At the risk of turning into a Portlandia cliché, I’m really fond of birds’ nests as a decorative motif. Exhibit A: this ring, purchased at a shop in, ahem, Portland (Maine, not Oregon). The symbolism may be heavy-handed, but nests do make me feel happy and cozy. Fortunately, the marketplace agrees with me. Any vaguely […]
portland
Back on February 2, artist Kim Bernard of North Berwick, Maine, noted on her blog that seeing Alexander Calder’s Circus at the Whitney Museum of Art was a highlight of her recent trip to New York City. “I could see this every day and never grow tired of it, especially the video and Calder […]
An enduring symbol of the North Woods faces threats from technology and a new generation that values efficiency over tradition..
Currently and coincidently, both the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, and the Portland Museum of Art in Maine are opening major photography exhibitions this weekend. The Currier is filling two large galleries with a show of 125 modernist photographs from its own collection. The Portland Museum of Art is showing a selection […]
Magazine
DeCordova’s Boston Biennial
Back in 1987, the then-DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park in Lincoln, Massachusetts, mounted New England Now: Contemporary Art from Six States, a truly authoritative regional survey of the sort that New England needs. The DeCordova became the New England regional hub for new art under curator Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, but, now renamed DeCordova […]
Looking for a museum that appeals to kids and adults alike? Perhaps you long to tour the unusual? These museums offer entertainment in the form of vintage toys, an 8-foot tall Bigfoot, classic Pac Man, and all kinds of creepy crawlies. We think they bring new meaning to the term “edu-tainment,” and make great school […]
When John Marin: Modernism at Midcentury moves from the Portland Museum of Art to the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, for its January 28 to March 18 run, the landmark Marin show will be complemented by Land, Sea, and Sky: Contemporary Art in Maine, an exhibition of recent […]
For outdoor adventure or indoor comfort, get ready to lose yourself in the beautiful towns and mountains of western Maine.
Magazine
My Favorite Art Books
Tyler Green, the eminently informed and informative writer behind the art blog Modern Art Notes, posted his list of the top art books of 2011 on his November 28 blog I was pleased to see that one of Green’s selections is John Marin: Modernism at Midcentury by Debra Bricker Balken, the catalogue for the […]
Magazine
The Privilege of Studio Visits
Amidst the busyness of the holidays, I confess that I neglected to visit a museum or gallery to feature this Thanksgiving week. But then that reminded me that museums and galleries aren’t necessarily the best places to see contemporary art. Like curators, collectors, critics and artists all over the world, I much […]
If you live within a two hour drive of Portland Museum of Art and have not yet seen Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection (through February 5, 2012), I strongly urge you to do so. But before you do, it might help to get in the proper frame of mind. Take a […]
Food
A Weekend Food Tour
It was so wonderful to be back at Cider Days in western Massachusetts this past weekend. This festival of apples and apple cider (hard and sweet) has become a touchstone. I only wish I could’ve stayed longer! Here’s a shot of me demonstrating how to make cornbread dressing with sausage and apples, courtesy of my […]