Amanda and I headed down to Boston on Thursday, November 15 to set up our booth for the 16th Annual
Boston International Fine Arts Show. McGowan Fine Art has not attended since 2004 so this was a big adventure for both of us.
It was a day of packing up two vehicles with art, pedestals, shrink wrap bins and all of the tools necessary to make transactions, unloading all the artwork, then arranging and hanging the artwork on the walls. We had time for a late lunch and then back to the booth to put on our party clothes for the preview that evening.
Some of the fun of attending these events is the opportunity to talk with other galleries. We are able to indulge in a little shop talk and art world gossip, trade tips or just get a feel for the market in other parts of the country. Our booth neighbors were great.
From Russia With Art of Cambridge, Massachusetts shared photos of their pampered Westie. The women from
Pride Gallery of Virginia had a beautiful display that Amanda has tucked away some ideas from.
It is also great to hear from the fair goers. Many approached us and said we had the best looking booth. It is gratifying to know that the artists we carry are well received by so many. People really responded to the new street scene
Unloading by
John Bonner.
Vernalis by
Gary Haven Smith was also a conversation starter. The portrait and still lifes by
Stoney Jacobs, kinetic sculptures by
Bruce Campbell and bright abstracts of
Catherine Bartlett Hirani were other favorites.
Saturday and Sunday were busy days at the fair with many people wandering through non-stop. We had a chance to play with the new ap that Amanda downloaded for her phone. Using
Square we were able to run credit cards through her phone...with people using their finger as a stylus to sign on the screen. It was easy, fast and not nearly as complicated as calling in a transaction. My how things have changed since I last did an outside show!
As Sunday wound down many of the galleries started to pack away extraneous materials and get ready for the big move out. For all the time and care Amanda and I put into assembling the booth, we were able to disassemble it in less than 20 minutes. I think our efficiency was enhanced by our desire to get home after four 12-hour days. Unfortunately we were not the only ones to want to get home. We waited another hour for space to park in front of the building and porters to help us schlep the art back out to our cars. You can see a photo of us lounging in front of our mountain of art. It gave us a little more time to chat with dealers. Some were starting drives back to Virginia or further that night. They are braver and hardier than I!
Thanks to all who visited and sustained us while we were there.
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This project was coordinated by Amanda Lacasse - Corporate Art Consultant for McGowan Fine Art. Lacasse selected bright, colorful artwork
for the recently renovated administrative building, Adrienne Hall, to reflect
the energy of Rivier’s students, faculty, and staff. She also helped to update
a historic list of all the sisters who have served on campus, helping
facilitate a fresh design and presentation
to complement the contemporary building. The final product is a modern look at this
one piece of Rivier’s history. 
In her latest works, Susan Wahlrab pushes her handling of
watercolor to a new level. Heavily
layered pigment defies the expected fluidity typical of this medium. Wahlrab’s paintings appear at first glance
like traditional oil paintings. However, her technique of layering watercolor on
clay board enhances the slick, satin-like surface. 
Shandra McLane achieves luminous, satin-like surfaces
reminiscent of Wahlrab, by piecing together glass like a puzzle. The distinct
interior and exterior designs of her vessels are fused together as a single pane
of glass. The whole pane is then placed atop a hollow form in a kiln for about
30 hours and allowed to slump into a bowl form. The corners are then cut off to
complete the bowl and sandblasted to give the surface a matte finish. The color
is heightened in the translucent vessels when light comes through, giving a hint
of pattern on the other side. McLane will also have wall pieces on display.
McGowan Fine Art of Concord, NH completed a project
for the new corporate headquarters of Emerson Ecologics, at 1230 Elm
Street, in Manchester, NH. Emerson Ecologics is dedicated to providing the highest quality nutritional
supplements, service solutions and educational support to healthcare
practitioners to improve the lives of their patients.
I was able to attend the opening of Ralph Stone Jacobs paintings at The Hargate at St Paul's School in Concord, NH. Colin Callahan is the director. It is always fun to see how someone else
will present the work of one of your artists. 
Gary continues to coax art from
stone, lead and slate, letting the tools take the lead in the design. His most
recent work has moved towards a sparer, more elegant look with fewer colors. “I
am pushing the tools more than the materials” says Smith. And sometimes that
push requires restraint. This is evident in the large painting “Vernalis.” The
grain of the slate creates waves of concentric pattern which are broken up by
the organic forms of gold leaf ebbing and flowing across the surface. The grid
pattern of the slate pieces adds a geometric orderliness to the painting. “My
paintings are moving away from color and towards etching and gilding of the
surface. The texture of the materials does enough.”
Smith continues to explore mechanically controlled
cutting of granite boulders to create his sculptures. In “One the Way II” he has
allowed the diamond tipped blade to slowly drop through a stone while it rotates
on a turntable. Cutting at approximately an inch an hour the movement creates a
tight helix. “The sculptures are about what is there and what isn’t there,” says
Smith. It creates an interesting give and take between the ghost silhouette of
the former stone and the freshly cut outline.
It isn't the technical aspects of Susan's work that engage me though. Her color choices are absolutely seductive. She has an ability to combine vivid colors without creating visual mayhem. That is not as easy as it sounds- especially as each cell of color can be quite small. There is a risk that it will be read as a pattern rather than light, shadow or volume. 
McGowan Fine Art announces the opening of “Prey and Predator"
featuring the paintings of Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The show will run from September
4 through October 5, with an artist’s reception on September 7 from 5 to 7 PM. This
is free and open to the public.
Ms Tyrol has turned her attention to other animals also. In
“Pray” a small mouse fills the space with its apprehensive, wide eyed stare
while being shadowed by the ominous wings of a raptor. It is a portrait of
beauty and terror. “I tried to capture the hyper vigilant state of prey
animals,” referring to a portrait with an ermine sitting upright, its white fur
set off by a feathery background pattern. In “Blue Eyed Raven” she created a
classic three quarter portrait of a Corvid from a singular colony of whiteravens in British Columbia.
All of the birds have blue eyes. “It is the only color I included in the whole
show. Those blue eyes are so arresting.”
