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December 11, 2010 to January 29, 2011
BRUSH GALLERY JURIED MEMBERS' EXHIBITION



Juror: James Veatch, MFA, Chairman, UMass Lowell Art Department

Best in Show Award: $200.00


Organized by Eileen Byrne


Opening Reception: Saturday, December 11, 2 - 4 PM

This year the Brush is collaborating with the New England Sculptors Association (NESA) to host a beautiful 2D and 3D exhibition. See paintings, drawings, pastels, quilts, photography and more. See sculpture in a range of media: bronze, wood, stone, metals and ceramics.

Feb 3 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

Artists' Reception: Saturday, February 26, 1 - 3 pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, March 5th beginning at 1:00

This exhibition is part of a multi-gallery, city-wide event funded by a grant from the Lowell Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Be sure to visit these other participating venues! All artist receptions will be on Saturday, February 26th at the following times:

• Ayer Lofts Gallery, The Encaustic Monotype, Reception: 2 - 4 pm
• Whistler House Museum, Prints from the Permanent Collection, Reception: 3 - 5 pm
• 119 Gallery, Form, Transform, Reception: 4 - 6 pm

The 2011 Boston Printmakers Biennial takes place from February 27 through May 1st. For more information about the 2011 Boston Printmakers Biennial, click here.

The City of Lowell, MA celebrates printmaking in conjunction with the Boston Printmakers Biennial, 2011. Opening on Thursday, February 3rd, four galleries will demonstrate the diverse approaches taken by printmakers in producing their unique work.

The Brush Art Gallery will feature monoprints by Jan Arabas, Kathleen Cammarata, Christiane Corcelle-Lippeveld and Jean Winslow, all Boston Printmakers. Ayers Lofts Gallery will show encaustic monotypes by Barbara Gagel, with an installation, “ Sea of Light”, as the focal point. The Whistler House Museum will show turn of the century prints from their permanent collection. And 119 Gallery will feature etchings and collographs by Michal Truelsen that explore time and presence in geological history. At 6 pm at the 119 Gallery, Michal Truelsen will give a talk on her processes.

On Saturday, March 5th listen to artists as they discuss and demonstrate their work at the participating galleries. At 1 pm Jean Winslow will give a brief overview of printmaking at the Brush Art Gallery and will conduct a tour of two print studios across the courtyard. At 2:30 pm at Ayer Lofts, one block away, Barbara Gagel will give a 30 minute demonstration of making encaustic monotypes on a hot box. Materials used, temperature, techniques, and the playfulness of the medium will be discussed.

Printmaking’s place within contemporary art is given a unique mobility by its evolving response to technological developments. This unfolding history provides the viewer with an exciting range of media -- the traditional and established alongside the modern and dynamic -- collectively reflecting the central place of print in the wider culture.

No longer merely secondary, supplementary or reproductive, print is a vital and vibrant link between the museum and the marketplace, the elite and the everyday. Lowell Celebrates Printmaking is intended to explore some of the new directions in printmaking today, and to show a selection of the many original and innovative works of art that fall within the ever-expanding definition of “print”.

For much of their history fine art prints have been a private art form, designed for connoisseurs and collectors, published in limited editions and hidden away in portfolios. The 20th century saw the development of a more public role for prints, with the adoption of affordable processes such as linocut and lithographs made for public display. Even so, printmaking was rarely an artist's main focus. Instead it tended to be a peripheral activity, secondary to painting or sculpture. This changed in the 1960s and '70s when artists began to fully explore the potential of printmaking, placing the medium, arguably for the first time, alongside sculpture and painting as a primary means of expression. From the cutting-edge experiments of the 1960s, printmaking has developed in many new directions.

New technologies have been swiftly adopted for printmaking, and traditional techniques have been supplanted, modified (and sometimes facilitated) by the photocopier, the fax, and the inkjet printer attached to a PC or Mac. At the same time, some artists have continued to explore the untapped potential of more traditional methods, whether it be printing on surfaces other than paper, by working on an unprecedented scale, or simply by working in a way which expands the definitions of “print”. The rise of new media, viewed by some as a threat to the future of printmaking, has simply extended the choice and capacity of this exciting and vibrant medium.

March 20 to April 30, 2011
MASSACHUSETTS ARTISTS 2011: Contemporary Work by the Artists of Massachusetts

Artists' Reception: April 3 , 2 - 4 pm.

