Flock Together

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Donna Dodson: Flock Together
January 4 - February 5, 2012

Opening reception: Friday January 6, 5 – 8 pm
Gallery Talk: Saturday January 21, 3 – 5 pm
Closing Reception: Friday February 3, 5 – 8 pm
Gallery hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 12 pm – 6 pm

Boston, MA: Boston Sculptors Gallery is pleased to announce ‘Flock Together:’ Donna Dodson’s second solo exhibition of her iconic wood sculptures. This show presents sixteen different interpretations of a bird-headed female form.

In this series, Dodson is exploring the idea that similar types of people choose to congregate with other like-minded souls, even if the similarities are beneath the skin, feather or breed, and not immediately apparent or obvious to the viewer. This series started with Cardinal, as if women could hold high office in the Catholic Church. Further imaginings led to the creation of Little Red Riding Hood, who is anything but little; White Stork, who is carrying a baby in her tummy instead of her beak; and Culture Vulture, who is highly cultured, deeply ravenous and hollow- lurking on the edges of culture to fill up.

The history of bird-headed female figures is as ancient as the goddess herself. Oftentimes, the animal human hybrid is meant to represent the stages of life, birth, marriage and death. Are Dodson’s figures representations of the stages in a woman’s life: birth, childhood, loss of innocence, mating, maturity, motherhood, old age, and death? Or do her figures allude to subtler stages of psychological growth and maturation, i.e. paradigm shifts in consciousness: the Little Match Girl - tending to the fire within, Red Tail Hawk, a school marm - for whom nothing escapes her watchful eye, or Bantam Babe- who is dominant as only a grandmother or matriarch of a family can be.

In general, Dodson likes taking on a negative stereotype like ‘Mother Hen’ and inverting the meaning of the image or misconception to shine new light on the truth or deeper meaning of perceived reality. Included in the exhibition are the artist’s color and compositional studies in watercolor, pencil and ink. These inhabit a psychological space, rather than the physical space of her sculptures, and are quick studies that demonstrate further possibilities of Dodson’s ideas. Fluttering about the gallery, they offer a vivid contrast to the central formation of the flock.

Flock Together' will be shown concurrently with 'Avian Language' by Andy Moerlein.

Update: Artscope magazine featured Flock Together and Avian language in its recent email blast, and on its blog. Boston Globe's, Global Business Hub featured an article on the global reach of the local arts community, with a focus on my experiences.

Image: Culture Vulture II, 40″ wood, paint 2011

Art Open House at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center

The MCCA Art Program began in 2005, just one year after the grand opening of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). Over the last three years, they have developed a well-rounded art program that embraces the creative talents of Massachusetts’ artists – from experienced art professionals to emerging young artists honing their craft at art organizations, high schools and colleges. Their exhibition schedule changes frequently in order to fully tap into the artistic resources available here in the Commonwealth. They are very proud to offer a rotating schedule of contemporary art exhibitions, each thoughtfully designed to engage viewers from all walks of life.

Donna Dodson: Elephant Parade will be on view from December 2011-December 2012. Through the elephant-headed female figures that emerge from ash, pine and maple, Dodson appropriates for womankind the creature that has long been an incarnation of power and wisdom. The twelve elephants in the parade also reflect the animal's family group in the wild: females travel together in herds while males live alone. Donna uses a female elephant- headed goddess figure in her work to create a dozen formal iterations of this piece that explore female figureheads, and women as symbols of power such as a female Uncle Sam/Madam President, Indira Gandhi, Madame Chiang Kai Shek and Iron Lady/Margaret Thatcher.

The Hindu elephant god Ganesh inspires her work but all of the elephants are female. Studies of African sculptures and Native American totems inform Dodson’s figures. In the process of carving, the ears are developed realistically but as the form develops, they are transformed into headdresses, helmets and hair-dos. These monolithic and serene sculptures are enhanced by the use of paint whereby color transforms wood sections into objects such as tusks, gloves and hair. Dodson is inspired by Jessica Stockholder’s interplay of color and form in her art work as well as Cynthia Moss’s field studies of African elephants.

She uses logs of osage orange from her grandfather’s farm in Illinois, and ash, pine, and maple from New England. Each piece of wood speaks to Dodson in a different voice. She sculpts with a chainsaw and a belt sander as well as chisels, rasps, and files. The wood’s surfaces are smoothed out with sandpaper, colored with paint or pigment and finished in varnish and wax. Dodson’s pieces range from one to four feet tall, and one to two feet in diameter. These iconic goddesses are crafted in the manner of fine woodworking similar to the sculptures of Brancusi, Moore, and Puryear. They are unique objects and each piece has a magical presence.

Update(s): Check out this video preview of the work. Thank you, Susan Merritt, for putting together this fabulous exhibit of art for the City of Boston to enjoy all year long! There is a featured write up of the exhibition on the Advantage Boston blog. Check out the listing for this show on the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau calendar.

Image: Prom Queen, 31" tall, poplar, paint, 2009 by Donna Dodson

Working on my Artist Statement and Other News...

What do I believe about my artwork? My sculptures are heroic but interconnected. Not one is above the virtue of another. Each one is honored to be in the company of the others. They are all made greater by their association yet each one is an individual of their own.

What do I believe my artwork is about? Self expression. Autobiography. Self redemption. That I dare to evoke self hatred and indulge it, act it out, embody it, project it onto a form, in the female body, exorcise it from my body and my mind, and understand it, transform it, gain power over it, and myself in the process. Also to gain a skill that is marketable, is to redeem myself from poverty and to free myself of having to marry, or be dependent on a husband or partner for money. A platform of the self to stand upon. Self made woman.

Are my process and the finished sculptures the same thing?

Through the abstracted language of animal headed goddess figures. Human/animal. A believable fiction. A willful suspension of disbelief. Animals that talk, walk, wear clothes. A celebration of the goddess within. Her Entity. Divinity. Hybrid. Anthropomorphic. Make believe Iconography. In my church as a kid growing up, there were no icons or visual representations of women, or the divinity that was female. Not an animal mask on a human body, not a human head on an animal body, but the animal mind in the human body, and the line between logic and instinct, intellect and emotion, reason and intuition.

In the creation of my work, I feel it’s necessary to evoke a strong feeling about each piece that leads me to the point of daring to fulfill my vision, taking risks, listening to the piece, making mistakes, in the creation or completion. It’s the emotional investment in the reality of creating a sculpture that crystallizes the piece for me.

Sometimes I think up an idea, or a concept, and I imagine what the piece would be to go with that idea. But more often, I work from my intuition in the studio and once it’s completed, I can look and see the intentions behind the piece, or the desire from which it is born.

Feminist? Self-loving. Where does the animal in the body begin and end? How does the animal in the body express itself? Its appetites? Its vanity? Its social status? Its playfulness? Its survival? Its mind?

How can we imagine women as cardinals? Women as presidents? Women in power? Are they grand old gals? Grand dames? Larger than life? The girl next door? Fag hag? Gal pal? Working girl? Housewife? Mom? Matron? Matriarch? Vampire? Victim? Self-righteous? Pious? Slut? Whore? Good girl? Sex goddess? Power monger? Above it all? Breezy? Bare? Raw? Polished? Holier than thou?

How do girls become women? Mother, daughter, grandmother? Maiden, mother, crone? Fairy tales: Little red riding hood, little match girl, red wing black bird, tiger mom, white stork, bantam babe, dancing crane, seagull Cinderella, culture vultures, red tail hawks, brown pelicans, wood peckers, secretaries, nurses, teachers. Strength in numbers.

