New England Art News May 2
Thoughts on art and loss. An invitation to drinks. Lots of art jobs. A museum residency. Scholarship and prize money. Upcoming events and exhibitions. Highlights from Vermont. Plus, a ceramics review!
Happy Friday!
Art, loss, and memory are on my mind today. This might be a little TMI, but it’s also a universal experience and one that people steer away from talking about. This week is the anniversary of my dad’s passing. He died unexpectedly on May 1, 2022, five days shy of his birthday. A conservative and complex person, he was also deeply enthusiastic about the place art held in my world. One thing that got me through his loss was a copy of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, gifted to me by a friend, in which America’s great essayist puzzles out personal tragedy with a keen sense for materiality. Didion’s admonition that when someone departs your life, you must “let them become the photograph on the table” is something I still think about.
It’s worth pondering the intersection of art and grief, or the meandering lives of objects and the way they touch ours. Over my stove I have a more or less dreadful mass-produced ceramic reproduction of Da Vinci’s Last Supper that hung in my grandparents’ kitchen and under which we ate countless red sauce Italian Sunday dinners. If I found the same piece at the thrift store I wouldn’t spare $5 to buy it, but if my house was on fire it would be one of the first things I would save. Art, good or bad, can be embedded with significance, nostalgia, and even love.
A favorite art historical saying of mine is ars longa, vita brevis. The Latin for art is long, life is brief. It is a reminder both that technical mastery takes time and that art inevitably outlives us. At some point after my dad died I made a painting of Manhattans for a show. These were his, and now my, favored cocktail. Later I traded it away to a dear artist friend who was moving across the country. Once they were settled, I got a note with a selfie of he and his wife alongside the painting in their new apartment, drinks in hand, smiling. It read, “We look at the painting every day and think of you, Mike!”
Life, like art, goes on. And that’s a really beautiful thing to know. - Michael
Join Me for Drinks with Artists in Newport May 13!
Coming up Tuesday, May 13 from 6:30-9:00pm, I will be hosting my monthly Drinks with Artists gathering at House of Waves in Newport with libations by Little Bitte. This is a great opportunity, particularly for younger and emerging artists, to connect and meet new art friends. As always, if you don’t yet know anyone in attendance, find me and I will introduce you to folks. Please join us in Newport!
Lessons in Clay: NBAM Celebrates Ceramics
For my latest piece on newenglandartnews.com, I reviewed Radical Reinvention, a great ceramics show at New Bedford Art Museum. It will give you a bold new appreciation for what clay can do. On view through May 25.
Art Events in Rhode Island
Steel Yard Open House - Metal, ceramics, and more. May 3 from 11am-4pm.
AAPI History Museum Free Day, with ART - May 3 from 12-3pm.
URI Students Art Talk at Hera Gallery - May 3 at 3pm.
Fiber Show at Art League - Opens May 3 from 5-7pm.
WCFA 50th Anniversary Celebration and Show - May 3 from 6-8pm. (I have two tiny paintings in this exhibition.)
South County Pottery Sale - Buy quality seconds. May 17, 9am - 2pm.
Portrait Drawing Intensive - Focused on art educators for continuing ed. requirements, with Gabrielle Lo Turco this summer. $1,500.
Art Happenings Around New England
Unionization Efforts at SMFA - Support your local art instructors by following their work and supporting their cause, please.
Classes at Fuller Craft Museum - Brockton, MA venue announces educational offerings. Variety of media. Many dates available.
Reception for Elissa Heim at BSU - May 2 (tonight!) from 5-8pm.
Wheaton College Senior Show - Reception May 2 (tonight!) from 4:30-5:30pm.
Ann Agee at Currier in NH - Ceramic sculptures on now thru June 5.
Vesna Longton and Max Reinhard in Attleboro - May 3 - June 8. Art talk on May 4.
Important Sculpture Show in Greenwich, CT - May 8 - June 18 at Flinn Gallery.
Nirmal Raja, Nora Valdez, and Eugene Berg at Boston Sculptors - May 8 -June 8.
Ann Craven in Portland, ME - Paintings on view starting May 14.
Sketchbook Club at MA Farm - Multiple dates.
Special Section: Vermont
Kia Mitchell, [mal]nourish - Reception May 8 from 6-7pm.
