Hey! So, you might have noticed that we haven't posted info about our shows in a long time. That's because we haven't had any! We've stopped operating as a retail gallery, but plan to have occasional events and shows from time to time. In the meantime, if you're interested in any of the work or artists you see on our pages, with enough advance notice, we'd be happy to arrange a studio visit in our space at the Beaver Mill in North Adams.

Read all about us!

We're happy to share a couple of recent articles about us.  First, the Berkshire Eagle wrote this truly wonderful review of "Four Seasons", and while they were at it, a nice summary of what we're all about.  Second, we're included in this nifty round-up of art in North Adams. If you don't subscribe to the Boston Globe, you can see a slideshow version of the article here. Please take special note of slides #8 and #13, if you will. 

Featured Artist: Bob Lafond

We have always been pleased to represent Bob Lafond's energetic pastel paintings and charcoal drawings. However, as a part of "Four Seasons", we will be showing a selection of his recent oil paintings for the first time. These paintings teeter on the balance between representation and abstraction, and, as is true of all Bob's work, blur the distinction between working from life versus reference. Mud season, the ultimate inbetween time in New England, has an apt interpreter in these paintings.

Open all winter!

Winter, Downtown North Adams by Thor Wickstrom

Due to the generosity of a kind landlord, studio21south will maintain its downtown storefront all through the winter months!  Check in with us here and on facebook for news + shows through the winter and mud season...which will be here before we all know it!

Our first show, "Four Seasons" will open December 15th, featuring great work from our gallery artists.  Look for our exciting show "Cabinet of Curiosities" opening March 2nd.  (..and if you're an artist and know what we mean by that, we'll be accepting open submissions for the first time. Email us for info, or wait for the announcement.)

Featured Artist: Karen Walter

Karen Walter is the only abstract artist currently showing at studio21south.  We are lucky to be showing an impressive installation of 150 of Karen’s small works on paper in "Black and White (More or Less)"

Karen lives in Boston where she works in paper conservation at Harvard, but she comes to the Berkshires to draw at North Adams' Natural Bridge State Park, whose rock formations and rushing water influence her multi-layered abstractions.

Karen constantly experiments with new media and compositions.  Her playful approach defines her style and makes each one of her pieces truly singular.  Layers of mediums (which may include watercolor, egg tempera, graphite, and charcoal), as well as her subtle use of color, lend depth and mystery to her art.

It took two days for Karen to assemble her installation in the gallery, composing it so that the individual works of art are also striking altogether.  The pleasure of Karen's work really comes alive by spending some time with it, and following the connecting thread that leads from one piece to the next, and back again to nature.

Artists Reception, Sat. 8-4, 3-6pm

Eric March, "Mac House and Cassiopeia"

A reception for the artists of "Black and White (more or less)" will be held at the gallery at 40 Eagle St., North Adams.

"Black and White (more or less)" features prints, paintings, and drawings by Frank Curran, Bob Lafond, Eric March, Karen Walter, and Thor Wickstrom.

Views of an installation

We had a great time this week hosting Karen Walter as she installed 150 (that's right, one-hundred-and-fifty) fantastic drawings for "Black and White (more or less)" opening on 7.26.12.  Each drawing has it's own sense of power, but watching them all come together on the art gallery walls was really something special. A Boston-based artist, her abstract drawings are largely based on her observations of the tidepools and rock formations at Natural Bridge in North Adams.

Closeup of "Nature, Unbounded"

The finished installation in the gallery

Black & White (more or less) opens Thurs., 7.26

Black and White (more or less) at studio21south

Opens July 26th, Artists' Reception 3-6pm

Thor Wickstrom, "Jacks on Eagle Street"

Featuring paintings, drawings, and prints in a generally, if not exclusively, monochrome mood.  Featuring Karen Walter's ambitious installation from her ongoing "Nature Unbounded" project, and Bob Lafond's vibrant Brooklyn streetscapes.  The show also features a survey of Frank Curran's strong, graphic prints of interiors, industrial landscapes, and rock formations that verge on abstraction.  We are also pleased to present a selection of Eric March's work, including paintings completed at his residencies in the Hudson Valley and Provincetown.

Karen Walter, selection from "Nature, Unbounded"

Eagle St. Beach Party this Friday!

Ever been to a beachfront art gallery in the middle of a city?  Us, neither.  North Adams' annual Eagle Street beach party is this Friday, July 13th, 3:30 to 6:30, followed by a margarita party / Mexican Fiesta from 7-10 pm. 

Summer 2012, opening Thursday, June 28!

Eric March, "The Destruction of the Vinegar Hill Power Plant"

Sam Goodsell, "Threshold"

All the awesome contemporary realist art you could hope for is now at a fabulous historic storefront near you. (as long as you happen to be near downtown North Adams, that is).  Never made it out to see our art space at the Beaver Mill?  Now we've made it easy for you.  Already a fan from our loft space, but you missed us all winter?  Us too.  Please come visit the newest little art gallery in downtown North Adams.

