Two artists, two distinctly different media; is there a connection?

              YES. Definitely!

above:Grignaffini and Lougee's work in the Gallery.

 The work of Bob Grignaffini & Michelle Lougee, when brought together, complement each other in surprising ways. Each artist has a strong body of work, compelling in its own right. 

But there’s a synergy, a kind of electric current that jumps between the paintings and  sculptures, that makes the show greater than the sum of its parts.

In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. On the surface, the form and color used by Bob Grignaffini in his work is replicated in the shapes and textures of Michelle’s sculpture. But beyond that, conceptually both artists are strongly attuned to the natural world around us, and to a sense of place.

B. Grignaffini, Into the Garden

In his painting, as well as his work as a landscape professional, Bob shows a passion for creating self-sustaining ecosytems, for designing edible landscapes,  and for working with unprocessed materials such as stone and rough cut timber. Whether on the canvas or in the landscape, his work strives to show the heart and organic movement in what he is creating. His love of material carries over to his painting in the sense that his works have a very painterly quality. Expressing a love for the texture and color of the paint, equal to whatever image he is portraying on the canvas, is closely intertwined with nature, and infused with a sense of our place within it.

M.Lougee, Apologia.

Michele Lougee’s body of work, entitled Material Nature, is a collection of tactile woven forms inspired by microscopic ocean creatures. With some 20,000 types of organisms in a liter of seawater, there are many beautiful forms to draw from. In a continued exploration of material, she has used plastic bags, to crochet  enlargements of some of these life supporting underwater organisms.

The work of both artists is informed by their passion, understanding and concern for the fragile beauty of the world we inhabit, and reflects this in distinct but complementary ways.

Bob Grignaffini & Michelle Lougee: Painting & Sculpture 

runs through March 11.

Gallery hours Thursday-Sunday 11-5 

and as always, by appointment 508.879.4200

For the love of ART

The Artist’s Valentine (1996-2011) project has run its course and sadly will not be happening this year. For those of you not familiar with the Artist’s Valentine Project , it was a fundraising event for artists, by artists. Artists created & donated valentines, which were then sold. The proceeds from the sale were put toward merit grants for artists.  We thought this was such a great project that we had planned to ask our artists to make some valentines to donate to them.  As it is not happening, we are still going to invite artists to create & donate valentines to sell at Fountain Street Fine Art. The proceeds from the sale of valentines will be used to fund our Summer Project. Details for our summer project are still in development, but we can say it will be fun, and entries will need to be postmarked by July 15! More info will be available over the coming months. In the meantime, come visit to donate and/or buy your one-of-a-kind handmade valentines.

For the love of ART- 

Flash artful valentines sale!

Looking for a one-of-a-kind valentine? Come to Fountain Street Fine Art and check out the growing selection of handmade valentines and other one-of-a-kind works of art for sale.

The suggested minimum donation for handmade valentine cards is $5.00.  Other work in our Small Work Showcase ranges in price from $20 - $500.  All proceeds from Valentine sales will go toward funding our Summer Project.

This is the Final Weekend for  First Anniversary: PAPER.

Please stop by!

PAPER: a Preview

The gallery was a pretty busy place last weekend, the first weekend First Anniversary: PAPER was on exhibit. One of  those visitors was Jim Welu, our juror, who stopped by to see 'what we'd done with the place', ie. to see how we'd curated the show. He selected roughly one quarter of the nearly 200 pieces that were submitted, and the challenge was to create one cohesive exhibit from a really disparate collection of work. He was delighted to see what had come from the chaos of what he had seen when he had come to jury the show.

 Exhibiting artist Roy Perkinson was manning the gallery on Saturday, when Jim dropped in. 

According to Roy,  Welu thought the show looked very good. "He really enjoyed himself, and made at least 3 attentive circuits looking quietly and with evident pleasure, looking leisurely at everything. He just was thrilled to see the way everything was displayed in such an interesting way. 

