ABSTRACTING THE BEAUTY OF BEACHES, WEIRS, AND ORGANIC SHAPES, the artists of Provincetown. Massachusetts are synonymous with community and innovation as members o a world-class art colony.
Now through August 26th, Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery is sharing a slice of this Cape Cod hotspot. affectionately known as "P-Town." with its very own audience of Santa Barbara artists and art-lovers.
Ranging from intriguing steel sculptures to avant-garde motifs and colortul shoreline scenes, the exhibition focuses on three pivotal P-Town artists: Judith Rothschild, Betty Lane, and Sidney Gordin.
Locals are left with a compelling show that celebrates the unique artistic potential that emerges when dozens of artists foster community in a seaside town.
*Thats a sort of sub-theme of the whole exhibition - how they ended up out here is because we're a very small town and we punch way above our weight in the art world, shared Sullivan Goss Gallerv Director Jeremy Tessmer. And there are important parallels between Provincetown and Santa Barbara as art colonies sort of established in the '20s."
Tessmer first grew inspired to curate a P-Town focused show when the gallery began representing udith Rothschild. At one time president of the American Abstract Artists Association. Rothschild's works are housed in museums across the country. She was an important figure in Provincetowns abstract art scene. later moving to Monterey, California.
"I was trying to find a context where I could introduce our audience to her work," explained Tessmer In considering Rothschild's background, Tessmer thought of two other P- Town artists also represented by Sullivan Goss. Painter Betty Lane retired to P-Town. while abstract sculptor and painter Sidney Gordin operated a P- Town studio even while teaching at UC Berkeley.
Connections between the artists P-lown roots and Santa Barbara rose to the surface - after all, both cities are near major art cities, are renowned for tourism, have large communities of creatives, and engage in regional and national artistic conversations. Combined with the fact that these three artists focused on abstraction and worked in P-lown at its peak from the 1940s to the 6Us, P-lown in S.B. was born.
Rothschild's bold, colorful paintings serve as the show's visual anchor. Resembling overlapping and conjoined puzzle pieces, her abstract designs draw viewers for close examination and investigation. A similar play with bold lines is witnessed in her more abstracted landscapes, which trees, water, and a horizon.
Lanes' softer watercolor and oil paintings invite visitors to consider the natural beaut of Provincetowi as a beach community. Yellow fields wave above welcoming channels, windswept rocks foreground churning waters, and ships lazily meander to shore.
Gordin's steel and wire sculptures punctuate the show's striking canvases with grounding nuance. His organic and geometric compositions mirror the natural imagery found in Lane;s landscapes, suggesting that our lived surroundings are nothing more than a pleasing amalgamation or shape and form. Each sculptures impact is heightened by their unique and visually interesting shadows.
Adding to the national-meets-local atmosphere o P- lown in J.B. are Sullivan Goss' two other ongoing shows. In the front room, visitors admire the vibrant, labyrinthine works of Ethiopian-American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof. In the back, viewers may admire the Summer Salon II, highlighting local artists summertime musings as well as Four Nations, One Spirit, which includes the painting that served as the centennial poster for Old Spanish Days.