Space, Light and Sound Activate Frame 301 at Montserrat

  

BEVERLY, MA- Montserrat College of Art Galleries is pleased to present Joey Asal’s DUFAYEL (*DISCURSIVE) [PASS/GO], curated by Lydia Gordon. This  Frame 301 installation is a site-specific material arrangement that explores the platforms of human interaction through the use of physical and non-physical materials. The artist uses recycled objects, canvas, paint, aluminum, light, and sound to create a non-linear material narrative within the Frame 301 space. The relationship of the installation’s physical and non-physical materials represents contemporary trends of communication, activities that now encompasses both virtual and in-person interaction.

Tangible sculpture and painted objects coexist with light and sound in DUFAYEL (*DISCURSIVE) [PASS/GO]. The negative space between layers of paint and suspended sculpture cast shadows and ever-changing lines within the piece. Sound is made available to passersby through individual artist performances. DUFAYEL (*DISCURSIVE) [PASS/GO] performs through each placement of material, facilitating as an environment for viewers to contemplate the synthesis of both means of communication. By inviting the audience to step away from more traditional forms of art-making, Joey Asal highlights the influential practice of using non-objective image making in conceptual art.

Joey Asal earned his BA and BFA in Sculpture and Printmaking from Truman State University. (Kirskville, Missouri) After moving to Boston in 2006, Asal continued to develop non-objective image making and started working with sound in 2009. As the curator of Lillypad Artspace, (Cambrdige, MA) Joey is well immersed in the alternative art scene in Boston, including performing and action-based artist.

Olsen’s Chasing Infinity travels to Montserrat’s Frame 301

BEVERLY August 22, 2011- Montserrat College of Art Galleries is pleased to present David Olsen’s Chasing Infinity, curated by Lydia Gordon. The mixed media painting installation in Frame 301 is inspired by the artist’s recent travels across America. Through abstract drawings entwined with recognizable hints of figures, Olsen’s site-specific vibrant, three dimensional installation urges the viewer to think about their own relationship to space and the environmental triggers that influence personal histories. 

Olsen voyaged across the country with the purpose of experiencing the most inspiring natural landscapes. While at these sites, the artist filmed, photographed, and drew on-location in response to his physical experience within these settings. Olsen’s feelings of existentialism and the affect of nature’s influence on the human emotion are represented in a new series of work, Chasing Infinity. Inspired by the surfacing of the artist’s childhood memories in response to these environments, Olsen comments on a distinct memory linked to location. His family vacationed in Pyramid Lake, a surreal place just north of Las Vegas where his father instructed him on how to survive if the US was under attack. As the artist travelled, his memories were re-told like stories, triggering responses and acting as a platform for drawing infinite connections between the artist’s past and present. Chasing Infinity discovers the never-ending relationship between human life and nature. 

Like Olsen’s previous work, this site-specific installation was completed with the help and collaboration of students. Montserrat students worked with the artist during a week long installation process. Chasing Infinity draws in the viewer’s attention through the use of an intense color palette cast across Frame 301’s walls and windows. With street style contours, the artist uses both organic and human-made objects to create a new atmosphere by reflecting on his drawings, research, and overall time on the road. The artist hopes to guide the audience to both a familiar and totally new place, which will inspire thoughts about their own relationship to the spaces they occupy.

Originally from Seattle, Washington, David Olsen is a Boston-based artist working in multiple media. Olsen received his BFA from the University  of Washington and his MFA from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. David has recently shown at Art Chicago (Chicago, IL) Project Gallery (Marseille, France), and French Neon (Brooklyn, NY). His work is also included in the permanent collections of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (Madison, Wisconsin), KUMU Museum of Art (Tallinn, Estonia) and the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC). David is Co-Director of Media Arts and Sciences and Assistant Professor of Media Arts at Wellesley College (Wellseley, MA).

    

Frame 301's Summer Constellation

A New Constellation Discovered in Beverly

 Montserrat College of Art is please to announce Adria Arch's installation, Summer Constellation, curated by Lydia Gordon. The artist's multi-media piece radiates twenty-four hours a day in the Frame 301 window. With Summer Constellation's suspended materials, particular doodles and celestial imagery, Adria uses the street-side gallery as a portal to encourage connection among anonymous participants.

