From the Publisher – September 2021
These are strange times. I’m still referring to last year as if it were 2019 and in a few months, it will be 2022. I can’t wait for my third shot while others refuse their first. COVID is still here, people. It still has a voice in nearly all major decisions these days. Aren’t you a little sick of this? Will I be writing these same words in the next letter? Get the vaccine! Wear a mask!
Chances are, most of you reading this right now are playing it safe and doing all you can to support the arts. As resilient as we’ve all been for more than 18 months, I think you will agree, it’s been a lot. And yet we persevere with some semblance of grace. I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how hard the arts have been hit and encourage you to safely enjoy the incredible fall arts season ahead. There are countless performing arts companies across New England working like crazy to get back on stage. Museums have a jam-packed lineup of shows. (Don’t even think about staying home on the weekends.)
Personally, I’ve been to several gallery openings of late and while there were still fist bumps amidst the hugs and fewer cheese cubes and crackers, I can’t tell you how happy I am when I’m inside a gallery. Gallery folks are smart—they have it figured out. They’ve embraced the virtual, taken great care of their artists, despite opening and closing, opening and closing, until, with masks and guidelines, they could throw open their doors again. Perhaps you’ve wondered about the role of galleries over the past ten years or so? Questioned their role in the 21st century? Question not. They are here to stay and it gives me great pleasure to celebrate them each fall with The Gallery Issue. This issue is one of my favorite Art New England rituals, honoring galleries and gallerists. This year, even more so.
My hat’s off to all of you who have shown such strength and creativity, and who power on against all odds. Appreciate these spaces, my friends. They are pockets of sanity and intrigue and fun and are a refuge from the chaos and anxiety of this very strange time in our lives. If you’re looking for alone time, go early in the day. If you’re looking to network and socialize, read ANE’s Exhibition Listings section and hit all the First Fridays. If you’re looking to learn something about art and yourself, go often. First, read this issue.
Heather Martin talks to ten women gallerists across the region and their stories are compelling. Emily Avery-Miller previews Home Cooking at LaiSun Keane Gallery in Boston’s SoWa Arts District. Springfield Museums presents Ai Weiwei: Tradition and Dissent; Marking Lives opens at MIT’s The Broad Institute; Montserrat College of Art turns 50! Artrepreneur’s Steve Schlackman explains NFTs and, wow, what a crazy complicated yet utterly fascinating topic; and Rita Fucillo looks at stillness, art, and spirituality as two Connecticut artists prepare their show at Manhattan’s Sheen Center for Thought & Culture next month. And there’s so much more, including Artist Directory and 12 pages of the aforementioned Exhibition Listings. Get out your Sharpies.
It’s exciting to add that Art New England will enjoy additional distribution in New York and Connecticut this issue through the generosity of a dear friend and colleague connected to ANE and the Sheen Center. We celebrate our front cover artists and the season ahead and are grateful to New England’s galleries. We’re honored to tell your stories.
ON THE COVER:
Pamela Smith, Sweet Sisters, 2021, acrylic on masonite board, 15 x 12.5″. Courtesy of Northern Daughters Gallery. A self taught painter based in Bristol, VT, Smith’s work is primarily portraiture of women and their relations; children, men, and animals accompany the protagonists painted amidst vibrant backgrounds. See page 42.
Jan Dilenschneider, Sunrise—there will always be light, oil on canvas, 24 x 30″. Courtesy of the artist. Dilenschneider is an Expressionist painter based in Darien, CT, who applies her unique sense of color contrasting to nature, landscapes, and seascapes. See page 32.