I've followed Jungians more than Freudians on psychoanalysis because the Jungians seemed more transcendent or spiritual, i.e. Nor Hall, The Moon and the Virgin and Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women who run with the wolves. In their writing they talk about female archetypes. The idea of the story that paints characters with words, that form pictures in our minds eye. The story that has a message, a meaning, a teaching, an allegory, an illusion that is open to interpretation in the imagination. I want my work to do the same thing. Enchantment. Not a literal meaning or symbol of a doctrine. Anime. Cartoons. New stories. Patterns. Stereotypes inverted. Robert Graves, The White Goddess. Encoded. Encrypted.

The Hindu elephant god Ganesh [remover of obstacles] inspired my last body of work but all of my figures were female. They took the form of a tribe, just as they organize themselves in the wild. The matriarchs lead and circle around the younger females. These were not literal studies of Ganesh- but original artworks from my imagination and each one was unique. What if Ganesh were female? The founder of the Shaker movement, Mother Anne believed all things have a male and female, manifestation. She believed she was the female incarnate of Christ, yet they remained a celibate community.

My studies of African sculptures and Native American totems inform my elephants. The idea that Native Americans teach kids about the wild by hunting, to respect the power and danger of an animal, where as American kids learn about animals through pets, stuffed animals and cartoon characters. Family Clan. Masks. Rituals. Stories. Tribal. Primitive. Animism. Animated. Performance. Dance.

I’m interested in the interplay of color and form. Especially Jessica Stockholder’s work where color is a transformational visual device, changing the way we see form. I’m interested in personality type and body language. Character and sexuality. Beauty and sensuality. I like Katharina Fritsch’s sculptures. Sacred figures are turned into pop icons with the use of color.

Look for my work in these upcoming exhibits...

Knight&Hammer Flat elephant jewelry collection at Daniela Corte 211 Newbury Street in Boston. 1⁄2” elephant links inspired by sculptor Donna Dodson's work.18K yellow gold over bronze bracelet, necklace and earrings from The GTAEF (Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation) Collection. Part of the Knight&Hammer's Jewelry with a ConscienceTM that is premiering November 17th.

Photos courtesy of Boldfacers.com.

THANKSGIVING SILENT ART AUCTION, Gallery Ehva, 74 Shankpainter Rd, Provincetown, MA
Preview opening and start of bidding - Friday, Nov 18, 6-8pm
Preview will continue all week, till Sat. Nov 26, Noon-2pm
Closing Party: Saturday, November 26, 4pm - 6pm ---> Wine, Music, Food!

Artful Giving for the Holiday: Paintings, Pottery, Jewelry & Sculpture
Now through December 24th at The Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, 236 Hopkinton Road, Concord, NH 03301
Open House: Saturday, December 3rd 11-3 during ART CONCORD

Sculpture Scoop III - November 9 -13, 2011

Boston Sculptors Gallery presents Sculpture Scoop, a sale of sculpture, drawings and jewelry by all 36 gallery members. Scoop-up amazing artwork for under $500! Join us for the Opening Reception: November 8, 6-8 pm

This is a unique opportunity to own art created by some of the Boston areaʼs premier sculptors. Find a gift for the art lover in your life or begin your own sculpture collection.

Small Works. Big Deals

International Artist Residencies and Symposia: A Panel Discussion

Saturday October 15th, 2011, 2-4pm
The Derryfield School’s Lyceum
2108 River Road
Manchester NH 03304 USA

Individual artists with international experiences will share images of their work and discuss the experience of living in a unique environment and creating work in situ in a foreign country. Directors of International programs will introduce their programs and philosophic goals.

Moderator:

Mary Sherman is the Director of TransCultural Exchange, an organization dedicated to promoting international art and the understanding of world cultures. Besides her work as an advocate of international creative dialogue, Mary Sherman is an artist and critic. She has participated in residencies in Romania, China, Korea, Chicago and was recently a guest artist at PROGR in Bern, Switzerland. Ms Sherman was an Artist in Residence of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, Cambridge MA.

Panelists:

Laura Baring-Gould, sculptor/installation artist. With extensive travel and work experience in various international settings (Mexico, Ireland, Southeast Asia), Baring-Gould received a 2008 Fulbright grant for artistic investigations in bronze and bamboo in Thailand. From 2006 - 2010 Baring-Gould lived and worked in Thailand creating public art commissions. Her presentation will focus on observations of how art and art-making are differently practiced and culturally valued, and the opportunities present in meaningful global interaction.

Sculptor Rosalyn Driscoll just completed a summer artist's residency at Space, a program supported by Dartington Hall Trust, in Devon, UK. Her sculptures explore the sense of touch and the experience of the body. Driscoll’s engagement with touch and perception has led to her participating worldwide at conferences for neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, engineers, philosophers, designers, art historians, artists, and people working with disabilities. Her work has been exhibited in the US, Europe and Japan. Ms. Driscoll has received awards from the New England Foundation for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico.

Robert Markey is a painter, sculptor and multimedia artist. He has been traveling to Brazil and Cambodia for a number of years to work with disadvantaged kids creating mosaic murals. He is committed to purposeful community arts investment.

Batu Siharulidze, Associate Professor at BU and Director of the Graduate Sculpture program. He has a long resume of international residencies in China, India, Turkey, Great Britain, USA, the Netherlands and Georgia.

Kiki Thompson has exhibited in New Zealand, Switzerland, New York, California and London. Ms. Thompson is Co-founder of the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency and was a participating artist in its first edition in 2011. She lives and works in Verbier, Switzerland.

John Weidman is the Director of the Andres Institute of Art (the site of an annual International Stone Symposia) as well as Director of the Nashua NH Sculpture Symposium. Besides his responsibilities as a Symposia Director, John is an internationally known sculptor who has participated in two or more international residencies/symposia annually for over a decade.

Event Hosts:

Donna Dodson graduated cum laude from Wellesley College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts. Since 2000, Dodson has been honored with solo shows nationwide for her wood sculptures. Dodson enjoys public speaking, and has been a guest speaker in conferences, panels and forums at museums and universities in North America . She is a member of the Wellesley College Friends of Art and She won a George Sugarman Foundation Grant in 2007. In 2011 she participated in the Verbier 3D Foundation's Artist Residency and Sculpture Park in the Swiss Alps where she created monumental outdoor sculpture.

Andy Moerlein has an extensive resume of public art works. His work has been shown in museums, sculpture gardens, and galleries from Alaska to New York. In 2011 he participated in the Verbier 3D foundation's Artist Residency and Sculpture Park in the Swiss Alps.

Mr. Moerlein has been an arts advocate, educator, and professional juror for over 30 years. He has been a teacher and gallery director at the Derryfield School in Manchester NH for 15 years. Moerlein holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MFA from Cornell University. He lives in Bow, NH.

A summary by Donna Dodson from the International Art Residencies and Symposia panel discussion

Mary Sherman set the stage with the history of US residencies. They were designed to promote national agendas in contrast to what they have become, a forum for raising awareness of being a citizen in the world. She gained the perspective of being one among many and an awareness of how other nationalities have conversations with and about Americans. It changed her knowledge of art history to be a part of it in a global sense versus a national sense.

Batu made the point that sharing tools and learning new things from his peers was the part of the symposia that he looked forward to the most. As a teacher, he is energized from the experience of participating in symposia with peers from all over the world and building life long friendships. He also noted the importance of flattening the hierarchy of teacher/student through travel, exchange and sharing. These values are fundamental to his art making practice.

