UPENDED
Jim Banks, Carnifex, mixed-media on paper mounted on board, 40 x 31 inches
Fountain Street Core Member Exhibition at Piano Craft Gallery
Curated by Melissa Shaak + Virginia Mahoney
March 5–28, 2021
Opening Reception: Friday, March 5, 6–8PM
Virtual Reception + Curator and Artist Talk: Sunday, March 21, 3PM
Exhibit Location:
Piano Craft Gallery
793 Tremont Street, Boston
Hours: Friday 6–8PM, Saturday + Sunday 12–5PM
SIGN THE VIRTUAL GUEST BOOK ➢
Beginning March 5, 2021, the Core Members of Fountain Street will take the floor at Piano Craft Gallery, 793 Tremont Street, Boston. “Upended” offers a timely look at the experience of being turned upside down. Fountain Street’s exhibition schedule itself was upended by the coronavirus, as well as by last April’s water main break in Boston’s SoWa District. In this relocated exhibition, artists working in 2D, 3D and time-based media interpret the theme “Upended” in both literal and metaphorical ways. The exhibition pays tribute to all whose lives and livelihoods have been upended by COVID-19.
CURATOR’S STATEMENT
“One of my heart’s deepest desires is to help awaken and cultivate creativity—others’ as well as my own. The privilege of curating this exhibition allowed me to see my fellow artists tapping their multitudinous creativity, sometimes despite, and other times inspired by, the chaos and constrictions of the time. The twenty-two participating artists have drawn, painted, photographed, printed, sculpted and woven together threads of connection amidst the disconnection. They also have discovered new ways of looking, new ways of working, and new sources of inspiration. One of my favorite phrases from the artists’ statements is Georgina Lewis’ “post-upending trajectories.” Where will they lead? I can’t wait to see.”
– MELISSA SHAAK, CURATOR
THE GALLERY
CLICK + HOVER ON AN IMAGE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORK AND READ A STATEMENT FROM THE ARTIST. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A PURCHASE ➢
AN UPENDING COLLABORATION
A TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN UPENDED
“The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine.”
French Surrealists of a century ago invented a playful method of collaborative drawing, adapted from a writing game in which each participant’s contribution was concealed before being passed along to the next. We don’t know who wrote “exquisite” and who wrote “corpse,” but in all likelihood they were seated next to each other as they played this parlor game.
As I write, seven Fountain Street artists are concocting an exquisite-corpse-like installation. Their multi-media collaboration will be the centerpiece of the exhibition. I have not seen it assembled; no one has, as the pieces will not be brought together until we open the show. I eagerly await the big reveal and fully expect their amalgam of individual and collective creativity to be as vivid, provocative, and puzzling as the single sentence which first gave name to the technique.
– MELISSA SHAAK, CURATOR
Images: Original collages by Alexandra Rozenman
This installation will be created collaboratively by Sarah Alexander, Kathline Carr, Tatiana Flis, Georgina Lewis, Virginia Mahoney, Alexandra Rozenman, and Sylvia Vander Sluis. The project is structured through using a modified version of the rules of the Surrealists’ Exquisite Corpse collective drawing (also writing) technique. The project was kicked off by Alexandra Rozenman sending all participating artists a black and white collage that she created over the last 8 months in quarantine. Each artist in turn selected a shape or section from the collage to inspire their portion of the project. These selected sections were also used to delineate the shape and space of the collaborative project.
Like the drawing game Exquisite Corpse, the components of this collaborative work will be kept under wraps until it is installed. Who knows what surprises are in store—for the artists as well as the viewers.
Images: Behind the Scenes of An Upending Collaboration
THE UPENDING PROCESS
A Curator’s Story: Melissa Shaak
A dispirited curator whose art exhibit has been upended by COVID-19 finds a cardboard bear in the trash. Walking together in Boston – to the new location for the exhibit – they happen upon several magnificent public murals. Stopping to take in these sights, the curator and the bear make some surprising discoveries about art’s capacity to awaken and transform us.
The Road to #fountainstreetupended
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“The events of the past year have left no one unchanged, and these artists responded in remarkable ways. Some exploded with creativity, using newly found downtime to work with a fevered intensity. Some, unable to access their usual workspaces or materials, made do with what they had and made smaller, more intimate work. Others explored different media and charted new directions. Sometimes left raw by their experiences, they responded as artists do—by making work that is powerful and evocative of this time and our place in it.”
– MARIE CRAIG, DIRECTOR + FOUNTAIN STREET CO-FOUNDER
PIANO CRAFT GALLERY
The Piano Craft Gallery advances the understanding of contemporary visual and performing arts in the community and promotes artistic purposes through exhibits, performances, lectures, meetings, and seminars in connection with matters of artistic concern. The Piano Craft Gallery is an all volunteer-run non-profit community gallery space devoted to sharing artists’ work with the public.
DIRECTIONS + HOURS
Piano Craft Gallery
793 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02118
Hours: Friday 6–8PM, Saturday + Sunday 12–5PM
WBUR The ARTery | Pamela Reynolds