Worth the Trip!

Suddenly, winter is upon the northeast with a vengeance.  But don’t succumb to cabin fever, because a myriad of marvelous exhibits beckon in and around Boston.  Right now, I’d like to direct your attention to some especially tasty photography shows a bit further afield in the Boston metro region.  Every one of these is worth a trip!

“Hiba, Shatilla Palestinian Refugee Camp, Beirut, Lebanon, 2010” (detail) archival inkjet print by Rania Matar (courtesy of the artist and Carroll and Sons, Boston).

Outspoken: Six Women Photographers features images that query and challenge the role of girls and women across cultures. In my opinion, this is a must-see for all teens and therefore delightfully fitting that the show premiered at the co-ed Milton Academy last spring and is now at the co-ed Middlesex School in Concord, MA through April 28, 2016. Photographs by Rania Matar (above), Nancy Grace Horton, Marky Kauffmann (Curator), Emily Schiffer, Tira Khan and Sally Edelstein will provoke and please both the heart and mind.  For information and directions, go to: https://www.mxschool.edu/article/2016/january/gallery-outspoken

“In Their Purse Pockets, 2013” from the series Ghost Stepping by Molly Lamb (courtesy of the artist and Rick Wester Fine Art, NY).

Home, what a loaded concept! The place where our traditions, hopes and dreams are born, the place where our memories originate. The Memory Palace: Domesticity, Objects and the Interior” is a lively, expansive two-part show at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, Massachusetts, featuring work from five invited artists, including photographers Molly Lamb (above), Lindsey Beal, Marie Craig and Astrid Reischwitz.  Their work is engagingly integrated with salient, multiple media pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. Examining the power and symbolism of domestic objects and the tenuous line between public and private, formal and intimate, exterior and interior spaces, viewers are treated to a range of fresh viewpoints that bounce, interconnect and radiate from the walls, on view until February 28th and March 6th, 2016.  For more information and my exhibit review, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/the-memory-palace-danforth-art-museum-framingham-ma/

Matthew Gamber’s solo show “Grammar” is in the Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA through February 27, 2016 (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).

Grammar is a survey of Matthew Gamber’s recent work based around his latest project, “Basic Ingredients of the Complex World,” his examination of how photography is both documentary and illusory – a paradox he demonstrates through experimentation with three-dimensional techniques. The show will be exhibited through February 27, 2016 in the Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Don’t miss discussions with the artist tomorrow, Wednesday, February 10th (5-6pm) and Wednesday, February 17th (noon-1pm) exploring the syntax of photography.  A tad esoteric, you say?  Well yes, along with fascinating and fun! For information and directions, go to: http://news.holycross.edu/blog/2016/01/08/cantor-art-gallery-to-exhibit-grammar-exploring-the-complexity-of-photography-as-language/

“Honey Locust Leaf Pod, c.1854” cyanotype by Anna Atkins (British 1799-1871). Courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA.

Cyanotypes: Photography’s Blue Period is the first ever survey of the handmade blue photogram, from its early adoption by amateur photographers in the 1800’s to contemporary artists who manipulate the medium to varied effects. Featuring botanicals, landscapes, abstracts and portraiture, contemporary artists include Christian Marclay and Boston’s own Jesseca Ferguson.  An Evening in Blue on Thursday, February 18, 2016 (6-8pm) will celebrate publication of the exhibition catalog with tours, music and food.  For information and directions, go to: http://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/cyanotypes-photographys-blue-period/

From the series “Wild and Precious” by Jesse Burke (courtesy of the artist and ClampArt, NYC).

RISD Museum – If there is such a thing as a second chance at childhood, the birth of a baby is perhaps the most hopeful opportunity to re-write your own history. Photographer Jesse Burke documents his sense of rediscovery through a captivating journey with his daughter in “Wild & Precious”, a solo show and accompanying monograph at the RISD Museum (Burke’s alma mater) in Providence, R.I. through September 25, 2016. To read my review of this stirring show’s debut at ClampArt in NYC last fall, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/jesse-burke-wild-and-precious-at-clampart-nyc/  For information and directions to the RISD show, go to: http://risdmuseum.org/art_design/exhibitions/97_jesse_burke_wild_precious

Feature Image: From the series “Wild and Precious” by Jesse Burke (courtesy of the artist and ClampArt, NYC).