Lynne Damianos, Palm Leaf, photograph

Timothy Wilson, Portrait of Packing Paper, photograph

He very much liked the hanging of Lynne Damianos' "Palm Leaf" photograph beside the one of the end view of sheaves of paper, for example. Welu was also impressed with the range of inventiveness and skill in the works around the room, and especially amazed that sculptural objects of such substance could have been made from paper, among other materials."

J. Utting Schutter, Twining Flask, detail

"He also went to great lengths to remain unbiased", continued Roy."He enjoyed telling me of his anxiety over trying to make his judgments without identifying the artist; it was important to him NOT to see who had done what." Some of the names were familiar, like that of Worcester artist Susan Swinand, but he was surprised by other artists whose names and work he recognized only after the fact.

Susan Swinand, Falling Moon, watercolor

As Roy told us later,"He was a terrific guy! We had the nicest time talking about art, painting, museums (with all their characters and foibles), and so much more. I had heard so much about him from many of my friends, and it was all true."

The four pieces pictured here are just a taste of the eclectic yet cohesive, diverse yet complementary, collection of work on exhibit. 

We invite you to join us at the Reception, 

Saturday January 21st, from 5-7 pm, 

and see for yourself!

Many voices get us heard (and Seen!)

One of the most exciting things about curating a group show like First Anniversary: PAPER, is seeing the way the individual pieces, each strong in its own right, contributes to the whole, inevitably making the show somehow greater than the sum of its parts.

First Anniversary: PAPER

The quality and beauty of the work should speak for itself, and once you're in the gallery, it does. But how to get more visitors into the gallery to see for themselves what we have the privilege of seeing every day?
These days everyone is constantly bombarded with information- see this, buy that. Our blinkers are up, most of the time, simply to keep from being overloaded. There are ways to get past the 'noise filters'. One of the best ways is by personal communication. It's critical for each artist who exhibits his/her work to tell their family, friends, and fans. They are our cheerleaders. Tell them to pass the word onto their friends, and grow the web of contacts.

Another way, conversely, is to add MORE noise. The Harvard Business School Newsletter recently published an article called 'It's Not Nagging: Why Persistent, Redundant Communication Works'. The basic premise is that repetition penetrates the firewall of information overload, and gets attention to our message. Hearing a similar message from multiple sources (or multiple platforms- print media, e-newsletters, social media, word of mouth) makes that message stand out, and prompts us to take action- in this case, to come see the show!


The gallery takes its responsibility for generating traffic to this and all our shows very seriously. Postcards are printed and widely distributed; email blasts are sent regularly to our large and growing list. Press releases are sent to all local and regional publications. Personal invitations are sent out. We use facebook and tweet often. 


In this era of hyper-local news, however, some news media will only post news that is directly relevant to their community. For example, news about a gallery in Framingham may not be featured in Natick, or Sudbury. Unless, of course, the artist from that town contacts them directly.


Core Artist member and media-savvy artist Roy Perkinson prepared and sent a press release of his own to the local media outlets in his community, in addition to the one sent by the gallery. This is not duplication, or even addition, of efforts- it's multiplication. His press release has a good chance of being noticed because he's a town resident. Our press release will add a recognition factor, and reinforce his. The article that is written will be seen by readers who may also see the same information elsewhere. And so on.


An easy place for every artist to start promoting themselves online is the Patch, hyper-local e-news blasts in many communities in Massachusetts and all over the US. It's very easy to submit a news tip or post an event. 


If you have any suggestions or ideas on ways to spread the word, please share them with us. We think the gallery has a lot to offer, and we don't want to keep it a secret!


Oh yeah, and SHARE THIS BLOG!

first anniversary:PAPER

Once again, the gallery is filled with an incredible variety of outstanding work. 85 artists submitted nearly 200 pieces to PAPER, our our third juried show. While we're more seasoned 'gallerinas' now, and more accustomed to the volume of work submitted, we still continue to be impressed with the quality and breadth of the work we're seeing. Interestingly, about half of the artists who submitted work were new to us, and,while predominantly from Massachusets, came from all over New England and New York.