Donna Dodson went to Switzerland with the idea that she wanted to make a pregnant stork figure. The piece was developed in conversation with Kiki Thompson, a resident of Verbier, to celebrate the recent baby boom in town. She planned to use her vocabulary on a larger scale, but in a site specific way to the Alps. The piece changed in conversation with Paul Goodwin, curator to Tate Britain, who challenged her to take a bold risk with the placement of the piece, and not face it to the tourists, but perch it on the precipice of the valley, about to take wing.

Robert Markey described his public art and mural work in Brazil and Cambodia. As an external agent to a community, he is able to re-shape the relationships of street youth to police, and to demonstrate their value to the community. He teaches mural making and drawing skills, and in the process gets a community excited about art. By working internationally, he is able to reach a broader audience through his artwork than through temporary or gallery exhibits, and his art can have an impact beyond his local community in Mass. He brings back a global awareness to his studio practice, for example human trafficking, which is the subject of his recent work.

Roz Driscoll responded to the shape of the rivers, trees, and Greek architecture to create site specific work in residence in England at the Crypt Gallery. She described the process of leaving behind her studio, tools and materials, and making a creative leap, or taking an artistic risk she needed to in order to grow in her work. She brought nothing but she had everything with her, i.e. her experiences, knowledge and collaborative relationships to make new artwork.

John Weidman said as a director of an international symposium he wants artists to come empty, to experience the place, and to create from the heart. He doesn’t want artists to come with a proposal or pre-conceived notion of a piece. In his own work, he often re-visits narratives or themes, but crafts his work in site specific materials, referencing the past, present, future.

Kiki Thompson emphasized three points, Art Culture and Education. 3D foundation brought in a curator at the beginning and the end of the residency to shape the dialogue and conversation. They offered classes to the children in the community to de-mystify the art making process. They brought the artists to Art Basel which pushed her to make a creative leap with her piece, Samsara, or life cycle. She chose to make it black b/c she was responding to the black pieces at the fair the most. Life cycle celebrates birth and death, as a parallel to the seasons of nature.

For Andy Moerlein going to Switzerland and being in the Alps was like coming home to the mountains of Alaska. The people who loved the mountains loved his work the most. For Andy, there was a sharing of himself through his art and an understanding by the residents of Verbier that took place and transcended language. Art bridged the communication gap where meaning and an exchange of value, took place, he gave them art, and they gave him their appreciation.

Laura Baring-Gould described her experiences in Thailand. It changed her perspective of globalization where the stereotype was cheap goods are made in a poor country and consumed by a rich country. As an artist, a maker, and a story teller, Laura is using art to teach Americans about their history, and the Thai people are helping her with their casting techniques, ancient traditions, spiritual practices. They became real to one another, beyond the stereotypes of rich Americans who point at what they want done to working peers in the studio and poor Thai people lacking modern technology to people who are rich in the knowledge of their history, and who have the connectedness of art and culture as the fabric of their lives.

We heard people say that the dialogue would empower the young people in the audience to try out their own ideas in the world. We hope our experiences would encourage the students to take advantage of opportunities to travel abroad and learn from their experiences by reflection and peer dialogue. All of the presenters shared an idea that they wanted to put into place with the help of other people and resources in the community. That’s how we make things happen.


Thank you very much to our EVENT Hosts and SPONSORS:
The Derryfield School & Swissnex Consulate of Switzerland

In conjunction with this Panel Discussion will be an exhibit: HIGH ALTITUDE SCULPTURE - A RESIDENCY in the Lyceum Gallery. Artists will present photographs, drawings, prints, paintings, writings and maquettes from the 1st Annual Verbier 3D Foundation Residency in the Swiss Alps.

For more information visit http://aristsresidenciesandsymposia.blogspot.com/

Update: Swissnex, the Boston Consulate of Switzerland, posted a write up of the panel discussion by Donna Dodson on their blog with photos from the event by Andreas Rufer and a video recap by Andy Moerlein.

Jamaica Plain Open Studios

September 24th & 25th
Sat & Sun, 11a-6p
93 Forest Hills St #3
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

I will be exhibiting my work during Jamaica Plain's 18th annual Open Studios Event. My partner, Andy Moerlein will be joining me for this event in my studio with his work. Stop by for a preview of the work that we will be exhibiting at Boston Sculptors Gallery in January-February 2012 for our concurrent solo shows. We will also have some small works, prints and drawings for sale. We are site number 43 on the map. To download a copy, click here.

On another note, we were recently featured in the Sep/Oct Artscope magazine thanks to Elizabeth Michelman who wrote the following article, 'Andy Moerlein & Donna Dodson : In a Collaborative Spirit." Here's a teaser. To read the article in its entirety, please pick up a copy the current issue, or email me and I will send you a copy.

Images: Black Swan, kou, 32" tall, 2008 by Donna Dodson
High Hopes, fiberglass covered wood, ceramic by Andy Moerlein

Moose Myth goes to the Capital

Moose Myth was recently purchased by Steve Duprey and moved from Portland, Maine to Concord, New Hampshire where it will grace the entrance to the new Smile Building on 49 South Main St. (It earned its nickname from the nameplate the developer, in a touch of whimsy, installed in the facade: "SMILE!") The Concord Monitor has covered the event in two recent articles...

Moose on South Main
By Ben Leubsdorf/Monitor staff
August 8, 2011
Steve Duprey has purchased a 22-foot-tall sculpture of a moose head and plans to install it in front of his new office building at 49 S. Main St.
Moose Myth, which is made of sticks and saplings, is a creation of Donna Dodson of Boston and Andy Moerlein of Bow. It's been displayed in Portsmouth and is now on display at the University of New England in Portland, Maine.
Moerlein said Duprey, the Concord developer, bought the sculpture through Pam Tarbell of Mill Brook Gallery and plans to move it in late August to the so-called "Smile Building."
"It's going to be quite distinctive. . . . Mr. Duprey has quite a vision for how the arts are going to wake up Concord," he said.
Moerlein declined to say how much Duprey paid for the sculpture but said it was "not a huge amount of money. It was definitely a gift to the city from all of us."
In an email, Duprey said he's a fan of the artist and thought the sculpture "would be a good addition" to the area, across from the Capitol Center for the Arts. He needs permission from the city to put it on the sidewalk but said if necessary he can move it closer to the building, which will get its first occupants later this month.
Moose Myth was created more than a year ago and "easily" has another year of life, Moerlein said, but eventually will decay and have to be removed.
"It's a temporary installation. It's a temporary piece," he said. "(Duprey's) making an investment to make a big bang and show it off."

An arts experiment worth applauding
By Monitor staff
August 14, 2011
Downtown Concord is a delightful place, but it's always lacked that touch of madness that makes a city electric. Soon, local developer Steve Duprey will ask the Concord City Council for permission to add that missing ingredient. If permission is granted, and it should be, the spark will arrive in the form ofMoose Myth, a 22-foot-tall moose-headed man-like creature made of saplings.
The sculpture, a collaboration of artists Andy Moerlein of Bow and Donna Dodson of Jamaica Plain, Mass., is ephemeral. It will be erected in front of Duprey's Smile Building on South Main Street. If all goes according to plan, the sculpture will be replaced in a year by a rotating series of works by members of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, which will have its headquarters in the new building.
We welcome Moose Myth with open arms. The work, which has been displayed in Portsmouth's Market Square, among other places, will bring people downtown. Love it or hate it, people will have something to talk about other than bad economy and the presidential candidates gripping and grinning their way around the state.

