s discussion features artists Samantha Bittman, Sara Jimenez, Dashiell Manley, Soo Sunny Park, and Matt Saunders.  
    Join the Webinar here

  4. ICA Boston: Wellness Together: Drawing on Love and Justice with Evelyn Rydz
    October 20th, 2020, 5:30-7:00pm

    From the ICA: “Join a virtual drawing workshop hosted by Boston artist Evelyn Rydz to close out the Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on Democracy taking place earlier that afternoon. In Rydz’s current project, “Drawing on Love and Justice,” the artist asks us to be observant critical thinkers and reflect not only on what we see in the world now, but also to imagine seeing what we want to change. In a time marked by a pandemic and racial injustice, create drawings inspired by observation and imagination, addressing what you see as part of our realities now and what you want to see in the future.”
    Click for event details here

  5. Rose Art Museum: Artist Talk: Ellen Lesperance
    October 29th, 2020, 1:00pm

    From the Rose: “Join artist Ellen Lesperance for a talk about her practice, the use of knitwear as a radical form of “creative direct action,” and her work currently on view in the exhibition Yesterday’s Tomorrow.”

    Join the event here

  6. Skidmore College: Curator’s Tour of Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond
    October 30th, 2020, 12:00pm

    Tang: “Join us Friday, October 30, at noon, via Zoom, as Tang Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator Rachel Seligman and Skidmore faculty co-curator Minita Sanghvi, Assistant Professor of Management and Business, lead a virtual tour of Never Done.”

    Event details here