Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Gratitude: ArtFocus and New England BioLabs

New England Biolabe, Ipswich
Yesterday I dropped off work at New England Biolabs in Ipswich.  It will hang for six weeks beside the remarkable portraits of Kelly Carmody.
Side  gallery, main lobby

My profound thanks to ArtFocus'  Debra Olin and Carol Seitchik. As owners and curators, they bring local artists' work into Boston-area corporations. Mine is one of nine company-selected shows they will hang in this their 26th year.

Driving onto the grounds is a bit like entering Storm King: rolling green, woodlands, birdsong. Everywhere you look there's art. My camera died before I could take pictures of the life-sized rusted rhino, or  the frog climbing one wall, or the glass and metal octopus climbing out of a reflecting pool.
 
The grounds were the summer retreat of a 19th century magnate. The new building is a dream of glass and light. The atrium/lobby feels like the most inviting of museums.
When you need a visual rest, you can walk amid towering plants in the greenhouse, off the coffee-shop. There's art there too. O my.