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November 1, 2009 – January 10, 2010
THE ART OF HEALING
: The Art of Psychotherapists
Curated by Jean Winslow

Artists' Reception: Sunday, November 1, 2-4 PM

One of the venues in a multi-arts project that will take place over a ten week period in Lowell, MA, this is an exhibition by artists who are healers. The goal of the project is to emphasize the arts as a catalyst for growth and healing in the community. It will bring in both local artist/healers and others from the Greater Boston area to initiate creative dialogs between disparate factions of the community. The objectives are to find ways of building bridges and healing rifts that exist across cultural, gender, educational and socio-economic lines, as well as raising awareness of the healing arts. Other venues are: the ALL Arts Gallery, the 119 Gallery, the National Visitor Center Theater, O'Leary Library at UMass Lowell.

Click here for dates and times of related events.


January 17, 2010 to February 21, 2010
EXTINCT!... Endangered Species and Habitats

Artists' Reception: Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 2 – 4 PM (Snow: January 24)

Gallery Slide Talks:
Saturday, January 30 from 2 - 4 PM (Snow: check our website) Details below.

Wildlife Program: Saturday, February 6 at 8:00 AM and at 11:00 AM (Snow: check our website) Details below.

Compelling artworks focus attention on endangered species and their shrinking habitats, in exhibit EXTINCT! and related educational events. EXTINCT! is collaboration by the Brush Gallery & Artists Studios (A Brush With History, Inc.), Lowell and SMFA/School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in partnership with Tufts University.

CURATED BY:
SMFA faculty Erica H. Adams and MFA candidate John Guy Petruzzi

GALLERY SLIDE TALKS: Art Meets Science

Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 2 – 4 PM (Snow: check our website).
Lectures and presentations by:

Acclaimed science writer Deborah Cramer (Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World) For author information and book reviews, click here.

Photographer Constance Sawyer (SMFA student) whose work with scientists at Salton Sea helped to create work in EXTINCT!

Ecologist and bird expert Sabrina Hepburn, an ecologist with TRC Environmental, Lowell, MA

Curators Erica H. Adams (SMFA Faculty) and John Guy Petruzzi (MFA student) will introduce Cramer, Sawyer and Hepburn. 

 

WILDLIFE PROGRAM:
Saturday, February 6, 2010, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust invite you to two events:

  • 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, join them for their 3rd Annual Winter Wildlife Tracking Event (click here for complete information) just inside the entrance to the Lowell Cemetary, off Lawrence Street (across from 1025 Lawrence St). Off-street parking available. Click here for directions.
  • 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, you're invited to meet a variety of native wildlife up close and personal, right at the Brush Gallery and Artists Studios!

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:


Newest of series Art of Nature, EXTINCT! inaugurates the Brush Gallery’s Student Curator program. This captivating exhibit highlights endangered species and their environments. Student Curator John Guy Petruzzi blends Audubon with science fiction for disturbingly beautiful paintings: Widows of the Fen (pictured above), Grallistrix and Xenicus’ Path. Petruzzi was one of nine graduate students chosen to exhibit in Boston The Next Generation III, at Emerson College, 12/2009 - 2/2010. 

Co-curated by SMFA faculty Erica H. Adams and MFA candidate John Guy Petruzzi, EXTINCT!... Endangered Species and Habitats features works in video, painting, animation, large scale drawing and collage by SMFA students: Ani Avanian, Rachel Grobstein, Christine Haag, Louisa Hudson, Vanessa Lee, Shen Shen Luo, Paige Mazurek, John Guy Petruzzi, Irene Pizzolante, Ivette Salom, Constance Sawyer, Sam Schreiber, Emily Somma, Tim Stark, Mark Tang, George Tsalikis and Biying Zhang and SMFA faculty: Erica H. Adams (Painting), Erika Adams (Prints) and Erica Daborn (Drawing). SMFA curators: Erica H. Adams addresses climate change and an economic meltdown in deceptively beautiful paintings and a large-scale collage while John Guy Petruzzi, a 21st century Audubon, questions the decline of bio-diversity and how it reflects upon humanity.

