A World Without Fires

I love the word gallery. It’s versatile as a noun or an adjective. It conjures, of course, an immediate image of a white-walled room with art. Yet a gallery is so much more expansive. What is your first memory of one? Mine is in Rockport, MA, in the artist-owned gallery of Bruce Backman Turner whose plein air seascapes took my breath away as a kid. How could anyone capture a crashing wave or stormy sky like that? I am still in awe of Bruce’s work.

We pose a lot of questions in this issue and spend time with galleries and gallerists throughout New England. You’ll read about new spaces, established spaces. Outdoor gallery spaces, university galleries. Themed spaces devoted to diversity and social justice causes. Shanta Lee spoke with Cai Silver who is creating an immersive experience in Vermont with C.X. Silver Gallery—a space that feeds your soul with art as well as with dim sum. In speaking with Shanta, I learned that she herself always wanted to start a gallery so I interviewed her in turn as well as my dear colleague Jim Lapides who is closing his International Poster Gallery after thirty years. Thirty years! Rites of passage all around…

Kelly Holt revisits the wonderful women of last year’s Match Game feature, catching up with them one year later, and also dives into the theme of galleries as community centers. We celebrate The Flinn Gallery’s 90th anniversary and DublinArt and Muse Gallery’s first. We chat with artist Curtis Speer in a Studio Visit and introduce you to his new space in Newport, RI. We highlight Art at the Kent’s annual fall emergence when visitors gather in Calais, VT, for a time-sensitive, always fascinating exhibition taking place on the grounds as well as in an historic structure that carries no electricity. B. Amore saw more than 250 paintings in her review of For the Love of Vermont taking place at Southern Vermont Arts Center and the Bennington Museum.

We were concerned initially for some of our Vermont content after the floods ravaged parts of the state. The images on the news were unbelievable; first-hand accounts even more so. The damage is vast and yes, Vermont is resilient. Vermonters are resilient. Yet even the most resilient among us need support and community to weather storms both literal and metaphorical.

I also want to call out the exceptional work of new ANE writer Cecily Miller whose piece on Tom Starr and his art marker initiative is simply stellar. The concept is genius, approachable and will, hopefully, enlighten us all on the threats of climate change and what is in store. Eric Sutphin takes us into the world of Kent Monkman at the Hood; Robert Beck takes us back to painting in Maine; Pam Ellertson celebrates New England Sculpture Association’s 75th; Autumn Duke’s Gallery Talk brings multiple gallerists to the table; Cynthia Close reveals the ingenuity behind Anni Mackay’s BigTown Gallery’s expansion projects; Chris Volpe delves into social justice galleries which led to this painful and important cover by Susan Calza of The Susan Calza Gallery in Montpelier, VT. The exhibition Enough Said? Counting Mass Shootings speaks to the realities of gun violence. Calza, by the way, is a force with this cause and you should read more about her gallery and her mission.

And, of course, the question always arises, from somewhere, along the course of producing this issue: “Are galleries still relevant?” I hope this issue puts that question to rest. I’m a little put off by it after all these years, in all honesty. A space where we gather to view or listen to art; a space that cultivates community; a space that sparks joy, new ways of thinking or approaching a problem. Relevant? Galleries are classrooms, where artists take us out of our comfort zone and make us think. They are full of energy and intellect and curiosity. They are sprawling sculpture parks; inviting live/work spaces in one’s home or artist co-op; or intense white, contemplative, cubes. They are school corridors hung with children’s sketches and finger paintings, and city alleyways of murals. They are gathering spaces of conversation and connection. They are evidence of a passion and commitment, whether artist-owned or commercial. To portend that galleries are irrelevant? They are more relevant and impactful than ever. It is up to us to see them for the welcoming and nurturing communities that they are. Havens for tolerance, discourse, and all forms of self-expression. Step into them.

There is also a gallery of art in our fall Artist Directory. It’s a marvel to me, to look at these nine pages and appreciate the skill behind each work. Artist Directory is followed by five pages of Art Guide and fourteen pages of Exhibition Listings throughout the region. Art is abundant! Fall is the most exciting season! And I rarely use exclamation points.

This issue celebrates artistic freedom. A fresh start against autumn’s cool winds of change, promising new beginnings. Thank you to Art New England’s writers for words as impactful as the art you describe. Thank you to the region’s gallerists for believing in the power of your spaces and for being the pulse of our communities. And thanks, always, to the artists behind the work that forces us outside ourselves.

This issue’s poem is the work of Shanta Lee. My conversations with Shanta are always full of energy and ideas. We banter and brainstorm; Shanta dives deep into her articles and her poetry. I always learn from her and am honored to share the poem she wrote for this issue which speaks to strength, audacity, beauty; to being heard; and finding our place in the universe.

It’s a beautiful world. Also flawed, scary, and still evolving. The news cycle is, well, surreal. The looming election and a circus of indictments, escalating manifestations of the climate crisis, evaporating women’s rights, corruption in our highest court, COVID concerns for the months ahead; and the new CDC study showing that firearms killed a record number of children in 2021, more than car crashes, overdoses and cancer. Perhaps if we spent more time gathering in galleries, listening to one another, expanding our thinking, we may figure a few things out.

In gratitude,

Rita A. Fucillo
Publisher