Adria Arch’s Summer Constellation exhibits the artist’s distinctive mark making in a three dimensional installation. Patterns of scribbles, sprays and drips are produced on multiple ten by three foot suspended mylar scrolls. By studying notebook doodles produced by her son, the artist revisits these spontaneous characters to execute the composition of each scroll. The interplay among the imagery evokes a patterning of symbols similar to how the stars appear in the night sky. Arch’s placement of suspended scrolls and cut out paper creates a dynamic visual dialog of the artist’s iconic shapes, speaking to the community of viewers on the street, as well as to the artist’s son.

Adria is inspired by the doodles found in the margins of her son’s high school notebooks. The artist reads these private drawings as an indecipherable language created in the uninhibited state of the doodler. Using these shapes as a source for her work in Summer Constellation, Arch invites her audience into a world unknown to them but extremely personal to her. The installation allows for a viewing experience that creates relationships between multiple sources, mapping an intricate grouping of connections like the patterns formed by prominent starts in a constellation.

Adria Arch is a Boston-based artist and Arts Administrator. She studied at RISD and Carnegie Mellon University for her undergraduate studies and earned her MA in Art Education from the University of Arizona. Adria also received her MFA in painting from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The artist has taught at deCordova’s School, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and Montserrat College of Art. Arch has recently shown at the Danforth Museum of Art (Framingham, MA) and Lesley University (Cambridge, MA).

Where: Montserrat College of Art, Frame 301, 301 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA

Exhibit Dates: July 9, 2011 – August  20, 2011

Hours: 24/7

For more information about the exhibit, please contact Lydia Gordon, Frame 301 Project Manager at Lydia.Gordon01@gmail.com or visit us at www.montserrat.edu/galleries.

Events hotline: 978.921.4242 Option 3

May Artist Suspends Pies in Frame 301

 

May 16, 2011 - The Montserrat College of Art Galleries is pleased to present Alexander Farrell’s Frame 301 installation, Destined to fail/Destined for sale, curated by Lydia Gordon. Inspired by the Housing Crises, Farrell converts the Frame 301 window into a platform for selling pies. Coupled with for-sale markers, the artist-made pastries are displayed like real estate items in an attempt to break down societal issues, engage viewers, and encourage conversation.

Through the installation of joint building materials and food objects, the artists challenges the root of the Housing Crises. Relying greatly on the material’s ability to resonate and connect with itself, Farrell uses jagged wood pieces, for-sale pies, and a site-specific installation method to investigate the cause and effect of the “housing bubble”. A sculptural mass of wood and hardware lines Frame 301’s back wall, enhancing the viewer’s looking experience with Destined to fail/Destined for sale’s three-dimensional composition. Considering the pie’s association with precious traditionalism and Americanism, experiencing them as commercial commodities triggers an uncanny, emotional response, correlating with the exploitation and suffering of those affected by losing their homes. Through the engagement with the art piece, viewers are able to acknowledge the complex issues on a smaller scale. By reducing the housing bubble to representational objects, Destined to fail/Destined for sale expresses the dynamics between politicians, financiers, and consumers.

Alexander Farrell is a Boston based artist working in multiple mediums. His portfolio includes paintings, drawings, and sculpture. As an abstract artist, Alexander works with found objects in works on paper and three-dimensional sculptural pieces. The artist earned his BFA in Architecture at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2008. Alexander has been awarded a grant from the Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT) and is included in the upcoming exhibition, Flourish: Alumni Works on Paper at Bakalar and Paine Galleries, Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Boston, MA).

Where: Montserrat College of Art, Frame 301, 301 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA
Exhibit Dates: May 16, 2011 – June 13, 2011
Hours: 24/7
For more information about the exhibit, please contact Lydia Gordon, Frame 301 Project Manager at Lydia.Gordon01@gmail.com or visit us at www.montserrat.edu/galleries.

Events hotline: 978.921.4242 Option 3
 

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Beverly Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Montserrat College of Art is an accredited, private, residential college of art and design offering the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, art education certification and year-round classes and workshops for adults through its Continuing Education program.
Visit us at www.montserrat.edu.

