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