January is the most visceral of art months. One normally doesn't search for Spring paintings in April, Summer scenes in July or Autumnal landscapes in October; the other three art seasons are seasonally-agnostic. Winter is different. Come January in New England, I look forward to seeing seasonally-appropriate works of art, and a major reason is the physical impact it has on me.
Most of the time, the benefits of seeing art are internal: how it makes one feel or think. But in January especially, the benefits are also physical because when I see a Winter landscape (by Pissarro, for example), I have two immediate reactions. The first is to experience that snow myself, whether nordic or downhill skiing, skating, snowshoeing, hiking or just walking under a snowfall and hearing the crunch of snow under my feet. The second reaction is to get cozy, like how I feel after seeing Childe Hassam's At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight). But the best way to get cozy is to first be active outside.
Like Hassam's painting of Boston Common at twilight, Monet's Entrance to the Village of Vétheuil in Winter captures the incredible Winter light you can see in the early dusk. Light pinks, lavenders and purples mix with pale yellows and icy blues. You can feel the chill.
Below are some local Winter paintings, as well as some links for outdoor activities. Hit the museums then hit the trails and be sure to layer up.
- Hadley
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Left to right: Childe Hassam, At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight), 1885-86 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston); Alfred Sisley, The Loing and The Mills of Moret, Snow Effect, 1891 (The Clark Museum); Claude Monet, Entrance to the Village of Vétheuil in Winter, 1879 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston); John Henry Twachtman, Brook in Winter, 1892 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston); Ansel Adams, Young Oaks, Winter, 1938 (Addison Gallery of American Art), Camille Pissarro, Piette's House at Monfoucault, 1874 (The Clark Museum).
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Be like an Impressionist and get outside this Winter!
- Nordic skiing
- Winter walks and snowshoeing
- Skating
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Image: Installation shot, exhibition As Far As UUU Take Me, Company Gallery, September 2019
Raúl de Nieves was born in 1983 in Michoacán, Mexico and lives and works in New York. De Nieves, who works in sculpture and performance, attributes his art practice to his childhood education in Mexico, where he was taught to sew and crochet.
De Nieves makes intricate sculptures using plastic beads that require intensive manual labor. He has gained recognition in both the art and fashion worlds, and has often worked with discarded shoes, resulting in pieces that are more fantastical than practical (though still possible) to wear. In the image above, faux stained glass windows and beaded sculptures create an immersive experience. A similar installation was exhibited at the 2017 Whitney Biennial. If you were in Miami for Art Basel, you may have seen his works with Company Gallery in the Nova section. The artist has upcoming presentations at the ICA Boston (2020) and MOCA Miami (2020).
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German-born artist Udo Nöger's luminous monochrome paintings capture light, movement and energy expressed in highly minimalistic compositions.
To produce works that appear to emanate light from within, Nöger employs an almost architectural approach. The paintings comprise three layers of canvas mounted on stretchers set at a distance from one another. The interior canvas, from which the artist cuts out simplified biomorphic forms, functions as the actual pictorial plane. Once the internal composition is complete, the outermost surface is treated with mineral oil to amplify translucency and visually bring the composition to the forefront.
The resulting works are subtle and atmospheric, both in the visual nature of the paintings and in how they interact with the surrounding space—the kind of light, the quality of light, even the time of day can impact the viewing experience. While the paintings are rendered in a restrained palette of soft whites and grays, depending on the light that illuminates the work, faint shades of blue, purple and green can emerge.
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When entering Brookline artist Murray 'Mac' Dewart's studio you are struck by the monumental scale and achievement of a sculptor who has been working for over forty years. A co-founder of the Boston Sculptors Gallery, his granite and bronze-forms can be functional as gates demarcating an entrance or metaphoric.
Dewart's sculptures are found in large public and private sculpture parks and gardens across the United States and are included in more than twenty permanent collections. Commissioned by two Chinese cities, Beijing and Fuzhou, he built large bronze and granite sculptures for their international sculpture parks. His park project for Cambridge, MA has been described as “a landscape gem, hosting three world class sculptures.” His bronze Sun Gate was purchased by Harvard University for the Leverett House courtyard.
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For the seasoned collector or those just starting a collection, it is important to maintain an up to date inventory. Key pieces of information to include in your inventory:
- A clear digital image of the work
- Full cataloging details (artist name, title, medium, description, date, dimensions)
- Condition report
- Location
- Insurance valuation
- Invoice or listing of amount paid
- Where work was acquired
- Any provenance, exhibition or literature history
Collection management activities that Powell Fine Art Advisory handles:
- Installation
- Curation
- Acquisitions
- Loans to museums and universities
- Estate planning with gifts of art
- Framing
- Restoration and conservation
- Shipping and logistics
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Upcoming Auctions
- January 30, Swann Auction Galleries, African-American Art from the Johnson Publishing Company
- January 22-29, Christie's, Dressing the Table: Contemporary Fine Dining
- January 23, Sotheby's, Mario Buatta: Prince of Interiors
- January 24, Christie's, Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Silver
- January 29, Sotheby's, Master Paintings Evening Sale
- January 30- February 7, Christie's, Picasso Ceramics
- February 3, Bonham's, Home & Interiors
- February 12-13, Bonham's, The Gentleman's Library Sale
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Follow me on Instagram
@powellfineartadvisory
to stay up to date on my latest projects, artist studio visits, inspirations and more.
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