New England Now, Shelburne Museum’s inaugural exhibition in a curated biennial series featuring contemporary artists organized around thematic subject matters, will be on view from September 15, 2018 through January 13, 2019.
New England Now challenges the notion of the Northeast’s long-accepted stereotype as stagnant and quaint, and instead plumbs its evolving identities and complex beauty. Building upon scholarship on the visual construction of the region, this exhibition explores the contemporary landscape, capturing the changing environment. From disintegrating historic buildings and disappearing “virgin” land, New England Now reveals our evolving landscape.
Meet the Artists
New England Now showcases 13 contemporary artists deeply engaged with the region’s changing landscape and its impact on shifting identities. Whether residing within or having close ties to the
Northeast, these artists, individually and collectively, uniquely capture what is new in New England.
LINDEN FREDERICK
Frederick’s large and melancholic paintings expose varying forms of shelter and storage.
PETER FRIED
Fried captures contemplative portraits of some of our culture’s most familiar places.
JACOB BOND HESSLER
Hessler’s photographs of Maine’s expansive rural landscape poetically document the tension between nostalgia and progressive change.
YVONNE JACQUETTE
Jacquette’s aerial perspective of commercially dotted landscapes reveals the energy of cities and the growth of large-scale commerce.
KATHLEEN KOLB
Inspired by Vermont’s distinctive landscape, Kolb’s realist paintings shine a new light on familiar architecture and beloved neighborhoods.
PETER J. LYONS
Lyons examines the paradoxical relationship between natural space and human interventions through his paintings of urban landscapes.
JOSEPH MCNAMARA
Interested in human engagement with the landscape through industry, McNamara illustrates Vermont’s long history with quarry drilling in a monumentally-scaled painting.
ELKE MORRIS
Like a game of Tetris, Morris’s “Mill Towns” series captures the collision and rapid growth of heavy residential development tucked into Maine’s urban centers.
SAM MORROW
Experiencing landscapes out of a speeding car is often how many people engage with new surroundings. Inspired by this viewing experience, Morrow’s sepia-toned paintings illustrate urban roadside developments and new construction.
DON ROSS
Ross’s photographs capture the complex compositions and rich textural variances hidden within overlooked crevices in Vermont’s rural industrial landscape.
ROBERT SOLOTAIRE
Incorporating bold colors and geometric forms, Solotaire’s paintings of Maine’s industrial landscapes anthropomorphize machinery and capture its agency in shaping the land around it.
ALTOON SULTAN
Sultan’s exquisite painting captures the thoughtful juxtaposition of the bucolic, rolling, and rural farmland of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom and the interposition of human presence and manufactured materials.
JIM WESTPHALEN
Westphalen’s photographs of New England’s degrading, often abandoned, rural historic buildings suggest romantic nostalgia and a great sense of loss.
Murphy Gallery, Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education