ABOUT THE GALLERY SLIDE TALKS:

Fascinating lecture/presentations blend art and science on Saturday January 30, 2010 from 2-4 pm (Snow: check our website). EXTINCT! speakers are:

  • Acclaimed science writer Deborah Cramer is currently a visiting scholar at MIT’s Earth System Initiative. Her two books, Great Waters: An Atlantic Passage (W.W. Norton 2001) and Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water Our World (2008) are now being adapted for use in schools.  Nobel Prize winner Al Gore wrote of Great Waters, “I urge everyone to read this book, pass on its teachings, and act on its message”.  Cramer's lectured about her writing and the sea on both sides of the Atlantic, at science and maritime museums, major environmental and teachers' organizations and, university degree programs for oceanography and journalism.
  • Photographer Constance Sawyer (SMFA student) worked with scientists at Salton Sea to create her photographs in this exhibit.   
  • Ecologist and bird expert Sabrina Hepburn is an ecologist with TRC Environmental, Lowell, MA.  As a birder and naturalist, she's traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad.  Hepburn studied ecology in Costa Rica and Panama in a graduate program run by the Organization for Tropical Studies and Smithsonian Institute.  Hepburn earned her B.A. in Biology (Dartmouth College) and an M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (University of Michigan).  As a volunteer, she's led nature trips for Brookline Bird Club (MA), New Canaan Nature Center (CT) and  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   
  • Curators Erica H. Adams (SMFA Faculty) and John Guy Petruzzi (MFA student) will introduce Cramer, Sawyer and Hepburn. Adams curated Residue: Reflections on Aging and Mortality (2006) in Boston and writes a column for Fjoezzz quarterly, the Netherlands www.modernglas.nl  Her nationally exhibited art work is in private collections; Polaroid International Collection and, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Website: www.smfa.edu/faculty
    Petruzzi receives his MFA, 2011. Currently, his paintings are in The Next Generation III, an invitational exhibit that honors nine of Boston's graduate students; the exhibit is at at Emerson College through 2/2010. Website: www.johnguypetruzzi.com
The Brush Gallery’s Art of Nature Program is a series of ecologically-themed exhibitions that utilize art to focus attention on the environment, recycling, animal rights, conservation, waste-management and more.

The Brush Gallery’s Student Curator Program provides students from regional art schools and universities with valuable experience planning, curating and organizing exhibitions and related educational events for professional galleries.

Generous support for EXTINCT!  has been provided by the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation, the Nathaniel and Elizabeth P. Stevens Foundation and the Lowell National Historical Park. We are also grateful to the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust for their encouragement and support.

Berkshire Fine Arts Article on EXTINCT!

Lowell Sun Article on EXTINCT!

Acton Beacon Article on EXTINCT!


February 28 to March 27, 2010
VISUAL VOICES IV: Primary Colors

Artists' Reception: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 1 - 3 pm.

Private Preview Party on Friday, March 5, 7-9 PM - A special celebration of Lowell's art teachers and an event to raise much needed funds for art supplies for Lowell's public schools. Click here to purchase tickets on-line.

VISUAL VOICES IV is a multi-gallery, city-wide exhibition featuring artwork by the elementary, middle school and high school students of Lowell and is organized by Brush resident artist and art teacher, Lolita Demers. Three galleries are hosting exhibitions during the VISUAL VOICES IV event:

  • PRIMARY COLORS: Artwork by Lowell’s Elementary School Students
    Brush Gallery & Artists Studios, 256 Market St, Lowell, MA, www.thebrush.org
    Opening Reception: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 1 - 3 PM. Performance: 1:30 PM

  • SECONDARY COLORS: Artwork by Lowell’s Middle School Students
    ALL Arts Gallery, 246 Market St, Lowell, MA, www.artsleagueoflowell.org
    Opening Reception: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 1:45 - 3:45 PM. Performance: 2:00 PM

  • FULL SPECTRUM: Artwork by Lowell’s High School Students
    Whistler House Museum of Art, 243 Worthen St, Lowell, MA, www.whistlerhouse.org
    Opening Reception: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 2 - 4 PM. Performance: 2:30 PM
bouquet
sculpture printmaking
Nelson Lor, Elementary School
Kenneth Hong, Middkle School
Sam M., High School

 

Special thanks to the Greater Lowell Community Foundation and the Lowell Cultural Council for supporting this city-wide kids' art event!


April 4 to June 6, 2010
TEA SWORDS AND STITCHES: A Contemporary Interpretation of Classic Kimono Design

Curated and organized by Cynthia Hughes and Glenn Szegedy

Exhibition Features Displays of Classic Japanese Kimonos, Swords, Embroidery, Netsuke, and Soari Weaving.

