Movin' On Up

By Courtney McKenna

A selection of Up The Ladder artists: Matthew, Kristina, Amy, Donna, work study Edem, David, Yasmin, Carmen, and Donna

Leaves are not the only things changing over here in Brookline, where 21 Gateway artists have been selected to move their careers Up The Ladder. Working in small groups to allow greater focus and minimum distraction, these artists have been given access to individualized support from Gateway's staff of professional artists. Staff members instill in these artists an understanding of their creative practice and how to turn it into a real career option.  

The Project Director, Courtney McKenna, is working one-on-one with each individual to develop an artist statement and professional resume, while Portfolio Director Gary Batty photographs finished work to build their digital portfolios. McKenna and Batty's work will facilitate the mainstream art world's access to the inventory of these 21 artists, opening their careers to added exhibition possibilities. Members of the Up The Ladder Board, as well as UTL staff, meet regularly to discuss the progress being made.  

UTL Facilitator Ashley shows the progress being made by artist Carmella S. at staff meetings

Groups have participated in field trips to the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Waterworks Museum.  The artists were particularly infatuated with the ICA's Barry McGee exhibition, where they were given time to explore and remark on a variety of pieces. Matthew Treggiari, a lover of cats and drawing on napkins, was especially fond of a corner of the exhibit featuring a cluster of framed napkin drawings. “Oh, wow” he remarked upon being pointed in the direction of the piece.  

Artist Matthew and UTL Director Courtney discuss the work of Barry McGee at the ICA. 

Funding from the Shapiro FamilyFoundation and a variety of private families and organizations allow us to give our artists these ‘Wow’ moments, and help them connect the work they make to the larger contemporary art world outside of Gateway Arts.

It has been a great first 6 months. Artists’ works have been featured in special exhibits and have been purchased from various collectors and gallery owners.  Our excitement for our artists is growing, and we can hardly wait to see what the next 6 months will bring. 

Stay tuned!

For inquiries on Up The Ladder or to support the project, please contact Courtney McKenna at mckennac@vinfen.org or Hannah Hoffman at hoffmanh@vinfen.org .  We look forward to seeing you at our next event! 

Staff Pick: Handmade Card by Barbara Brown

Hand-made products are always in season at Gateway Arts, and our warm, personal greeting cards are the perfect pick for a month that welcomes back the sweater. Paper Studio supervisor Mark Hennen has chosen a card by artist Barbara Brown to share for our October Staff Pick: 

With the waning of the harvest moon we’ve had some cool nights, but no frost yet in the Boston metropolitan area.  Gateway artist Barbara Brown recently captured the essence of this seasonal interlude on a 5 ½ in x 4 ½, one-of-a-kind note card. 

Working within the parameters dictated by the card stock and its small size, Barbara effectively combines keen observation with confidently gestural color pencil work to offer us an unpretentiously literal vignette that captures the jaunty body language of four successful urban farmers surrounded by the verdant tangle of their late season garden.

To learn more about Barbara Brown and her work, visit her page on our website. 

Staff Pick: Portraits of Audrey Hepburn, by Charles Hurvitz

This month's selection comes from Courtney McKenna, the Clinical Assistant & Special Projects Coordinator at Gateway Arts. 

Photography by Melanie Bernier

In this particular series of work, Charles Hurvitz has chosen to focus on the late Audrey Hepburn. Sitting with a photograph, markers and vellum, Hurvitz enthusiastically begins to sing tunes from the musical My Fair Lady.  Moving his hand in rhythm with his voice, these portraits become more than drawings; they venture into the realm of performance art.   

Each portrait presents a different mood of seemingly different women. 

 The emotion in Charles’ deliberate marker strokes allows each piece to effectively develop. They become less about Audrey Hepburn, and more about individuals and moments.  Charles’ color choice and line placement present to us perhaps a saintly figure, a darkly clad and hidden face, and a woman leaning on a man. Throughout all of these, Charles is able to create spirited images with a haunting energy.

Charles longs for times gone by.  He often asks if individuals remember an actor or musician, while remarking “they’re old”.  He has successfully given these interpretations of a woman known so well, new life.  

Find more information on Charles Hurvitz and his work on our website. 

Artist of the Month, August 2013: Andrew Granger

Text by Melanie Bernier. Photographs by Melanie Bernier and River Cortes.

Canoe, 2011. Earthenware with underglaze.

Handbuilding with earthenware connects an artist to the natural world. This may be part of the allure for Andrew Granger, an Eagle Scout and avid camper.

The plasticity of the medium allows him to create representations of what might be found on a walk in nature. Seemingly crude at first, these sculpted rocks (above) are textured with lacerations which suggest fissures, and have been treated with a gunmetal underglaze. The results very specifically convey mudstone or shale. A rearing cobra and coiled rattlesnake are more energetic examples of Granger’s natural theme.

Rearing cobra, earthenware and underglaze.

Coiled rattlesnake, earthenware and underglaze. 

These architectural sculptures (below) are both straight-forward and whimsical, as they lead us to imagine ancient ruins uncovered in a remote and tropical landscape. The obtusely angled, pocked building blocks again portray natural stones which have been collected to raise a miniature civilization.    