Bob Lafond, "Ghost Plane"

New digs!

Paintings of downtown North Adams are right at home!

We love our loft, but couldn't turn down the opportunity to move the art gallery this summer to historic Eagle Street in downtown North Adams.  We'll be keeping the loft for art classes, life drawing sessions, and of course, our own nefarious art-making purposes.  However, having our art gallery downtown will enable us to participate more fully in all the nifty seasonal goings-on in North Adams, including the Berkshire Food Festival, Downstreet Art, and the Eagle Street Beach Party. It's a great time to see art in the Berkshires. Please visit us at 40 Eagle Street, just a short walk from Mass MoCA!

North Adams' newest art gallery.

 

We love our new neighbors, including Martha Flood Textiles right next door!

That's a peek of the interior, with paintings by Thor Wickstrom, Eric March, and Susie Tarnowicz. Assistant gallerist Irene in the foreground.

Nice.

If there's an upside to rehanging an entire art gallery, it's the opportunity to find new ways of appreciating the great art we have on hand.  We are particularly taken with the unexpected synergy between Suzie Tarnowicz's (top) piece together with Eric March's oil painting (below).

Katy Schneider at APE Gallery, Northampton

Katy Schneider was 1/2 of the awesome duo from our "Inside/Out" show last year (her husband, David Gloman, being the other half of that equation) and she's got a show up, Feb 5-29, opening Feb 10, in Northampton at the APE Gallery, 136 Main Street.  Her figure and portrait work are not to be missed.

Long Pose Life Drawing from the Model at studio21south

Monday evenings, 6-9pm

We try to keep things quiet while the model is posing (although there is a baby on premises...), of course headphones are welcome!

Poses may range from 20 minutes to the full session, and may continue from week to week.

Sessions cost $10 per person, but inquire about monthly rate.

189 Beaver St., North Adams also known as Route 8, plenty of free parking.

Please RSVP, as space is limited as space is limited to 10-12 artists
email thorwick (at) gmail(dot) com or call
413-652-2141 or 413-652-4815

Frank Curran Printmaking Demo

Day 1 of North Adams Open Studios was great!  Highlight was Frank Curran's demo of his woodblock carving process.  Love the smell of fresh wood shavings!

Frank is using an antique copying press, originally intended to make single copies of manuscripts & letters, as a portable press for wood block printing

Demos & performance this weekend!

First off, Saturday, October 15 and Sunday October 16 is North Adams Open Studios!  studio21south will be open throughout, 10-6 on Sat., and 10-4 on Sun.  This is also the last weekend of  "Going Coastal" and our last official weekend of the season!

We've also got two great artist demos this weekend, featuring "Going Coastal" and gallery artists Frank Curran and Julia Morgan-Leamon

Frank Curran, "Beginning"

On Saturday from 1-3, the irrepressible Frank will demonstrate woodblock cutting for making prints on paper. He will have on hand a small hand press and ink rollers, as well as examples of other types of blocks used in relief printing such as wood engraving and metal type. (What's wood engraving, and why is it not plain old wood block printing, you ask? Come see!)  

..and your presence + participation are required for Julia's workshop on Sunday from 1-3:30. "Flee, Fly, Fall!" is an experimental painting performance. Participants will assist in making a painting about motion (specifically the 'moment before the fall') by posing either in the air OR enacting the position of being in the air, and/or being traced directly onto the paper. Julia will trace, draw, photograph, and paint; she will capture the motion by overlaying and overlapping these gestures on a large painting surface.

Julia Morgan-Leamon, "Tipping Point"

Are you ready to go coastal with us?

Going Coastal opens Saturday, August 27th!  Works by Frank Curran, Julia Morgan-Leamon, Eric March, and Thor Wickstrom.  Be there, 3-7pm. 

Frank Curran, "Rush"

Paul Rapp talk @studio21south

Had a great time last night hearing from Paul Rapp, an intellectual property attorney specializing in the arts.  (that's our "Oh, Crap!" show in the background, & Eric Rudd introducing Paul...)

For stellar copyright advice, check out Paul's website:  http://www.paulrapp.com/   and better yet, Paul's in the '80s new-wave band Blotto! http://www.blotto.net/  (the one of us who was raised on MTV got all aflutter about this)

Opening today, July 16, 3-7pm

Susie Tarnowicz

"OH, CRAP!" opens today!  We're so proud of our artists and their work!  Plus which, our neighbors at Liebman Studios are also hosting an opening today with live music, from 6-8.  And Jaye Fox, co-manager of studio21south is one of the featured artists in that show.  As they say on TV, come on down!

Bob Lafond

 

 

Gabriella Soraci

"OH, CRAP!" Opens Sat., 7-16, from 3-7pm!

This is going to be a fun day at the  Mill!  Not only are we opening our new show, "Oh, Crap!", but our neighbors at Liebman Studios are having a reception starting at 6, with some cool live music.  Come by!