Photo credit: Andy Moerlein

Artful Equine Exhibit

The Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden is pleased to present
Artful Equine Exhibit
September 9th-October 23rd

Paintings, Sculpture, Pastels, Unique Prints, and Mixed Media

Artists: Donna Dodson, Barbara Filleul, Liz Fletcher, Mary Iselin, Wendy Klemperer,
Heidi Lorenz, Carol Lake, Kathy Marx, Victoria Mauldin, Melissa Miller, Annette Mitchell,
Morris Norvin, Fleur Palau, Carol Santora, and Bob Shannahan

Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden
236 Hopkinton Road, Concord, NH 03301
http://www.themillbrookgallery.com/

Friday, October 14th 5-8: ART CONCORD

Fall for Art! Local Galleries Invite Families and
Foliage Seekers to ART CONCORD on Friday, October 14th

CONCORD, NH – The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce invites members of the community and visitors to its next ART CONCORD free gallery tour to get a taste of why the capital area is becoming the cultural arts hub of the state. Local art galleries and other art venues around the city will join forces to offer the ART CONCORD collaborative gallery tour on Friday, October 14, 2011 from 5 to 8 pm. A flyer and map will be available at each gallery, as well as refreshments. This event is free and open to the public and participating venues include:

Kimball Jenkins School of Art, 266 North Main Street
League of NH Craftsmen Gallery, 49 South Main Street
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Drive
Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden, 236 Hopkinton Road
NHTI-Concord’s Community College Library Gallery, 31 College Drive
Red River Theatres, 11 South Main Street
Rowland Studio, 23 North Main Street
Sulloway & Hollis/Robert M. Larsen Gallery, 29 School Street
University of New Hampshire School of Law Gallery, 2 White Street
The Works Café, 42 North Main Street

Image: Arabian alloys, 7" each, sand cast aluminum, aluminum bronze, bronze, copper, brass, iron by Donna Dodson. Photo credit: Cliff Pfeiffer

Rockland Center for the Arts

Sept 11th Four Exhibitions Open!
Artist reception 1-4pm

The Annual Faculty Exhibition and Open House 2011
Meet the faculty, tour our studios, and see demonstrations.
Emerson Gallery thru Oct 2

Michael Kondel : Silkscreen
Large format mixed media silkscreens by emerging artist Michael Kondel. Small collage sculptures created by the artist are the inspiration for these hand painted silkscreen prints.
Lynn Stein, curator
Gallery ONE thru Oct 2

YOON CHO: Haircut /How to Spell My Name
Video Artist Yoon Cho’s work focuses on twelve culturally diverse individuals and their unique relationships to their identities in the US.
Lynn Stein, curator
Media Project Spaces thru Oct 2

Catherine Konner Sculpture Park
Welcome the three newest additions to the Catherine Konner Sculpture Park @ RoCA Artist Donna Dodson’s Hathor and Panda; Elanie Lorenz’s Fiore Blanco. Artist Talk in the Sculpture Park with Donna Dodson at 2pm. Sculpture Park is open year round.

Rockland Center for the Arts
27 South Greenbush Road
West Nyack, New York
http://www.rocklandartcenter.org/

Update: Check out p.8 of the Fall Arts Preview at www.lowhud.com for a review of my work. Here's a teaser, 'Whether it's the larger-than-life "Giant Panda" in residence at Rockland Center for the Arts, or the first glimpse at a painting of the Nile, unseen for more than 100 years; famous works from 1980s icons like Jeff Koons, or the brilliance of an up-and-coming star like Dana Schutz, we asked curators and the artists themselves to pick one piece from each of their exhibits to tell a tale.'

Museum of Art, University of New Hampshire

Selected Works from the Boston Sculptors Gallery
September 10 – October 19, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, September 9, 5 – 7 p.m.

Sculpture, by its nature, is three-dimensional. This exhibition, installed both inside the Museum of Art and outside in the adjacent courtyard, features 38 works of art by 18 artists who are members of the landmark cooperative, The Boston Sculptors Gallery. The co-op was founded in 1992, and has become Boston's premier venue for sculpture. Whether on the walls or in the round, inside or out, come and discover the realms of contemporary sculpture. And why Nick Capasso, Associate Curator of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, states, “The Boston Sculptors Gallery, one of the few cooperative sculpture galleries in the country, is among the most stimulating venues for 3-D contemporary art in the Northeast.”

Artists featured in the exhibition include: B. Amore, Castleton, VT; Caroline Bagenal, Newburyport, MA; Kim Bernard, North Berwick, ME; Benjamin Cariens, Somerville, MA; Gillian Christy, Providence, RI; Murray Dewart, Brookline, MA; Donna Dodson, Jamaica Plain, MA; Sally S. Fine, Boston, MA; Mags Harries, Cambridge, MA; Sarah Hutt, Boston, MA; Peter Lipsitt, Brookline, MA; Andy Moerlein, Bow, NH; Julia Shepley, Brookline, MA; Margaret Swan, Melrose, MA; Marilu Swett, Jamaica Plain, MA; Hannah Verlin, Somerville, MA; Ellen Wetmore, Fitchburg, MA; and Dan Wills, Marshfield, MA.

Co-curated by Carol Seitchik and Weston LaFountain and in association with the Boston Sculptors Gallery.

Lilac Rhino, 26" tall, wood, pigment and paint by Donna Dodson
Photo Credit: Cliff Pfeiffer

Update: Video of a studio visit with Donna Dodson in Jamaica Plain by UNH art student Samuel Rheaume in conjunction with the recent Boston Sculptors Gallery exhibition at the University of New Hampshire Museum of Art.

HIGH ALTITUDE SCULPTURE - A RESIDENCY

HIGH ALTITUDE SCULPTURE - A RESIDENCY
3D Foundation, Verbier Switzerland
September 6th - October 15th.
Artists Reception Friday September 23rd 5:30- 6:30.


Manchester - Derryfield art teacher and sculptor Andy Moerlein from Bow, NH, and Donna Dodson, a sculptor and frequent collaborator from Boston, MA have recently completed a Sculpture Park Residency in Verbier, Switzerland. HIGH ALTITUDE SCULPTURE - A RESIDENCY is an exhibit of water colors, drawings, photos of their work as well as images of the work produced by the 7 artists in residence in Switzerland. For five weeks, (May 21 - June 25, 2011) a roster of emerging and critically acclaimed Swiss, British and American artists were invited to create a museum without walls in the high Alps overlooking Verbier Switzerland. Verbier is a world class destination for skiing, snow boarding, and alpine hiking and is the home of the Verbier Classical Music Festival. The artists participating in the residency include Gregory Coates, Musa Hixson, Timothy Holmes, Zak Ove and Kiki Thompson. Will Ryman, Andre Raboud, Edouard Faro, Etienne Krahenbuhl, Nathalie Delhaye and Josette Taramarcaz also loaned monumental sculptures to the first high altitude sculpture park exhibition.

The creative challenge Dodson, Moerlein, and the other artists addressed was suggested by Paul Goodwin, Curator to Tate Britain, “New Monumentalism: art, nature and community.” Using views of the mountains where the sculpture park is located as a creative departure point, the residency was designed to be an incubator for ideas and creativity amongst the artists. The purpose of the residency is to create an international contemporary art dialogue between the artists and the local community. Over a five week working residency the artists shared their work in public talks, taught their methods and creative approaches to local children, and built a substantial permanent sculpture.

In conjunction with this exhibit there will be a panel discussion on Saturday October 15th, 2011, 2-4pm in The Derryfield School’s Lyceum:

International Art Residencies and Symposia - A Panel Discussion
at The Derryfield School 2108 River Road Manchester NH 03304 USA

Individual artists with international experiences will share images of their work and discuss the experience of living in a unique environment and creating work in situ in a foreign country. Directors of International programs will introduce their programs and philosophic goals. An internationally recognized artist/curator will facilitate a conversation on art making in a cross-cultural/site specific context.

