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contemporary art

Curator’s Corner

Gems of the Month: Contemporary Japanese Tea Bowls

Monday, May 8, 2023 | Karl Cole

This month’s gems are contemporary artworks that serve the ages-old Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu or sado). Tea drinking was first introduced in Japan during the Nara period (710–794) aft ...

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Curator’s Corner

Spring Green from Gary Hume

Monday, April 24, 2023 | Karl Cole

In my ongoing celebration of spring, I’m featuring British artist Gary Hume. His Spring Angels series of eight screenprints sets just the right tone with their vibrant colors. In some of the pri ...

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Curator’s Corner

Facing the Past: Jennifer Karady

Monday, January 9, 2023 | Karl Cole

Many people would probably prefer to forget about the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is something therapeutic about facing them and admitting they happened. Artist Jennifer Karady uses h ...

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Curator’s Corner

Hispanic Heritage Month 2022: Lari Pittman

Monday, September 26, 2022 | Karl Cole

The 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month series continues with the work of Lari Pittman. Pittman’s complex works examine fantastic, personal narratives about love, sex, death, religion, citizenship, and ...

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Curator’s Corner

Space-Motion-Light: Robert Irwin

Monday, September 12, 2022 | Karl Cole

September 12th is the birthday of artist Robert Irwin, whose spectacular artistic career has spanned numerous art forms and styles through the years. His light installations are usually based on the l ...

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Curator’s Corner

Rain, Rain Go Away?: Tanya Goel

Monday, August 29, 2022 | Karl Cole

Some parts of the U.S. are experiencing too much rain, while others are in drought situations (as we are in Massachusetts). Well, the extremely hot weather worldwide, linked with the combined bamboozl ...

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Curator’s Corner

Gem of the Month: Oki Sato

Monday, April 18, 2022 | Karl Cole

It’s always refreshing to learn about a designer who combines an unconventional aesthetic with concern for our climate-changing planet, so Oki Sato’s Cabbage Chair is my Gem of the Month. ...

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Curator’s Corner

Native American Heritage Month: Marcus Amerman

Monday, November 15, 2021 | Karl Cole

The Choctaw band is descended from the Mississippian culture (Mound Builders), which had villages throughout the region of the Mississippi River across the Deep South. They are thought to have be ...

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Curator’s Corner

Asian Pacific American Heritage IV

Monday, May 24, 2021 | Karl Cole

The Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month series continues with Kota Ezawa, a Japanese-German American media artist and art educator. He is renowned, since 2002, for his vi ...

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Curator’s Corner

Women's (Art) History Month 2021 III

Monday, March 22, 2021 | Karl Cole

Women’s Art History Month continues with a look at an artist who has a totally unique body of work, pursuing with photography what artists have done since its inception in the 1840s: the use of ...

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Curator’s Corner

Beauty in Weeds and Flotsam

Tuesday, September 8, 2020 | Karl Cole

Jewelry typically functions for its beauty alone, an adornment for the wearer to display wealth, identity, or style. For artist Jan Yager, her jewelry is meant to give voice to marginalized people and ...

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Curator’s Corner

Rethinking Romanticism Part 3

Friday, August 21, 2020 | Karl Cole

To close out my Rethinking Romanticism series, let’s look at romanticism in 21st century art. In the instance of Jennifer Karady’s subjects, that’s probably an insulting term. If you ...

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Curator’s Corner

Rethinking Classicism Part 6

Friday, August 14, 2020 | Karl Cole

Let’s wrap up my Rethinking Classicism series with a look at what might be regarded as classic art of today in the future. 100 years from now, will video installation be considered a classi ...

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Curator’s Corner

Something Swiss This Way Comes

Monday, August 3, 2020 | Karl Cole

The first of August, this past Saturday, is Switzerland's "Independence Day," so I’m presenting a Swiss installation artist: Pipilotti Rist. The typical luxuriant colors of her vi ...

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Curator’s Corner

Pride Month 2020, Part 3

Monday, June 22, 2020 | Karl Cole

My Pride Month series celebrating and recognizing LGBTQI+ artists continues, acknowledging their accomplishments and contributions to the art world. Today’s post features the work of photographe ...

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Curator’s Corner

Pride Month 2020, Part 2

Monday, June 15, 2020 | Karl Cole

My Pride Month celebration continues with photographer Zanele Muholi. ...

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