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‘Plant Matter’ in Newton, Campos-Pons at Harvard, Haitian art in Cambridge
BY RANDI HOPKINS
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Since 1991, the New Art Center in Newton has offered independent curators the chance to take an original idea for an art exhibition and, as Mickey and Judy would say, "put on a show" through its public Curatorial Opportunities Program. Every year, the Center issues a call for proposals to show work in the beautiful — if curatorially challenging — 19th-century church that serves as its main exhibition space (stained-glass windows and all), then selects the lucky winners through a carefully juried process. The results have been impressive (if this former selectee does say so herself), and in the 12 years of the project’s existence, the work of more than 700 artists and 40 curators has been seen. This year, out of the 42 proposals received by the New Art Center’s selection committee, three have been chosen for realization, including "Plant Matter," which opens this Friday. Curated by artists Abbie Read, Jessica Straus, and Antoinette Winters, "Plant Matter" features the work of 17 artists, including art by each of the three curators. "The focus of this show," explains sculptor Jessica Straus, "is on artists dealing with plants, but not in the traditional landscape or still-life context. Instead, the approaches range from a narrative or more metaphorical use of botanical imagery to looking at the physical structure of their subject matter, and some take the idea of plants as a jumping-off point for abstraction." Many media are represented in "Plant Matter," from painting, printmaking, and digital imagery to sculpture and ceramics. Vermont-based artist Daniel Ladd casts growing gourds in molds he creates; the result is a vegetable that has grown into the shape of an unlikely object such as an electrical cord or a plumbing pipe. Phyllis Ewen creates quirky latex castings of bottles, fruits, and vegetables that evoke strange scientific instruments. Straus herself creates what she describes as "fantastical vegetable forms" from wood. "Some are standard vegetable sizes, and some are oversized, like my Paired Pickles, each of which has two pickle-shaped objects linked by a carved vine." From flower to pod, leaf to limb, no aspect of plant life appears to go unexamined in this earthy exhibition. Cuban-born artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons, who is of West African descent, is a Boston photographer and teacher who explores issues of identity and complex cultural and spiritual background. She’ll be giving an informal lunch-hour talk about her work at the Fogg Art Museum’s Mongan Center this Tuesday; if you live or work in the area, try to drop by. "Radiant & Resilient: Haitian Art Today," an exhibition and art sale opening at the Cambridge Art Association on October 2, features more than 100 paintings with Haitian flair, in styles from popular realism to abstraction. The art looks to be dazzling, and proceeds from the sale will benefit the construction of a new learning/community center in Dorchester. There are lots of related activities — music, poetry, dance, and more — planned to keep things lively through December. "Plant Matter" is at the New Art Center in Newton, 61 Washington Park in Newtonville, September 19 through October 29, with a free opening reception on September 19 from 6 to 8 p.m.; call (617) 964-3424. María Magdalena Campos-Pons will speak as part of the series "Light Conversation: Seminars with Contemporary Photographers" at the Mongan Center in the Fogg Art Museum, 32 Quincy Street in Harvard Square, September 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; call (617) 495-9400. "Radiant & Resilient: Haitian Art Today" is at the Cambridge Art Association’s University Place Gallery, 124 Mount Auburn Street in Harvard Square, October 2 through 30 with a free opening reception on October 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.; call (617) 492-7349.
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