Update: A brief overview of Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency 2011 on video.

Images: Upended, a Ghost Print, steel, hand made stones by Andy Moerlein
Baby Bringer, 12 ft tall, styroffoam, cement, paint by Donna Dodson

Sculpturefest 2011

Opening: Saturday, September 3, 4pm - 7pm
Bring your own picnic

FEATURED ARTISTS THIS YEAR:

Wendy Klemperer and Roger Goldenberg

SCULPTURE FEST 2011
AT PROSPER ROAD LOCATION THE THEME IS "SACRED LAND," AN INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION WITH WORKS BY JOHN BIELING, SETH CALLANDER, DAVID COLTON, CHARLET DAVENPORT, CHARLET EGBERT, SAL FARLOW, HERB FERRIS, JOSEPH FICHTER, DIMITRI GERAKARIS, ROGER GOLDENBERG, BRUCE HATHAWAY, ANDREW HELLMUND, BARBARA KAUFMAN, WENDY KLEMPERER, DANIEL LADD, ROBERT MARKEY, JAY MEAD, ANDY MOERLEIN, TRACY PENDLETONN, HECTOR SANTOS, MARGARET SHEEHAN, VALORIE SHEEHAN, SUZI SULLIVAN, PHIL THORNE, JAMES IRVING WESTERMAN, JOSH WINER, KENNETH WOODHEAD


ADDITIONAL ARTISTS WILL BE ADDED AS THEY RESPOND

AT THE KING FARM, A YOUNG GROUP OF "ARTIST/CURATORS" ARE INVITING NEW ARTISTS TO PARTICIPATE ON THE THEME OF FARMS: CHARLET DAVENPORT, PETER DAVENPORT, DONNA DODSON, DIMITRI GERAKARIS, BRUCE HATHAWAY,WENDY KLEMPERER, MAXWELL HEIGES, LELA KEEN JAACKS, MICHAEL NEDELL, JUSTIN O'ROURKE, LI SHEN, JOHN IRVING WESTERMAN, KENNETH WOODHEAD

509 Prosper Road, Woodstock, VT.

Director Charlet Davenport has worked as an artist in Vermont since 1963. Currently her work in ceramic sculpture is influenced by many years of acting as Director of Sculpture Fest. Initially her ourdoor art installations were created on fibre glass mesh and installed in public spaces (St. Gaudens Historic National Park, The Rotunda at Dartmouth College Hopkins Center, the Vermont Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, the bank of the Hoosic River on Williams College Campus, Slater Mill, Pawtucket, RI, the TW Wood Art Center and a variety of other public and semi-public spaces.)

Peter Davenport, Co-Director of Sculpture Fest, is the one-man landscape force. Along with his duties as curator of the exhibition he aids artists in installing work, clearing sites, creating the signage, keeping everything clear for visitors as well as caring for the grounds throughout the exhibition time.

Both Davenports agree that land belongs to all of us and welcome the guests who come to Sculpture Fest each year.

Image: Elephant Oracle, 8ft tall, styrofoam & cement, 2010 by Donna Dodson
Photo Credit: Charlet & Peter Davenport

Flower of Fire

Photo credit: Sarah Odrakiewicz

Waterfire
Saturday-August-13th-2011
9:25p - On the Confluence
@ Steeple St Bridge between memorial Blvd and Canal St
Providence, Rhode Island

A fire sculpture of a flower by artists Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein will be set alight on the confluence downstream from the Steeple Street Bridge at 9:25pm during WaterFire Providence on Saturday, August 13th 2011. The artists are looking to the heavens for inspiration this year. Images of the recent Rosebud of a Reflection Nebula that circulated on the internet for Valentine’s Day planted a seed in the mind of the artists making the connection that chemistry is color, energy is matter, flame and water are fluid in the mind’s eye. A rosebud seems like the perfect symbol of WaterFire: romantic, lovely and passionate. Barnaby Evans is the artistic Director of this unique spectacle that has been taking place since 1997. Cathryn Griffith captured the entire lighting on video.

To see the Phoenix these artists created last year, click on this Youtube video.


Update: Erin Smithers got a nice shot of us lighting our Flower of Fire on video.

Photo credit: John Lincourt

Creatures

CREATURES
Produced by Connecticut Art Connection
(Formerly GALLERY 46)

MAC650 Gallery
650 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457
August 6 - 28, 2011

Marcella Anna Stasa
Donna Dodson
Kim Mikenis
Jennifer Eli French
James McGann
Amanda M Brown & Kevin Sweet

Opening Reception:
Fri, Aug 12, 6-9pm

Live Musical Performance by MeLinda Dalton and Russ Quinn of The Ninas

For gallery hours or more information call 860-729-5806

Strand: Group Exhibition at Boston Sculptors Gallery

Strand
Strand. Strands. Stranded.
June 30 – August 14, 2011
First Friday opening: August 5, 2011, 5:30-8:30pm

Twenty-two of the members of the Boston Sculptors Gallery (B. Amore, Lorey Bonante, Gillian Christy, Mac Dewart, Donna Dodson, Rosalyn Driscoll, Sally Fine, Beth Galston, Mags Harries, Sarah Hutt, David Lang, Peter Lipsitt, Michelle Lougee, Eric Sealine, Liz Shepherd, Mary Sherman, Jessica Straus, Marilu Swett, Hannah Verlin, Kitty Wales, Leslie Wilcox and Andy Zimmermann) tackle this notion in the perfect show for the summer – a time when strands conjure up beach fronts and cast aways on desert islands. When escape is on everyone’s mind; and intrigue lurks behind every corner.

Illusions abound, as in Eric Sealine’s work where parallel lines, represented as strings, converge to create an uncanny perception of three-dimensional space; and Beth Galston’s strung black beads appear to slowly transform into a white tangle. The black and white theme continues with Jessica Straus’ piece in which black threads wrapped about white cores nestle like pills in a glass bottle; whereas, in Hannah Verlin’s installation, black is traded for blue texts about the New World that tumble out from more bottles onto the gallery’s floor. The hint of danger becomes more ominous in Rosalyn Driscoll’s Pandora’s Box – a steel frame with a tabletop, punctuated by modernist like rectangles, belying a barely contained bundle of menacing ropes beneath. Leslie Wilcox’s wrapped mesh then conjures up images of mummified cocoons. Sally Fine’s wire skeleton evokes thoughts of an adventurer who never made it back to civilization. And Mary Sherman’s strip of ocean blue enamel lies trapped forever in glass box.

About the Boston Sculptors Gallery
The Boston Sculptors Gallery is a landmark cooperative, a premier venue for sculpture, unusual
in that it exclusively shows sculpture in a large space that is transformed every month by two of the thirty-four members of this group. The gallery has won the acclaim of the Boston Globe art critic, Christine Temin, who listed it in her 1992 “Ten Best in the Visual Arts.” In 1995 Boston Magazine honored the gallery as the “Best Suburban Gallery in Boston.” And, Nick Capasso, Associate Curator of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park says, it “is among the most stimulating venues for three-dimensional contemporary art in the Northeast.”

Boston Sculptors Gallery • 486 Harrison • Boston 02118
617-482-7781 • bostonsculptors@yahoo.com
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 12 noon – 6 pm

Image: Crow (Stranded) mixed media 2011 by Donna Dodson

Birds of a Feather & Avian Events

Donna Dodson: Birds of a Feather
Andy Moerlein: Avian Events

July 15th-27th 2011
Opening Friday, July 15th, 6-8pm

Gallery Ehva
74 Shank painter Rd
Provincetown, MA 02657
www.galleryehva.com

One of my collectors, Stephen Fletcher, was recently featured in Cape Cod Home Magazine. An image of my piece, Ugly Duckling, appears on page 4 in the article, 'Treasure Found:
Antiques Road Show appraiser Stephen Fletcher welcomes us into his old house full of wonderful period furnishings in Provincetown.'