Juror: Jen Mergel (Robert L. Beal, Enid L. Beal and Bruce A. Beal Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Organized by Eileen Byrne

Lowell is, and continues to become, a major, inviting destination for artists. The Brush Art Gallery is pleased to be able to showcase artists from all over the state of Massachusetts. Thirty two artists will be represented by a diverse range of work including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, mixed media and sculpture. Artists selected for the exhibition are: Aparna Agrawal (Cambridge), Lizi Brown (Jamaica Plain), Katharina Chapuis (Boston), Ann Christensen (Chelmsford), Betsy J. Constantine (Carlisle), Sara Fine-Wilson (Millbury), Luba Shapiro Grenader (Marblehead), Joanne E. Holtje (Hubbardston), Vanessa Irzyk (Jamaica Plain), Lynne Johnson (Bolton), Gail Urbowicz Joseph (Leominster),Linda Pearlman Karlsberg (Newton), Yanick Lapuh (Brookline), Bénédicte Lassalle (Boston), Anita Loomis (Webster), Denise Manseau (North Billerica), Rose Olson (Beverly), Iris Osterman (Lincoln), Peter Pizzi (East Boston), Beverly Rippel (South Easton), Carol Rissman (Bedford), Rebecca Roberts (Newton), Sally Russell (Groton), SAND T (Boston), Emily Sandagata (Worcester), Rhonda Smith (Cambridge), Greg Spitzer (Lincoln), Michael Van Winkle (Easthampton), Joe Wallace (Carlisle), Ellen Wetmore (Fitchburg), Gregory Wright (Lowell), Therese Zemlin (Andover).
 

This exhibition has been funded in part by the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation, the Stevens Foundation and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation. Additional support provided by the National Historical Park, Lowell.

May 7 - June 18, 2011
FOR THE BIRDS
(Part of the Art of Nature Exhibition Series)

Juror: David Allen Sibley; well-known author, illustrator and ornithologist

Organized by Eileen Byrne

Artists' Reception: May 14, 2011, 2 - 4 pm

A collaboration with the Massachusetts Audubon Society to focus attention on birds and their habitats and to raise funds for the volunteers who care for injured birds until they are able to be returned to the wild.

An exhibition in the series Art of Nature.

Click here to read about David Allen Sibley and his books.

Educational Programming:
The following talks and lectures are being planned in conjunction with the exhibition; more details will be posted when available:

• Birdwatching Walk with the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Saturday, May 14, 7 - 9 am. You’ll explore the Lowell Cemetery and the Concord River Greenway Park. Meet at the Lowell Cemetery entrance off Lawrence St. and bring binoculars. Please RSVP to jcalvin@lowelllandtrust.org so we have an accurate count! 
• Presentation by Massachusetts Audubon Society of live, wild native birds from Drumlin Farm, Sunday, June 5, noon to 2 pm.
• Bird rehabilitation presentation and slide show by Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of America, Sunday, June 5, 2 - 4 pm.
• Making Birdhouses with David McKay, June 18, time 11 - 4 pm. Three workshops; admission and materials free, but reservations absolutely required. Click here to reserve your spot.
  

This exhibition is one of a series of exhibitions and educational programming entitled The Art of Nature, which has been funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. We also thank the Stevens Foundation, the Parker Foundation and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation for their support.

We are grateful for the support of this exhibition by the Merrimack Journal.

June 25 - August 6, 2011

13 Points of View
An Exhibition of work by the ARTISTs at the Brush Gallery and Studios  

Opening Reception:  Thursday, June 30, 2011  5 - 8 PM 

Click here for pictures at the reception.

This exhibition provides a showcase for the thirteen juried artists who maintain studios at the Brush Art Gallery and Studios and includes a wide spectrum of media and artistic expression.  See painting, photography, pastels, ceramics, glass, fiber, illustration, mixed media and more. Celebrate the diversity of our “13 points of view”.  This year's annual show reflects the diverse focus, perceptions, styles, and techniques embodied in the work of these artists. They share the common goal of nurturing and furthering the public's experience of art. With their own “points of view”, they enhance the mission of the gallery and studios through daily outreach to visitors.

August 11 - September 10, 2011

ART QUILTS LOWELL 2011: The Sea
An exhibition of the finest art quilts in Canada and the United States. This year the theme is "The Sea".

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 13, 3 - 5 pm, during the Lowell Quilt Festival.

Juror: Gerald Roy, Member, Executive Board, National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY; Chair, Acquisitions Committee; Member, of National Advisory Board, Administrator, Quilt Appraisal Certification Program - American Quilters Society, Paducah, KY; Acquisitions Board: New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA.

Today, quilts are finally overcoming their old-fashioned reputation. Once perceived as blocklike, follow-the-rules fabric sandwiches, contemporary art quilts — with the emphasis on art — break the conventional code.

The quilt artist seeks to innovate by applying art principles and art experience from other areas like drawing, painting, and sculpting as well as working with the tactile richness of fabric and adding the textures of quilting stitches.

As defined by The Art Quilt Association, "The contemporary art quilt is an original exploration of a concept rather than a traditional pattern. It experiments with textile manipulation, color, texture and a diversity of mixed media." 