Granger’s pottery has the same hand-worked quality of his sculptures, and his designs are often completed with a painted natural spiral. The high contrast underglaze finishes make these functional pieces really pop. 

Andrew Granger’s work can be found in our craft store in Brookline, MA. Learn more about Granger and his work on our website. 

Staff Pick: Skirt by Janet Inman

Photographs by Melanie Bernier
Gateway's Fabric Studio Manager, Ashley Brown, brings you this month's selection:

Summer is breezy and bright, and so is this cute A-line skirt created by Janet Inman. The palette that Janet used is brilliant for summer, and the neon colors she selected are trending this season. Janet constructed a random pattern of pinks, greens, reds, blues, greens, and oranges.

The idea for this skirt came directly from Janet’s last project in the fabric studio. She created a unique set of toddler’s overalls. She created many stripes below a sun. When asked what these decorative stripes were, she exclaimed, “A rainbow!”  The rainbow overalls were such a hit that she wanted to create more from this theme of rainbows, and she chose to work on a skirt.

She executed this skirt perfectly. The colors are not arranged in the predictable order of a conventional rainbow.  The spontaneous pattern keeps the skirt fresh and appealing. The quality of the stripes are not rigid and straight like those you would see manufactured by a machine in the big box stores. Instead, this skirt has varying thick and thin lines, giving the skirt a whimsical, artistic quality. This skirt will keep you guessing, not all colors wrap around to the other side, at times there is a sharp shift in color. Because the skirt is not predictable, it catches your eye and keeps your eye moving with curiosity.

The skirt makes a versatile piece for any wardrobe. It matches well with many color shirts making this piece a welcomed addition to any closet. This piece was quickly snatched up and purchased upon completion. However, all hope is not lost, Janet enjoys doing commissions! Contact us today about commissioning an item of your choice.

Interview with Ray Salter

Photographs by Melanie Bernier and Gary Batty. Edited by Melanie Bernier. 

Ray Salter speaks with Gateway director Rae Edelson about the work in his current exhibition, Portraits, on display in the Gateway Gallery until August 31. To learn more about the exhibition, visit our website.

Salter sits with his work in the studio. 

Edelson: How did you happen to do a series of portraits of writers and painters? Is this a common theme in your work?

Salter: I really look for a spontaneous character in my paintings. I like working with well-known people, especially writers and artists, and try to capture their spontaneous character.

Do you sketch your paintings before committing them to paper? How do you work, what is your process?

I usually try to get a fast, transparent sketch, and then I go from that right into the painting alla prima. I’m thinking about working the way [Henri de Toulouse-] Lautrec worked by getting a spontaneous drawing and then working from that.

You work on a variety of papers.  What do you like to paint on?

I particularly like to work on cardboard because, like Lautrec, it gives you a basic tonal quality that you can work with. It adapts very well to painting alla prima, or all at once.

When I first knew you, you were concerned about some of the smudges that occurred in your painting. At this point it looks like they've added value to them. I've always loved your smudges, how do you feel about them?

As long as it works towards creating a total spontaneous effect, I think it can sometimes work to your advantage to have a smudge or a smear. I don’t set out to paint that way, but it sometimes happens, sometimes in the drawing itself.

What colors are used to execute your vision, and why?

I try to work with a limited palette because it works better for spontaneity and for creating a myriad number of effects, rather than jumping into a huge palette which can be confusing and disorienting. So I use color in a very interpretive way, maybe four or five colors at the most. It’s a discipline to work that way.

I know you have a great background in literature and philosophy as well as art. In this series you have Mark Twain, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Poe, Wolfe, and Wharton - quite a wonderful bunch.  Do you have a favorite author in this group?

Probably F. Scott Fitzgerald. I really like his writing style and technique. He doesn’t necessarily have the most arresting face, but he’s a hell of a writer.

The age old dilemma of who is the best American author always seems to be between Melville and Fitzgerald. Would you pick Fitzgerald?

I’d pick Fitzgerald.

Have you had the fortune or misfortune of seeing the new Great Gatsby movie? What do you think?

The part of the movie that I did see, about half an hours’ worth, was pretentious and very transparent. [ Baz Luhrmann is] trying to create an effect that was not within the book but outside of it, and completely unnecessary as far as I’m concerned.

"Portraits" in the Gateway Gallery.

Staff Pick: Sculpture of J.R. Ewing

This month's selection was written by River Cortes, the head of Gateway's Pottery studio. 
Photographs by Melanie Bernier

J.R. Ewing is the villain that Dallas fans love to hate, and Michele has sculpted him in clay. Michele was not a sculptor before joining Gateway in 2004, but now she delights in giving form to her favorite celebrities and animals.

Michele's intention was to create a straightforward portrait of J.R. Ewing, and she has succeeded at that. But her process has left the piece with a curious energy. The portrait is comprised of disparate media: unrefined clay forms; acrylic paint, applied with evidence of masking and layered brushwork; and details drawn on with paint marker. All of these convey ostensibly logical information, but the unexpected combination of media creates an energetic interplay of harmony and contradiction.

As with much of the work by Gateway artists, the strength in Michele's piece exceeds the intentional.  Its physicality makes it easy for the viewer to be engaged not only by what Michele has deliberately created, but by what she has incidentally allowed.