meredith cutler :: arts marketing :: artist

A nested component of Providence's annual FirstWorks Festival, Pixilerations spotlights new trends in digital media and interactive performance through a 9-day series of exhibitions and events. Now celebrating its 5th year with a roster of over 60 participating artists and performers, "Pixilerations [v.5]: fragments & (w)holes", opens tonight with a reception at RISD's Sol Koffler Gallery. At 7pm, guest artists Heidi Kumeo and Gail Wight will give a public talk on their work at 191 Westminster Street, the festival's additional exhibition space.

All events are free to the public, representing a great oppportunity to experience the latest artistic innovations in robotics, holography, sound and interactive media. Visit the festival website for a complete calendar of Pixilerations events and exhibitions.

RISD's Sol Koffler Gallery is located at 169 Weybosset St. in Providence

The long-awaited Chace Center at RISD opens to the public today, adding 43,000 square feet of sophisticated, mixed-use space to bridge key areas of the diverse campus with the public arena of Providence's Market Square.

Above: Chace Center - Courtesy of the RISD Museum / Photo by Erik Gould

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect José Rafael Moneo, the sleek, five-story facility offers the community much-needed programming and educational space, to be shared by the RISD Museum, risd|works, The Minskoff Center for Prints, Drawings and Photographs, the new Gelman Student and Dryfoos Student Media Galleries, and expanded RISD office, studio and classroom facilities. The new Metcalf Auditorium on the ground floor offers additional presentation and event space to RISD and the greater Providence community.

Above: Dale Chihuly, "Persian Ceiling", 2008. Photo by Meredith Cutler

Grand Opening celebrations are free and open to the public today, with a hospitality tent set up across the street from the new main lobby entrance at 20 North Main Street. There, timed tickets for the inaugural exhibition: Chihuly at RISD, can be picked up until 5:30pm, when the tent will be transformed into a public tapas lounge for the enjoyment of the Waterfire crowd.

Above: Dale Chihuly, "Glass Forest #4", 2008. Photo by Meredith Cutler

I'll be reviewing Chihuly at RISD, as well as outlining the features and impact of the new Chace Center in the upcoming year-end issue of Artscope Magazine. For today, (and I anticipate for some time to come) this architectural centerpiece is the talk of the town, so grab your umbrella and check it out!

Chace Center at Rhode Island School of Design: 20 Main Street, Providence, RI 02903

To celebrate their 1-year anniversary as the only public printshop in Rhode Island, the AS220 Community Printshop will hold their First Biennial Print Lottery tomorrow, Saturday, September 27th, from 7-10pm. All ticket holders will win an original printed art work, representing a variety of print media practiced and taught in the shop. The blind lottery selection includes works in: drawing, monoprint, screenprint, etching, lithograph, woodblock, stencil and letterpress...all created in the warm glow of the communal Printshop.

Lottery tickets are set at a $75 flat rate, with proceeds to support the AS220 printshop's public programs. All work is currently on exhibit in the AS220 main gallery for your eager perusal. See you there!

AS220 and everything that entails: 115 Empire Street Providence, RI 02903

It's the third Thursday of the month, which means Gallery Night for those of you in or around the Providence area. The calendar page's turn to September generally initiates the re-opening (or reinvigoration) of galleries and educational institutions, so it's a great time to explore the city's art scene. Step outside and into the fresh, early evening air and check out the premiere shows of a new season.

Above: "Of Mind and Matter" by Ken Takashi Horii - on view at the Chazan Gallery at Wheeler.

Opening tonight at the Chazan Gallery at Wheeler: "Of Mind and Matter" by sculptor and RISD professor Ken Takashi Horii. I had the pleasure of interviewing Ken for the current issue of Artscope Magazine and can wholeheartedly recommend this exhibit, which features Horii's sculptural and ink-drawing investigations into perceptions of allusion and illusion. Referencing Western Rorschach ink-blot tests embedded and alongside the diagrammatic structures of Tantric Buddhism, this show is bound to open many doors for observation and conversation.

Above: "Waterfire: Superman Building" by Anthony Tomaselli - on view at Gallery Z

Over on the expanding gallery roster of Federal Hill, the "Rhode Island Italian Artists" exhibit is showing at Gallery Z, featuring local landscapes by Anthony Tomaselli alongside other small works in painting by Stephanie Marzella, photography by Angelo Marinosci and Salvatore Mancini, and renowned sculptor and painter Angelo Rosati. Tip: This tax-free zone is a great stop for local art enthusiasts and collectors.

Above: "White Tara Mandala" (detail) - Kancha Lama, on view at the Providence College Robert and Mary Anne Reilly Gallery.

School is definitely back in session, and Providence College's art galleries are hopping once again. At the Hunt-Cavanaugh Gallery, check out "Some Measure - Martha Groome Paintings" (on view through October 16th). Nearby at the Reilly Gallery, visit tonight's sneak preview opening of "Tribute To Tibet", featuring Tibetan "thangka" paintings and other artifacts from area collections. As part of this exhibit, two monks from the Dalai Lama’s Namgyal Monastery (in Ithaca, New York), will create a Sand Mandala in the Gallery between September 21st -27th. On the afternoon of September 27th the monks will dismantle the Mandala, with the remnants to be ritually poured into the river by WaterPlace Park during that Saturday evening's WaterFire event.

It was not the lovliest of autumn weekends, but overcast skies didn't stop me from checking out the Providence Open Market on Saturday, newly relocated to Lippett Park (where Blackstone Blvd. intersects Hope St.)

Luckily for the vendors, I wasn't the only one unphased by the gloomy weather - a good group of East Siders held court, inspecting various goodies on display by local artisans and foodies. I was a bit disappointed to find that there were only two foodie stalls, but I'll get over it...I had already hit up Pastiche (pictured below) for some artisan cookies!

With some gift shopping to do, I was happy to encounter fellow East-Side indie artisan Kim Clark of Lucky Bird Studio. With a sharp eye for color and pattern, she incorporates revived papers (chiyogami-style), tiny beads, findings and hardware into microcosmic, epoxy-set collages - then reborn as earrings, pendants, hair pins or bracelets. Her signature pieces in this style live in small, copper-plated brass settings (about the size of a penny). I had a hard time picking just one! Kim's website, a bit of eye-candy in itself, does a great job at highlighting her wide selection of patterns and products.

Returning home after chit-chatting with Leigh Medieros of Warren's new Yes Gallery + Studio, I ran into Bravo the cat - who awaited me in ambush on my front steps. I care for my semi-feral friend and his scrappy pal Matilda when their sponsors (my landlords) are away. I just have to mention Bravo, because he is such a bizarre alley cat. Resembling a notch-eared, gigantic version of my enormously beloved (and sadly deceased) luxury cat, Phaedrus, Bravo's got quite an overbite...and simply cannot get enough love, which he demands by biting me!

Besides caring for emotionally needy, semi-feral garden cats - I also support the ASPCA and encourage everyone to check out their local chapter. Right now, the ASPCA needs our help to support their efforts to rescue animals affected by the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes. Every little bit helps!

The Providence Open Market has two more Saturdays in store for us this season: September 20th and 27th.