Save the date for 'Flock together' an upcoming show of my bird sculptures at Boston Sculptors January 4th- February 5th 2012.

Images: White Stork, 38"h wood, paint, 2011 by Donna Dodson
Yearning, wood, paper, shale, ceramic, 2011 by Andy Moerlein

Go Tell it on the Mountain – New Monumentalism: art, nature and community

Using the views of the mountains from the track where the sculpture park will be located as a creative departure point, the artists are free to interpret the site-specificity of their work.

Following are some open-ended questions set by Paul Goodwin, curator to Tate Britain, to challenge the participating artists: with Donna Dodson’s responses...

How can artists (and art practice) convey and/or respond to the challenge of environmental sustainability in such extreme conditions?

Sometimes humans help other species survive, for example, the white stork that nests and breeds annually in europe has been successfully re-populated in the Swiss and Italian Alps. This repopulation has also coincided with a human population boom in Verbier. I want to play with these facts & the myth that storks bring babies in my piece.

Are the grand narratives of monumentalism, triumph over adversity and conquest of nature still relevant in age of global conflict and potential environmental catastrophe?

The landscape of Verbier demands a bold statement. All outdoor sculpture must hold up to the scale of the land and the sky and the changing seasons. However the subject or message of my work is poetic, responding to the ways humans successfully coexist with birds, flora and fauna. This conveys the relevance of myth, soul and imagination.

Is monumental sculpture an appropriate method or scale to engage diverse local communities?

A large scale piece would be a focal point, a meeting place, a topic of conversation that makes local news. It must inspire the curiosity of the casual viewer as well as capture the attention of the patron of the arts. As new comers to this place, artists can respond to Verbier and convey its character in a way that reminds Verbier residents of how it looked to them the first time they saw it, how they felt, what was unique, what was memorable.

What is the relationship of man to mountain, art to environmentalism?

Humans are the caretakers of the earth and responsible for the survival of the planet. We are in awe of nature’s majestic scale, its power and its mystery. Art must respond to the site, the people and the zeitgeist of a place and time and be an inert presence on the land.

How can a sculpture park articulate the historical and the contemporary within a framework that addresses current issues of relevance to local mountain communities as well as global environmental politics?

Art exists within the context of art that came before and responds to the art makers that exist now. In that sense it addresses itself to art history and the stories that make up artist’s lives. I would like to make Art that addresses the concerns of the white stork in relationship to the Swiss Alps. The lives of these birds raise global issues of conservation and science that are political and relevant to this place and to the people who live there. It is risky to make a personal statement about a place, or an idea but that is and has always been the role of the artist in the community.

Update: John Ivory posted a video as Donna Dodson Speaks with Paul Goodwin.

Image: Baby Bringer, 4m tall, mixed media by Donna Dodson

Baby Bringer by Donna Dodson

Gallery Ehva in Provincetown is owned and operated by a visionary artist, Ewa Nogiec. She threatens to leave the USA and go back to her home in Poland if the gallery business doesn’t work out for her. Art is her whole life. In preparation for my recent show, Birds of a Feather, she made an unusual request. She asked me to make a stork, because they are very special to her. They breed in Poland and remind her of home. They are born with black legs and beaks, but when they reach sexual maturity, their beaks and legs turn bright red. Their bodies are white expect for the brush of black that remains on the wingtips. As I developed a wood sculpture, White Stork, this bird took flight in my mind.

Kiki Thompson is a friend and fellow sculptor I met in 2001 at the International Sculpture Center conference in Pittsburg, PA. We became penpals that summer. When she was in NYC in the summer of 2010 doing a Public Art residency at the School of Visual Arts, I went down to visit. It had been over a decade since I had seen her. She mentioned an exciting sculpture project that was taking shape in the hands of Madeleine Paternot and herself. She invited me to come back another time for a lunch meeting where they presented their ideas for launching an artist residency and sculpture park in Verbier Switzerland where they both have roots. 3D foundation was born on that day.

When I received the news that I was invited to be an artist in residence and to create a monumental work of art in the Swiss Alps, I started doing some research to generate ideas. Birds were on my mind this year, and I found two possibilities, the white stork and the bearded vulture, since both birds breed in high altitudes, and both have been successfully repopulated with the help of human beings and conservation efforts. I mentioned both ideas to Kiki and she replied that the stork would be special because there had been a population boom in Verbier. When she was pregnant, there were 20 other women who were pregnant in the small mountain village of 2000. I took a photo of the White stork with me that served as a maquette for my piece, Baby bringer, or La Cigogne [French translation].

She is both a celebration of fertility and motherhood as well as a subversion on the popular myth that storks bring babies in a diaper clasped in their beaks.

Update: 3D Foundation Artist Residency and Sculpture Park gets some press coverage on Verbier web TV of Kiki Thompson in the park with the sculptures in winter.

Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park and Artist Residency

(Verbier, Switzerland) July 7, 2011 – The 3-D Foundation is delighted to launch a high altitude Sculpture Park and Artist Residency in Verbier, in the Swiss Alps. This is the first time that this alpine region has welcomed such an ambitious and permanent artistic project. The first Residency has just concluded. It will recur annually with emerging and established artists from Switzerland and abroad creating monumental works with the Alps for backdrop and inspiration. The opening reception took place on the evening of June 25 in Place de l’Ermitage, in the heart of Verbier. All the artists were present alongside ArtBattles from New York.

For five weeks, acclaimed international sculptors invited to participate in the first year invitation only Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency, took the resort by storm. ”I wanted to create a residency which reflected the power of the mountain using the energy of city-based artists, in order to create an international dialogue as a pioneering platform for free Public Art in the Alps,” says Madeleine Paternot, artist and co-founder of the 3-D Foundation. Working against the clock, these artists each built a monumental site-specific sculpture, able to survive in a harsh high-altitude environment. These sculptures are now in the sculpture park, a further four, including The Roses by Will Ryman, are in the village itself.

The artists chosen to create these public works for such a tough alpine environment are:Gregory Coates (New York), Donna Dodson (Boston), Timothy Holmes (London), Musa Hixson (Brooklyn), Andy Moerlein (Boston), Kiki Thompson (Verbier), and Zak Ove (London).

The energy and enthusiasm for the project is amplified by Verbier’s renowned extreme skiing terrain. “An evocative range of work was produced. Materials used include rubber, cement and steel, Styrofoam and truly massive wood blocks as well as prefab objects,” explains Gregory Coates, one of the participating artists and a member of 3-D’s board. “But the biggest challenge remains the alpine climate, we can’t take that out of the equation.” Once completed, the sculptures were placed on sheer mountain cliffs, against an epic backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Some of the sculptures required the artists to finish them on site, adding to the precariousness of the endeavor and the overall excitement of this public art project.

“Man’s relationship to the mountain is paramount to this project,” explains Paul Goodwin, curator of Contemporary Art, Tate Britain. “The power of art is its ability to articulate human emotions and values such as beauty and truth. On the mountain, faced with such sublime vistas, the visitor can experience these works of art in a totally new way, completely removed from the gallery or museum, directly confronting the ‘truth’ of nature. This is the true meaning of a museum without walls.”