Vinyl, leather pants, and broken guitar amps!

Take Your Protein Pills and Put Your Helmet On | Enter the Rock N’ Roll Vortex

April 11, 2011- Montserrat College of Art Galleries is pleased to present, THE ROCK N’ ROLL VORTEX, a dual part installation and performance piece for the Frame 301, Montserrat Galleries’ alternative display space. Curated by Lydia Gordon, THE ROCK N’ ROLL VORTEX will be up for the month of April. By combining elements of music, visual arts and audience participation, THE ROCK N’ ROLL VORTEX brings together the Montserrat community in recognition of the experience as the artwork.

Heavy-duty vinyl signage with reflective, striking graphics lures the viewer to the window where, once looking through the “Vortex,” an avalanche of miniature sculptures, music paraphernalia and artist renderings transfixes the eye, leading them into an electrified world of rock-n-roll. By enticing audience participation through its aggressive presence on the street, THE ROCK N’ ROLL VORTEX lends itself to the expressive attitude of the music genre and of the art school. Created by the Rock Slop Art Collective, THE ROCK N’ ROLL VORTEX will open on April 15, 2011 in the 301 Gallery as a performance piece. Rock Slop Art Collective will invite Montserrat students, staff, and community members to join them and their band, The Fagettes, in a glam shock inspired reception with live music, costumes, video, and photography. Through this interactive art show and installation, THE ROCK N’ ROLL VORTEX, stands as a platform for artistic collaboration and its importance within the art college.

Rock Slop Art Collective consists of two Boston-based artists, Melanie Bernier and David Goodrich. Bernier, who earned her BFA in Studio for Interralated Media at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2008, works across various media including fiber arts, ceramics, and mixed-media installations. Her recent project includes the installation, Rainbowbomb at MEME Gallery (Cambridge, MA). David earned his BFA in Film, Animation, Video at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2006 where he was awarded at the Intercollegiate Independent Film Festival. Also working across various media, David and Melanie are involved in the Boston music scene with their band, The Fagettes, (thefagettes.blogspot.com).

Where: Montserrat College of Art, Frame 301, 301 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA

Exhibit Dates: April 11, 2011 – May 13, 2011

Hours: 24/7

For more information about the exhibit, please contact Lydia Gordon, Frame 301 Project Manager at Lydia.Gordon01@gmail.com or visit us at www.montserrat.edu/galleries.

Events hotline: 978.921.4242 Option 3

March Exhibition: Urban Eden

BEVERLY, March 11, 2011- Montserrat College of Art Galleries is pleased to present Kim Salerno’s installation Urban Eden,curated by Lydia Gordon. The current exhibition in Montserrat College of Art’s alternative display space Frame 301, Urban Eden reveals a vivid textured world of digital imagery, wall patterning,and three-dimensional structures. Through the useof rich,decorative elements, Salerno’s installation draws in the attention of the viewers by arranging drawing, photography, and digital media to form an intricate landscape.    Salerno’s installation transforms the narrow space of Frame 301 into an urban garden. Digital prints of landscapes and gardens are cut, hung and layered alternately with transparent scrims and curtains, and expand beyond the picture plane to create a highly interactive window space. At first glance, the garden appears as a collage of idyllic flowers and scenery, beautifully nestled with embellished textiles and patterns. However, as nature is depicted through digital media, the awry placement of Urban Eden’s multiple forms begins to prompt a sense of nervous break down and eventual decay. As these layered materials create complex textual meaning within the installation, utopian and dystopian visions collide as the piece is confronted with human activity from the street. Kim Salerno’s creative work began with architecture, which continues to serve as inspiration for her more recent digital  and installation projects. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States in galleries, museums, and other public venues. The artist is a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and the Visual Arts Sea Grant from the University of Rhode Island. She earned her Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, holds a certificate in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BA from Smith College. Kim Salerno currently teaches at the University of Rhode Island.