Time honored traditional Japanese arts arrive in Lowell with a contemporary twist as twelve regional artists share their unique interpretations of the classic Japanese kimono and accoutrements.

Event times are as follows:

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 10, 2-4 p.m., The Brush will host the opening of Tea, Swords and Stitches.

Netsuke Lecture: Saturday, April 24 2-4 p.m., “Now and Then: Similarities and Differences between Today’s Netsuke and Earlier Netsuke” presented by Jeffrey Klotz, Chairman of the New York International Netsuke

Iaido Sword Demonstration: Saturday, May 1, 2 p.m., presented by Sensei Alex Markauskas

Embroidery and Saori Weaving Demonstrations : Saturday, May 1, 12-4 p.m., presented by the members of the Japanese Embroiderers Guild and Stacey Piwinski

Tea Ceremony : Saturday, May 15, 2 p.m., performed by Kaji Aso Studios from Boston.

“The kimono, at first glance, appears quite simple in design, but, as with most things Japanese, the simplicity is only on the surface,” says co-curator and contributor Glenn Szegedy.  “The exploration of design, construction and style of the kimono and other things Japanese continue to amaze and intrigue.”

This fascinating exhibition is free to the general public and will showcase the delicate techniques of silk thread weaving, silk painting, hand painting, quilting and embellishing fabrics.  Additionally, scheduled special events include demonstrations in iaido sword use, Japanese embroidery, and saori weaving as well as a lecture on netsuke sculpture.

Co-curator Cindy Hughes, who has contributed a piece to the show (shown left), personally selected the individual embroidery pieces from The Merrimack Valley chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America. 

"This work is so incredible," says Hughes. "I am in awe of the beauty and detail that goes into each piece.  These artists have been perfecting this craft for years and it shows."  

Complementing an exhibition of netsuke, which are small, intricate Japanese sculptures, the Brush is proud to welcome Jeffrey Klotz, president of the New York Chapter of the International Netsuke Society. Klotz will present his lecture on this impressive art form which has simple origins in wardrobe functionality.

In conjunction with the display of Japanese swords, iaido sensei Alex Markauskas will demonstrate his mastery of iaido katas, exciting, choreographed swordsmanship.

A traditional Japanese tea ceremony rounds out The Brush's exploration of Japanese art, where guests can see the beautiful kimono donned in this classic context. 

Special thanks to the Lowell Cultural Council for supporting this exhibition and related educational programming.

Part of the Brush's Building Community Through Culture Exhibition Series


June 13 to July 31, 2010
ARTISTS at the BRUSH EXHIBITION


early August to September 12, 2010
ART QUILTS LOWELL 2010


September 19 to October 24, 2010
THE ILLUSTRATED WORD: Children's Book Illustrators


October 31 to December 5, 2010
INTER-GENERATIONAL: Artwork of Three Generations of Women


December 11, 2010 to January 30, 2011
Annual Brush Members Juried Exhibition


Feb 6 to March 13, 2011
PRINT IS A PRINT IS A PRINT: Work by Four Printmakers
(One of the Venues of the 2011 Boston Printmakers Biennial)

Curated by
Kathleen Cammarata

Opening Reception: TBA


March 20 to April 30, 2011
MASSACHUSETTS ARTISTS 2011

Organized by Eileen Byrne
Juror: TBA


May 7 - June 18, 2011
TBA


June 25 - July 30
RESIDENT ARTISTS at the BRUSH EXHIBITION



August 6 - September 10, 2011
ART QUILTS LOWELL 2011


September 17 - October 22, 2011

TBA


October 29 - December 3, 2011

Encaustic Painting

Organized by Gregory Wright

Juried by Nick Capasso, Senior Curator, DeCordova Museum

Reception and other information coming soon.

 


December 10, 2011 - January 28, 2012
Annual Brush Members Juried Exhibition



The Brush Art Gallery & Studios
256 Market St., Lowell, MA 01852
978-459-7819
info@thebrush.org

Click here for directions

HOURS:
Hours:
April 1 to December 31: Tues-Sat 11am-4pm, Sun 12 noon - 4pm
January 1 to March 31: Wed-Sun 12 noon - 4pm