Newest Features
By KAREN SCHIFF Imagine taking a fistful of crayons, wrapping them in a spider’s sac, hanging the sac from an open windowframe, and letting a gentle breeze make the colors repeatedly graze against a paper screen. Artist Laurie Reid – who is based in the San Francisco Bay area, and began showing in Boston soon after her work appeared in the 2000 Whitney Biennial – didn’t do that. But what did she do, with colored pencil, to create the whispering marks that collect on her small pages, fine as light dust? These…
By AISHMAN, MANNING, URBATI & PAUL MIAMI HEAT by JAMES MANNING SIT BACK AND RELAX: AN ABBREVIATED TOUR OF FILM AND VIDEO AT MIAMI BASEL by KATHARINE URBATI THE ART BASEL EXPERIENCE by STEVE AISHMAN THE BASEL BALL by JEREMIAS PAUL New England was well-represented this year at Art Basel and its satellite fairs. Several of our contributors made the trip, and brought back pictures, stories, and video of the wide array of events, artwork and spectacles that were to be found. Choose a link to the right to view Katharine…
By BIG RED It seems to be a New Year’s tradition to include a list of the best or worst of the past year, and we at Big RED & Shiny are happy to oblige. At the end of 2006 we asked a long list of our writers, editors, and supporters to contribute their thoughts. Just for good measure, we also asked a few curators and other smart folks. Below are the results of our completely unscientific, totally biased and somewhat random list of the best and worst from last year. Summary…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will have had nine weeks between Election Day and inauguration to prepare a new administration for their next four years in office. Nine weeks, when considering the length of the administration and 16 years of a different political party running Massachusetts, may seem like a dauntingly short amount of time to appoint a new cabinet and set a four year agenda for the state. To help with the monumental task of transitioning between two administrations, a Transition Committee was formed to make the shift…
By MATTHEW GAMBER N: Hey Gamber, how’s the letter coming? G: Nash, what is the minimum we need to say? Goodbye 53; welcome 54. This issue: A report on the community stakes in creative economy from Christian; reviews from the Artists Foundation, MassArt, and Chase Gallery by some of our newer contributors, including one from photographer Dawoud Bey. Out of Town reports from Philadelphia and France. Beer and Burgers with Denise Marika, the White Cube, and advice from Anonymous Art Dealer round out the issue. N: Don’t you want to address the…
By JOANNE MATTERA After the dozenth, “Sorry we have no rooms,” and an uncomfortable number of, “Sorry we have no rooms in your price range,” I decided to fly to Philadelphia for the day instead of driving down and staying over. The Winged Goddess must have been a kind mood because I found a round trip on US Air for $124—cheaper than the cost of gas. My impetus for making the trip was the Sunday, December 3, opening of the Gigantic Small Works Show at the Rosenfeld Gallery, where I’m participating. The…
By BETH MOSHER What would you do in a small town if the coal mines closed, the bicycle, ribbon and weapons factories shuttered, and there was not much left to do but ride the tram back and forth from one end of town to the other? Most people would pack up and leave, but in Saint Etienne, France, they’ve got more gumption than that. Taking a page from Mickey Rooney’s book, they put on a show. And not just any old show, mind you, but an international design biennale. Originally started by…
By LISA SUTCLIFFE In October I visited Steve Hollinger’s studio at Fort Point and got a preview of the work now on view at Chase Gallery. The work was so mesmerizing that I left eagerly anticipating his show. His studio is like a cabinet of curiosities – antique and found objects line the shelves, and jars, bottles and boxes waiting to contain the precious objects lie scattered about. Hollinger combines these found elements with modern technology in solar powered sculptures that simultaneously juxtapose science and art, and reveal the nostalgia and naïveté…