The concept for this year's Art Quilts Lowell at the Brush Gallery in Lowell is The Sea and there is a remarkable breadth of interpretation and media by 31 artists from all over the US and Canada.

This Year's Artists

RELATED EVENTS:

Gallery Night: Friday, August 12, 5:00 - 8:00 PM. Visit the galleries, get a sneak peak at all our quilt exhibitions and have some light refreshments.

Trunk Show! Friday, August 12, 5:00 - 8:00 and Saturday, August 13 from 11:00 to 5:00. Kyoto Kimono of New York will be on site with a trunk show offering a selection of full kimono garments – robes, jackets, obi sashes – as well as vintage kimono textiles and gift items created from them. Silks, cottons, and blends; shibori, ikat, and brocades; by the bundle, packet or piece, with inspiration in every one. Nancy will be on hand from 3pm to discuss Japanese textiles and answer questions. Preview the goods on her website, www.kyotokimono.com.

Quilt Candy: Saturday, August 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. An outdoor, tented event featuring a full range of needlecrafts, fiber art, knitted, woven and felted items, embroidery, embellishments, and all manner of creative cloth! It will be held in the shaded, brick-lined courtyard located between the National Historical Park Visitor Center, the Brush Art Gallery and Studios and Lowell Telecommunications Corporate in the heart of Lowell's arts district.

The Lowell Quilt Festival: These and other events and exhibitions are part of the Lowell Quilt Festival. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.lowellquiltfestival.org

September 17 - October 22, 2011

ONCE AND FOR A.L.L.: Exhibition by the artist members of the Arts League of Lowell (A.L.L.)

Exhibition Opening: September 17, 2 - 4 pm.

Jurors: Art Collectors William Reedy and Darren End

BodyScape 35 by Bob Stegmaier

See this exhibition during Lowell Open Studios, October 1 and 2, 2011.

Click here to see pictures from the reception.

October 29 - December 3, 2011
POLLINATION
Beyond the Garden: Eleven Artists Interpret Pollination
(Part of the Art of Nature Exhibition Series)
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 6, 2-4 pm

Curated and organized by Gregory Wright. (Please see Gregory's work by clicking here)

Pollination is the expression of twelve artists working in the beeswax-based medium of encaustic. Each artist’s personal viewpoint, be it scientific, socio-political or metaphoric, is an exploration of the various interpretations of pollination. The artists in the exhibition include: Kim Bernard, Binnie Birstein, Milisa Galazzi, Lynette Haggard, Sue Katz, Nancy Natale, Toby Sisson, Donna Hamil Talman, Laura Tyler, Kellie Weeks and Gregory Wright. Each artist is regionally and nationally recognized and works primarily in encaustic.

Sunday, November 6, 2-4 pm - Opening Reception

Educational Programming:
The following talks and lectures are being planned in conjunction with the exhibition:

Saturday, November 12, 2-4 pm: Artists' Talks/Presentations, including a demonstration of encaustic painting techniques and a presentation on the history of this ancient medium

Saturday, November 19, 12-4 pm: Screening of the film, Sister Bee and a talk presented by Norfolk County Beekeepers. Laura Tyler, beekeeper, filmmaker and artist presents Sister Bee, a lyrical documentary about six beekeepers who find beauty and wonderment in their work with honeybees. The film follows the arc of the beekeeping year beginning with spring queens and ending with the fall honey harvest. Beekeeping is more than a hobby for the beekeepers of Sister Bee. It’s a source of laughter, learning and connecting with the natural world. Laura will screen and speak about her wonderful film. (Click here for more information on this film)

Tony Lulek, president of the Norfolk County Beekeepers Association of Massachusetts, will speak on Colony Collapse Disorder and other environmental issues concerning the importance of bees to our ecology and economy. (Click here for more information on this organization)

Gregory Wright, curator and organizer of this exhibition, is an artist working in the medium of encaustic. To see his work, please click here. To read more about Gregory and to learn about and see samples of work by some of the artists who will be participating in Pollination, please click here.

This exhibition is one of a series of exhibitions and educational programs entitled The Art of Nature. It has been generously funded bythe Lowell Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, the Stevens Foundation, the Parker Foundation and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation.

December 10, 2011 - January 21, 2012
ANNUAL JURIED BRUSH MEMBERS' SHOW

An exhibition by members of the Brush Art Gallery and the New England Sculptors Association. Sculpture and two-dimensional media greatly enhance one another in and exhibition, and this is one of the few shows in the region featuring both.

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 10, 2 - 4 pm

Jurors: Art Collectors Jack Moynihan and Martha Mayo

Two Prizes: One for two-dimensional media and one for three-dimensional/sculture. Awarded at 3:00 on Saturday, December 10.

Three Dancers by Fielding Brown

Participating Artists: