11 Exhibits and Books for Your Summer 2016 Design Fix
Exhibits
Beautiful Breakdown
New England native Elizabeth Alexander challenges traditional notions of class, femininity, and beauty through tactile sculptures and installations. This series of works, which she creates by deconstructing and reconfiguring objects and images, is on view in a weeks-long exhibition at Boston Sculptors Gallery.
6/8–7/17, 486 Harrison Ave., Boston, 617-482-7781, bostonsculptors.com.
Bright Idea
Boston-based artist Clint Baclawski creates glowing installations by slipping photo-covered LED lights into long polycarbonate tubes, which he then mounts on metallic plexiglass. His latest series, “Light Bulbs,” which explores technology’s impact on nature, comes to Adelson Galleries this June.
6/3–7/31, 520 Harrison Ave., Boston, 617-832-0633, adelsongalleriesboston.com.
Perfect Catch
Symbolism dominates the work of Barbara Eskin, who examines the literal and figurative functions of nets in her abstract collages. Featuring up to eight canvases, a new exhibit at Galatea Fine Art spotlights the German-born artist’s most recent pieces.
7/1–7/31, 460B Harrison Ave., Boston, 617-542-1500, galateafineart.com.
Wendy Chidester
Still-life painter Wendy Chidester returns to Arden Gallery with more than a dozen works, which breathe new life into long-forgotten relics (think: vintage typewriters and slide projectors).
8/2–8/28, 129 Newbury St., Boston, 617-247-0610, ardengallery.com.
Yuri Kobayashi
Gallery Naga presents a selection of contemporary furniture by New England–based woodworker Yuri Kobayashi, whose Japanese heritage informs her sculptural designs.
6/3–7/9, 67 Newbury St., Boston, 617-267-9060, gallerynaga.com.
Fran Forman and Ken Matsuzaki
Artist Fran Forman’s dreamlike images, created by superimposing old photographs on painted scenery, mingle with potter Ken Matsuzaki’s textural vases, tea bowls, and cups in a dual exhibition at Pucker Gallery.
6/4–7/17, 240 Newbury St., Boston, 617-267-9473, puckergallery.com.
Books
City Dreams
A jack-of-all-trades, Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier—remembered for his controversial politics and trailblazing concrete edifices—was a gifted painter, sculptor, and illustrator. His grand attempts at urban planning for the North African city of Algiers are captured in Poésie sur Alger, first published in 1950.
Out 6/28, $30, Hatje Cantz.
This Land Is Your Land
From Maine’s rocky shores to Washington’s snow-capped mountains, Picturing America’s National Parks is a visual homage to the country’s diverse terrain. Photographs by the likes of Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Lee Friedlander, with commentary from curator Jamie Allen, commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
Out 5/24, $50, Aperture/George Eastman Museum.
Free Roses, By Alex Da Corte
Complete with full-page illustrations and essays by Mass MoCA curator Susan Cross, this volume chronicles a decade of work by neo-pop artist Alex Da Corte, whose vibrant sculptures, paintings, and videos examine themes such as death and desire.
Out 8/1, $50, Prestel.
At Home in Sri Lanka, By Tom Sykes
Photographer James Fennell teams up with author Tom Sykes to explore the unique features of 26 Sri Lankan properties that were built to withstand the island’s extreme weather and climate.
Out 6/14, $45, Thames & Hudson.
Katrin Fridriks: Stendhal Syndrome, By Klaus Speidel, Pierre Restany, and Henry Périer
This hardcover monograph spotlights the internationally acclaimed work of artist Katrin Fridriks, who uses sweeping brushstrokes and dripped paint to create abstract masterpieces.
Out 6/28, $60, Skira.
Courtesy of Boston Sculptors Gallery (Queen’s Garden II, hand-cut porcelain); hatje cantz (PoéSie Sur Alger); Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, (Two Boys with Striped Shirts, Bright Angel Point, Grand Canyon, 2010); galatea fine art (The Net Reconfigured/2 and The Net Reconfigured/Twosome by barbara eskin)