The juror, James Welu, had a difficult task ahead of him when he came to jury the show last week. He made some tough choices, and selected 47 pieces by 40 artists, for what we believe will be a very strong show. 

Artwork fills the gallery before Juror James Welu's visit.

We asked Jim to talk about the thought process and reasoning behind his selections. He told us that having multiple pieces by a single artist to look at informed his decisions by providing some background and context to the work. He also found it important to see a connection with the theme, paper, although he chose a broad interpretation. He included a number of 3D pieces in the exhibition, and chose works in many different media, including photographs, oils, watercolors, drawings and prints.

The challenge to us, now, is to take his selections and curate a coherent show from a diverse group of pieces. It's a task that we relish, having realized over the past year that this is one of our favorite parts of our work here in the gallery. When you see the show, we think you'll agree we're really fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best art the region has to offer.

Paper runs from January 13- February 5.
Please join us for a Reception on Saturday January 21, from 5-7PM.
The Gallery is open every Fri- Sun from 11-5.

We begin 2012 with 
Fountain Street Fine Art’s 1st Anniversary Open Juried Show.

The theme for this exhibit, PAPER, comes from the traditional symbolic first anniversary gift. Artists are invited to submit original work in any medium that is on, of or about PAPER, to celebrate our first year of operation.

James Welu, Director Emeritus of the Worcester Art Museum, will jury the show. Before stepping down in November, he had served as the Museum’s director since 1986. Welu, also a painter, teacher and scholar, has curated many exhibitions throughout his career. We're thrilled that he has agreed to jury this show.

Jurying will be done from actual work on site.

Drop-Off artwork with entry forms – Monday, 12/19 and Tuesday 12/20, 10AM-2PM and 6-9PM

Notification of acceptance – via email by January 2, 2012.
Exhibition dates - 
Friday, January 13, 2012 - Sunday, February 5, 2012.

Reception Saturday, January 14,  5 – 7 PM.

Please consider submitting your work & forward the blog to anyone you think may be interested.

Complete information and an application is available at

http://www.fountainstreetfineart.com/PAPER

Introductions

December 4, 2010

PRESENT COMPANY Members' Show, November 2011

It was just a year ago we held a 'painting party' and invited our friends and fellow artists to help us tackle the seemingly endless task of painting the 2200sq. ft.gallery. Somehow, with lots of help, we finished.(except for a couple of annoying places where we missed  a spot) Finally.

Was this really just a year ago?

December 2010

Holiday Sale, November 2011

Fast forward to this November. During the Holiday Stroll weekend, over 300 people visited the Gallery,  a terrific turnout. Even so, 'We had no idea you were here!', and 'You're open EVERY weekend?' were frequent comments.  So there's still a major newness factor to be overcome.

If you're reading this, you know about the Gallery- you know that it's open every weekend (Friday through Sunday from 11-5), and that until December 18th we're open additional hours (Thursdays from 10-2 and Friday evenings till 8). You may have visited, or  participated in one of our group shows. You 'get' that the Gallery is one of very few places in Metrowest Boston to see (and purchase) work that is skillfully executed, exciting and new. You're aware that exhibits change monthly, so it's well worth repeat visits.
 

We need your help (once again) to spread the word! 

Here's what you can do-

Introduce us to all your friends...

Invite friends to join you when you visit....

Tell us what you think....

Buy something? (we have a lovely selection of art cards that start at just $4)

And THANK YOU- to those who took a chance with us a year ago (and risked permanent neck damage to paint that ceiling!!)  and to those who continue to support this adventure -look what we've been able to accomplish together!

Coming in 2012...

A CALL FOR ART 2012 Fountain Street Fine Art’s 1st Anniversary Open Juried Show - PAPER

January 13 through February 5, 2012

The theme for this exhibit, PAPER, comes from the traditional symbolic first anniversary gift. We are seeking work in any medium that is on, of or about PAPER, to celebrate our first year of operation.

Complete details at fountainstreetfineart.com/PAPER-call-to-art

fountainstreetfineart.com

59 fountain street

framingham ma 01702

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