This world-class spectacular sculpture park, or museum within nature, is not to be missed. It is similar in spirit and reach to Arte Sella and its Artenatura route just over the border in Italy, but in a very different setting. “The Commune de Bagnes is really excited about Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park and the opportunity it gives us to showcase our stunning surroundings and to offer such creativity and innovation year round to the local population and to our many visitors. It will be really interesting to see how these majestic sculptures change with the weather, they’ll look completely different each season, especially when it snows,” says Marie-Hélène de Torrenté, Advisor for the Commune. The Park spans a length of 3km, thus creating a natural pilgrimage between Les Ruinettes and La Chaux, at an altitude of 2,300 meters (7,545 feet), is free to the public and only accessible on foot or by bike, skis or dogsled. Over one million skiers ski in this region each year.

Other Swiss and American artists invited to show in Verbier are: Nathalie Delhaye, Etienne Krähenbühl, Edouard Faro, André Raboud, Josette Taramarcaz and Will Ryman.

The 3-D Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, founded by New York-based artist Madeleine Paternot and Verbier-based sculptor Kiki Thompson. Its mission is to promote contemporary art and culture, to focus on nature and community and to provide educational workshops. The curatorial premise is set by Paul Goodwin, in his capacity as an independent curator.

Update: Lexi Bella made a short video of the fire sculpture that was created by Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson for the vernissage of an ibex climbing a mountain. John Ivory made a video of Donna Dodson 'Giving Stork a Spine.'

Critters: A Show of Paintings and Sculpture Curated by Nancy Davidson

April 12 – July 20 2011

Opening Night Reception:
April 12th, 5-7 p.m.

June 10th, 4-5 p.m.
Curator Nancy Davidson and Alums

July 16th, 4-5 p.m.
Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein (creators of 20 ft. moose), their collaborations and individual sculpture

The Exhibition
“Critters” represents three groups of work – wildlife, farm animals, and pets – in situations that may be heartwarming, entertaining, or even poignant for the viewer.

The show not only includes the “critters” we interact with every day, but also those that may have been forced from their habitats as our human territory expands, and others that may soon disappear forever.

“Critters” will feature over 100 artists not only from Maine but also from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Florida.

This is the seventh “Critters” show that Nancy has curated during her long career as a gallery director. Past exhibits include three summer shows at the Cry of the Loon Gallery, South Casco, Maine; “City Critters,” at her gallery, Davidson and Daughters Contemporary Art, Portland Maine; “Critters,” presented at Studio E Gallery, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and “Critters Revisited” at The Gallery on Chase Hill, Kennebunkport, Maine.

There will be a broad selection of indoor and outdoor sculptures by Laura Balombini, Jeff Barrett, Lise Besu, Peter Beerits, Rush Brown, James Budish, Clara Cohan, Nantz Comyns, Squidge Davis, Donna Dodson, Dan Falt, Ed Friedman, Edwin Gamble, Eva Goetz, Don Gove, Craig Berube Gray, Carole Hanson, Charles Jenkins, Mark Kendschi, Nance Kahn, Al Kronk, Bernard Langlais, Cheryl Lichwell, Steve Lindsay, Lin Lisburger, Cabot Lyford, Lou Mastro, Andy Moerlin, Marjorie Moore, Bryce Muir, Jean Noon, Leo Osbourne, Elizabeth Ostrander, Patrick Plourde, Roger Prince, Riv Pyne, Andy Rosen, M.Ruth, Sharon Townsend, Edith Tucker, Tacha Vosburgh, Kitty Wales, Sharon Wandell, Ann Weber, and John Wilkinson.

Art Gallery
University of New England
Portland Campus
716 Stevens Ave., Portland, Maine

Gallery Hours
1-4 p.m., Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
1-7 p.m., Thursdays

Update: Edgar Allen Beem in his Yankee Magazine art blog reviewed the UNE Art Gallery's show "Critters."

Images: Elephant Oracle, 8 ft tall, cement, 2010; White Rabbit, 35" tall, wood, paint, 2006; Elk Goddess, 32" tall, wood, pigment, paint, 2004, photo credit- Peter Haines; Honey Bear, 46" tall, wood, paint, 2005, photo credit- Bruno Giust.

Birds, Botanicals and Nature

The Singer Family & Donna Dodson: Birds, Botanicals and Nature

If you’ve ever looked at drawings or paintings of birds, chances are you’ve seen the work of Arthur B. Singer. America’s most famous bird illustrator was a New York City native born, coincidentally, on Audubon Avenue. A graduate of Cooper Union, Arthur is best known for his bird guides: Birds of The World; Birds of North America and Birds of Europe. A portfolio of his paintings published in the mid-1950s in American Home magazine sold millions of copies. He was awarded the Audubon Society’s first Hal Borland award.

Arthur’s son, Alan Singer, followed in his father’s artistic footsteps and together they designed and illustrated award-winning U.S postal stamps honoring the birds and flowers of all 50 states. He also followed his father’s work with bird guides including: State Birds in 1990. Currently a teacher at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Arthur is an accomplished painter, printmaker and writer on the visual arts. His work has been featured in shows at the Smithsonian, the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Everson Museum in Syracuse.

A third artistic member of the family, Alan’s brother Paul, is an artist living in Brooklyn with his own design firm. His prestigious clients include: the National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. His work for them inspires his own paintings of seascapes and landscapes. The theme is carried further in his enthusiasm for building model boats. This unique exhibit of the Singer family’s works provide a look at nature, from the fine details and vivid colors of birds to the sweeping vistas of land, flowers, water and. Impressionistic abstracts.

Fitting in well with those themes are the figurative wood carvings of Donna Dodson, an artist from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Inspired by Egyptian, African and Native American art, Dodson crafts works from woods as diverse as osage, orange wood, ash, pine and maple. Female in form, her sculptures are meant to portray the mystical relationship between humans and animals. From the material to the finished figures Dodson’s work evokes an experience of nature that marries the primitive to a higher, nearly transcendent order of design.

Join us for music, wine, hors d’oeuvres and an eventful evening.
Opening reception Saturday, March 26, 6 to 9 pm.

On exhibit until May 7.
Gallery Hours: Fri & Sat 1-4 p.m.
Private showings by appointment.

Co-directors, Bill & Johanne Pesce.
Windsor Whip Works Art Gallery
98 Main Street, PO Box 7, Windsor, New York 13865

Phone: 607-655-2370
Email: Johanne@WhipWorksArtGallery.org
www.WhipWorksArtGallery.org

Update: Channel 34 featured this show on their Up to the Minute News Coverage.

Image: Seagull Cinderella, 15" tall, apple wood and paint
Photo credit: Cliff Pfeiffer

Polar Peacock

Lake Morey Resort
Fairlee, VT
Winter Carnival
February 18 – 20, 2011
Snow sculpture contest
Artist's Choice Winners:
Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

The Tale of the Polar Peacock

The Polar Peacock is as elusive as the Northern Lights. Exotic and beguiling the icy white fowl has been part of northern folk lore on every continent. Reports of unspeakable iridescence and feathered protection from survivors of near freezing experiences have been repeated by elders to children around warm fires for thousands of years. There is no known substantiation for the bird. Why it appears to those in desperate freezing conditions, and why it is perceived as savior and provider of warmth at those moments of greatest need, is baffling. But the fact is that the Polar Peacock has been consistently imagined by a wide spectrum of lucid and competent explorers whose lives have brushed the precipice of death and then been miraculously spared. Our snow carving is a vain attempt to capture the enigma and magic that is this most rare of arctic phenomenon.