Corey Corcoran's HYPERSLEEP

Corcoran Constructs Blooming Structure: HYPERSLEEP

BEVERLY, MA, FEBRUARY 2, 2011- Montserrat College of Art Galleries is pleased to present Boston artist Corey Corcoran’s installation HYPERSLEEP curated by Lydia Gordon. The February exhibition in Montserrat College of Art’s alternative display space Frame 301, reveals a mysterious human figure stratified with turf, peat, and moss. Corcoran’s blooming structure calls attention to the awe of nature’s uncertainty while investigating its constant regeneration.

Corcoran’s first 3D site-specific installation, HYPERSLEEP engulfs Frame 301 with heaps of biomass, growth, and decay as a terrarium through creation. The window holds a cocooning figure saturated with earth, root systems, and endless unidentifiable matter. This obscure creation spans the entire length and depth of the window, enhancing every viewer’s looking experience. Completely sculptural in nature, HYPERSLEEP refers to a science fiction term similar to hibernation when life processes are halted completely for some duration. It addresses the artist’s continuous ideas concerning the persistence of life, fluidity of time, and the simple strangeness of nature.

Corey Corcoran is a Boston-based artist currently working at The Distillery, a vibrant community of artists in South Boston.  Since acquiring his BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2007, Corcoran has shown regularly throughout the Boston area. Most recently, the artist has been included in shows at MEME Gallery (Cambridge, MA), deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (Lincoln, MA), and LaMontagne Gallery (South Boston, MA) with solo exhibitions at The Little Gallery Under The Stairs (Lynn, MA) and Fivesevendelle Project Space (Boston, MA). The artist has been awarded the 2011 Clowes Award fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center (Johnston, VT).

Where: Montserrat College of Art, Frame 301,

301 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA

Exhibit Dates: February 7, 2011 – March 11, 2011

Hours: 24/7The exhibit and related events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

For more information about the exhibit, please contact Lydia Gordon, Frame 301 Project Manager at Lydia.Gordon01@gmail.com or visit us at www.montserrat.edu/galleries.

Events hotline: 978.921.4242 Option 3

Montserrat College of Art is an accredited, private, residential college of art and design offering the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, art education certification and year-round classes and workshops for adults through its Continuing Education program. 

Visit us at www.montserrat.edu.The vision of Montserrat College of Art is to be recognized as the nation’s premier independent, small art college.

"This program is supported in part by a grant from the Beverly Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Street Reflections 301: Cleanliness Next to Godliness

Elizabeth Michelman, Street Reflections 301: Cleanliness Next to Godliness, January 2011

BEVERLY, MA January 2, 2011- Montserrat College of Art Galleries’ Frame 301 is pleased to present Elizabeth Michelman’s Street Reflections 301: Cleanliness Next to Godliness, curated by Lydia Gordon. The kick-off exhibition of 2011, takes a look at downtown Beverly by focusing on the relationship between Frame 301 and two neighbors: a laundromat and church.

Michelman’s site-responsive installation Street Reflections 301: Cleanliness Next to Godliness prompts a questioning of collective relations. By noticing how Frame 301 stands across from a church and a laundromat, the artist wonders how much these pillars of the neighborhood know of and understand each other. These three institutions offer different routes for expressing fundamental values in contemporary American culture: the art school practice, private worship, and personal hygiene. Street Reflections 301 quotes the words of a familiar proverb to capture, meditate on, and reflect these ideas back out to its viewers.

Street Reflections 301 dramatizes the window’s physical characteristics of transparency and reflection, conveying its message through illuminated language best visible at night. The words “cleanliness” and “godliness,” emanate from the window with a projection of inner light and color. By linking elements of each building through the proverb, the artist renews our curiosity with the streetscape and our relationship with the streetscape. The installation implicates Montserrat College as a cultural agent, situated to observe and comment on the disparities between our exterior environment and the inner feeling underlying the everyday needs, purposes, and values of our audience.

Elizabeth Michelman is an interdisciplinary artist exhibiting public and site-responsive installation art, video documentaries and artist’s videos. Her range of media includes sculpture, drawing, painting, poetry, video, and installation. Both as an artist and a curator, she has organized many site-responsive exhibitions and community participatory projects throughout New England. Michelman has taught and lectured on a range of subjects including exhibitions, 2D/3D design, drawing, sculpture, and interdisciplinary art and installation at Mass College of Art and around New England.