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Gallery Hours: Mon–Sat 10–4, Sun 12–4
April 7– May 21, 2006
White, Black and Shades of Gray – National Juried Show
Juror: Lisa Tung—Lisa Tung is the Exhibitions Curator and Director of the Visiting Artists Program at MassArt. She has curated numerous exhibitions including Anne Wilson: Unfoldings,Wonderland and Earthly Delights, which was named 2004’s Best Group Show in a University Gallery by the Association of International Art Critics. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in art history and is currently working on Shintaro Miyake: The Beaver Project, which opened February 7, 2006.
Apr 7 OPENING RECEPTION, 6–8pm
  
Gombert, Flagbearer |
Boatright,Untitled #5 |
Johnson, Planet |
Charles Birnbaum > Ryan Boatright > Judith Braun > Jason Clark > Lisa Costanzo > Veronica Day > Sarah Doremus > Brian Evans > Carol Goldman > Carl Gombert > Carolyn Cohen Harper > Joyce Haut > Jeff Jacobs > Teresa Johnson > Lance Keimig > Paul Kline > Wade Kramm > Katy Locke > Lara Loutrel > Leah Lundberg > Elizabeth Mesa-Gaido > Tudor Mitroi > Leo Murphy > Steve Nelson > Jared Nielsen > Mary O’Malley > Peter Pizzi > Robert Pyle > A. M. Rousseau > Glen Scheffer > Nancy Scull > Craig Stockwell > John S. Tilney, Jr. > Margi Weir
Juror Statement from Lisa Tung
Black, White and Shades of Gray is a biennial invitational organized by the South Shore Art Center. By inviting a different curator from the New England region to jury each exhibition, the SSAC is able to proffer varied curatorial visions and artistic viewpoints. The broad theme yields a large body of work without putting too many constraints on the artist. This year, there were 342 artists from all over the world, including the US, Great Britain, Australia and Puerto Rico. Work ranged from abstract gestural line drawings and monoprints to pen and ink still-lifes and charcoal nudes to paper cut-outs and site-specific sculptural “growths” to silver gelatin industrial landscape prints.
Looking through almost twelve hundred slides, I searched for fresh standout work that would also be relevant to the contemporary dialogue at large. I chose three works from each of the three prize winners and two works from those receiving awards of merit for exhibition. One trait these seven artists shared was that they submitted a well-edited sampling of their work. They chose a consistent body of work that translated their vision in slides or jpegs and thus allowed me to gain a sense of what issues they were exploring, in what they were currently interested and most importantly, that one “good” piece was not an accident. Each entry was strong, purposeful and contributed to the particular artist’s oeuvre. The 27 other artists round out the exhibition with very interesting and sometimes challenging work. Narrative, landscape, portraiture, metamorphosis, beauty and whimsy all have a place among this year’s inclusions.
Below are some of my thoughts about the winners’ work.
Lisa Costanzo’s delicately rendered “self-portraits” of dandies and swashbucklers bring to mind the deft drawings of Goya and Daumier while sharing their predilection for social commentary. Gender stereotypes, drag-kings and role-playing, anyone? Recalling cross-dressing Shakespearean heroines, Mulan and George Sand, Costanzo’s drawings are exquisite regardless of era.
Mysterious abstracted rooflines are the subjects of the pigmented inkjet prints by Ryan Boatright. These isolated landscapes invite narratives of ancient pyramids, film noir frames or California horizons a là Ed Ruscha. The viewer’s perspective is tested and stimulated as our minds and eyes fill in the gaps.
Micro/macroscopic studies of flora, cellular diagrams, Dutch lace or wedding cake frosting patterns are all possible in Mary O’Malley’s intricate designs. Other-worldly, vast and elaborate, O’Malley’s topography is decorative, ephemeral and ever-growing.
Lisa Tung
Juror, Black, White and Shades of Gray
Exhibitions Curator, Massachusetts College of Art
DILLON GALLERY: Gallery Artists – Icon Show
CROSSEN STUDENT GALLERY: Barbara Gifford
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