Image: The Polar Peacock, 8 ft tall, snow sculpture, 2011

Wood Work

For Immediate Release:

Exhibition Title: Wood Work

Artists: Michael Beatty, Newton, MA
Paul Bowen, Williamsville, VT
Rosemary Broton Boyle, Waltham, MA
Donna Dodson, Boston, MA
Stephan Fowlkes, Brooklyn, NY
Bob Lewis, Newton, MA
Greg Mencoff, Somerville, MA
Rob Millard-Mendez, Evansville, IN
Andy Moerlein, Bow, NH
Dawn Southworth, Gloucester, MA

Location: Clark University, Schiltkamp Gallery/ Traina Center for the Arts
92 Downing Street, Worcester
(Mailing address: 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610)

Dates: February 14 – April 17, 2011

Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday 9AM- 8PM, Friday 9 AM- 4PM,
Saturday and Sunday 12-5:00
(The gallery will be closed March 5-13)

Opening: Wednesday, February 23rd
Artists’ Talk: 4:15 – 5:15
Reception: 5:15 – 6:30
Further Information: (508) 793-8818 Elli Crocker, Assoc. Professor and Gallery Director(508) 793-7349 Tina Zlody, Visual & Performing Arts Events Coordinator

This exhibition includes the work of ten artists who use wood as medium and conceptual source. In an era when technology has altered the realm of art making as much as everything else in our lives, these artists celebrate that most ancient and primal of raw materials - wood. While the material is the unifying theme, each artist creates unique forms that draw their inspiration from the inherent beauty, natural qualities, and enduring power of wood.

In many ways wood offers a corollary to the human body suggesting living, organic, sensuous form with trunks and limbs, heart and skin that is also subject to growth, change, and ultimately decay. Our interdependence with trees is so elemental that we breathe what they exhale and they “inhale” our exhalations. Indeed, many peoples of the world throughout human history have attributed animistic qualities to trees, including the belief in hamadryads or tree spirits. Trees and their fruits have sheltered us, warmed us, fed us, and inspired us. Connected to our survival in the most fundamental of ways, humans have also employed wood to create art - whether carving magical totems or fabricating new images from the scavenged detritus of a society. As an artistic medium, wood offers both strength and pliability, elegance and rawness, commonness and preciousness.


The ten artists exhibiting their art in Wood Work employ various processes from assemblage to carving, carefully selecting a specific wood variety to gathering salvage, working figuratively to non-objectively, and on the wall, floor, or pedestal. Paul Bowen, Rosemary Broton Boyle, Stephan Fowlkes, and Dawn Southworth collect scrap wood and convert this found material into transcendent form. The sense of time and history, the distressed surfaces, and hints of earlier uses inform the finished pieces that become impossible contraptions, shrines, or humorous musings. Donna Dodson explores the mystical relationship between humans and the animal kingdom, creating archetypal chimeras through the carving and polishing of carefully selected types of wood, revealing their unique grain and color. Rob Millard-Mendez describes his sculptures as large toys, employing dark humor to comment on human foibles. Blending folk art references and formal conceptual concerns, his art engages the viewer on several levels – both fun and interactive as well as provocative and challenging. Michael Beatty, who is a professor of art at consortium school, The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, borrows construction methods from traditional, functional forms of woodworking, boat building, and metal fabrication. Most recently he’s been interested in the correlation between the natural world and mathematics, seeking out the basic patterns underlying the complexity of what we see in Nature. Andy Moerlein also looks to Nature, exploring the interaction of human psyche and natural forces - whether the rapid fluctuations of weather or the gradual shifts of geology - ultimately creating highly personal narratives. In his richly process-oriented work, Bob Lewis creates mysterious and unsettling monuments to failed endeavors, lapsed dreams, and human hubris. Greg Mencoff, explores the psychology and implications of the built form and the architecture of ordinary things. Of his sculptures, he comments, “their content is a reflection of the process…instinct has us build, and through that process is learned something of ourselves, helping to define a culture”.

Associate Professor of Art Elli Crocker curated this exhibition with the help of students Molly Burman, Phoebe Cape, Scott Coffrin, Victoria Grogan, Nina Haglund, Ann Kerrin, Ashley McNelis, Claudia Olcese-Rivera, and Stephanie Richardson.

Paul Grignon from Worcester Magazine wrote a wonderful review about the show called 'Handworks of Art.'

Images: Baboon Mother, 24" tall, kou, 2008, Red Panda, 24" tall, wood + paint, 2005, photo credit Bruno Giust, Squirrel Girl, 19" tall, laminated wood and paint, 2003, photo credit Cliff Pfeiffer, Wolf Goddess, 29" tall, wood + paint, 2006

THE BIRDS AND BEASTS WERE THERE

The Birds and the Beasts Were There: A Celebration of Animal Life

The Cahoon Museum of American Art presents its 2011 benefit exhibition to celebrate what extraordinary gifts animals, both wild and domesticated, give back to man both emotionally and spiritually. All works will be for sale and beneficiaries are Audubon’s Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary and its Coastal Water Bird Program.

Artists throughout time have used animals as subject matter because they were close by and were part of their everyday lives. This exhibition will examine how contemporary artists throughout the United States have used animals in their workfocusing on different media they choose to use: collage, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

February 1-March 13, 2011
Opening reception: Friday February 4th, 4:30p-6:30p

Artists include: Gary Akers, Kent Ambler, Peter Coes, Donna Dodson, Taylor Fox, Jon Friedman, Karekin Goekjian, Jack Goldsmith, Russell Gordon, Peter Haines, John Hilton, Mike Holsomback, Eric Kaiser, Wendy Klemperer, Karen Maginnis, Susan McLean, Andy Moerlein, Matthew Schulz, Aleta Steward and William Wegman.

GALLERY TALKS (at 11 a.m.)
February 8 - Richard Waterhouse, exhibition curator.
February 22 - Donna Dodson, artist.

The Cahoon Museum of American Art
4676 Falmouth Road · P.O. Box 1853
Cotuit, MA 02635 Phone (508) 428-7581
10-4 Tuesday-Saturday, 1-4 Sunday
Read about the exhibit in the Winter/Spring 2011 issue of Spyglass a quarterly look at the Cahoon Museum of American Art. The Barnstable Patriot posted a favorable review of the show on Friday February 11th.

Images: Banality, 22" tall, birch, pigment and paint, 2010
Walrus Mother, 24" tall, mesquite burl, pigment and paint, 2008

New Work for a New Year

Gallery Ehva
74 Shank Painter Rd
Provincetown, MA 02657
Telephone 508 487-0011

Adam Coughlin, for the Hippo Press of New Hampshire covered this series in a recent piece...

Technology shrinks art: Boston sculptor Donna Dodson is used to creating sculptures that are one to four feet tall and made of traditional materials like wood and stone. But when an opportunity came to turn some of her work into jewelry, she needed to branch out. That is when she visited CADD Edge. Dodson said when she brought her sculpture to the Londonderry facility it was scanned in 3-D using a hand-held laser device, where it was then translated into a digital file on the computer. From the computer it was printed on a 3-D printer (this technology was developed at MIT), which made it ¼ scale. But this is no paper image. These prints are fabricated out of gypsum, sand and an adhesive. The final sculptures feel like plastic and Dodson has sold some to collectors. “Using this technology really allows an artist to play with the size of the work,” Dodson said. “I can make my sculptures either really big or really small.” Dodson said the technology isn’t really new but it isn’t mainstream yet. And while she will stick with her traditional sculpting practices, she does think it is neat.

Images, Top to Bottom: Elephant Princesses, 1" and 1/2" bronzes in collaboration with Knight&Hammer, Elephant Princess, 6" rapid prototype/3D print, Rhino, 2" tall bronze in collaboration with Knight&Hammer, Rhino, 6" rapid prototype/3D print. Copyright 2010