Virtual Auction for Burlington City Arts - Continues thru May 9, online.
Vermont Female Famers at UVM - Special photography show thru May 17.
SVAC Juried Members Show - Opens May 16 from 5-7pm. On thru June 15.
Vermont Arts Council - Several organizational grants with May due dates.
Cartoon Scholarships in VT
The Center for Cartoon Studies is offering merit-based scholarships for its summer workshops series. Applications are due by May 8.
Scholarship for RI Student Artists
The Patricia Edwards Scholarship provides $500 for high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who would like additional education. Apply by May 15.
RFP for Design Projects
DownCity Design in Providence is seeking requests for proposals for its student designers to work on projects that are free to institutions. Apply by May 18.
Make an Arts Space More Accessible
Arlington Arts Center in MA seeks new members for its Access Advisory Council. $250 stipend for one year of volunteer service. Apply by May 21.
RISD Museum Residency
RISD Museum is offering a residency for Providence-area artists. It comes with access to museum staff and collections as well as $10,000. Apply by May 31.
Art Jobs
Multiple Posts at Brown’s Center for Women and Gender - Including graphic design and gallery jobs! Apply ASAP.
Sales Consultant at Newport Gallery - Pay not listed. Apply ASAP.
Adjunct Photo Prof at RWU in RI - Pay not listed. Apply ASAP.
Private Collection Research in CT - $20/hr for a student. Apply ASAP.
Art Camp Coordinator in Portland, ME - $20/hr. Apply ASAP.
Registrar at the deCordova - $60-$68k. Apply ASAP.
Registrar at Newport Mansions - $28.85/hr. Apply ASAP.
On Call Educator at RISD Museum - $21/hr. Apply ASAP.
Development and Research at RISD - Two year term. Salary of $57k+. Apply ASAP.
Development at Community Access to the Arts - $100-$125k. Apply by May 9.
Cartoon Teacher in Arlington, MA - $24/hr. Apply by May 9.
Internship Leader in Arlington, MA - $25/hr. Apply by May 9.
Bookkeeper at Milton VT Artists Guild - $25/hr. Apply by May 12.
Furniture Restorer in Newton, MA - $52-$55k. Apply by May 14.
Photo Exhibition Coordinator in MA - $22/hr. Apply by May 15.
One Year Registrar Fellowship at MFA - $52k+. Apply by May 23.
Facilities Manager at Fitchburg Art Museum - $55-$65k. Apply by May 23.
Collections Care at BPL - $89-$116k. Apply by May 30.
Part Time Studio Tech in MA - 16 hrs a week, $23/hr. Apply by May 31.
Part Time Exec. Director in Norwell, MA - $35/hr. Apply by June 22.
Calls for Art in New England
Contemporary Queer in Cambridge - Fees start at $25. Deadline May 4.
Face the Wave in Newport - ArtTalk open call about anxiety. Deadline May 4.
Providence Art Club National - $6,000 in prizes. $35 to apply. Deadline May 8.
The Talent Show in Ipswich, MA - June show. Apply by May 9.
ArtSpace Maynard Show About Resilience - Entry fees $35+. Deadline May 9.
Big Ceramics Show in Vermont - $35 fee. Apply by May 18.
Photo Call in Vermont - $39 to enter. Apply by May 12.
Unfiltered Femininity in Worcester - Show at State University. Apply by May 16.
Show Abstracts in Providence - East Manning Projects seeks art. Due May 16.
Shape of Who We Are at NBAM - $1,500 in prizes. $40 entry fee. Deadline July 11.
Thanks for Reading!
Thanks for perusing this edition of New England Art News. Please email me at michael@michaelrosefineart.com with ideas, tips, etc. You can also follow me on Instagram at michaelrosefineart. You can share and subscribe using the links below:
Wow, this one feels as though you were speaking directly to me. I am reading this on Saturday the 3rd, the sixth anniversary of my own Dad's passing, and have been quite reflective this morning. My father was an avid collector and saver, and I am interested in the how the perceived value of an object changes once the one who valued it is gone. For me, he lives in so many items around my house, but once I am gone, who knows? I laugh at the irony that my paintings of these things then become objects themselves, to be thus considered by another generation. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.