Fountain Street Fine Art exhibit recognizes women’s talents, past and present
July 24. 2016 5:58AM
By Natasha Geffen/Daily News Correspondent
FRAMINGHAM - Picasso, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Warhol. These are just a few names over centuries of male dominance in the art world. That’s why Fountain Street Fine Art Gallery, in partnership with the Massachusetts Chapter of National Association of Women Artists, has stressed the importance of female artist representation in their current exhibit, “Continuum: Tradition Meets Innovation.”
Running until Aug. 6, “Continuum” contains 33 works by 31 different female artists, and was juried by Fountain Street co-directors Cheryl Clinton and Marie Craig.
“The exhibit is about contemporary art and its connection to past female artists’ work,” said Craig, “We want to recognize women’s strengths and talents, both now and then.”
The work is solidly contemporary and pushes artistic boundaries, making the work edgier than most and more “out there.” Hyde Park’s Lisa Goren, who has traveled to polar landscapes throughout her career, uses watercolors to evoke the chilling beauty of glaciers in “The Weight of the Ice.” In “The Bath,” Lowell artist Ilene Richard mixes different media on paper to depict a Mona Lisa-esque stare on the face of a naked woman.
“Cheryl (Clinton) and I worked together to choose pieces that we believed to be the strongest, visually,” said Craig.
The exhibit features both paintings and sculptures, and all of the artists either live in or have some connection to Massachusetts.
“Connections between the pieces in 'Continuum' to works of earlier women artists are found in the eyes of viewers, perhaps, even more than in the intentions of the artists,” said Jennifer Costello, a Charlestown artist featured in this exhibit.
Costello compared Goren’s “The Weight of the Ice” to abstract expressionist painter Helen Frankenthaler’s work, and Richard’s “The Bath” to Alice Neel’s portraits. “‘Musing’ recalls the mirror-like color palette of Blanche Lazzell,” said Costello, about her painting, which uses colors and textures to combine a sense of abstraction and humanism.
Pieces by Rockport’s Robin Colodzin, Georgetown’s Bonita LeFlore, North Andover’s Nella Lush, and Boston’s Silvina Mizrahi, who is originally from Argentina, were all selected for the exhibit’s “juror’s choice” awards. Located in a historic mill in downtown Framingham, Fountain Street Fine Art is a place for local artists, art enthusiasts and art collectors.
“I love the urban gritty feel to the gallery, with the old painted beams,” said Brenda Cirioni, a Stow artist who works with Fountain Street and has been featured in a handful of their exhibits. “There are so many good artists and not enough good galleries.”
Fountain Street Fine Art is at 59 Fountain St., Framingham. Visit www.fsfaboston.com or call 508-879-4200 for hours and more information.
Natasha Geffen is a summer intern at the MetroWest Daily News. Contact her at 508-626-3924 or ngeffen@wickedlocal.com. Follow us on Twitter @WickedLocalArts or like our Facebook page.