Masters of Watercolors: Recent Work by Members of the New England Watercolor Society
Guest Curated by Vera L. Cross
In the Skylight Gallery & Upper Vault

 

Carlton Plummer
Port Clyde Sundown
21 x 29 inches

A unique exhibition of 80 prize-winning paintings by more than 50 current members of the New England Watercolor Society, representing the broad range of artistic genres and styles they practice.

Known among artists as a “difficult medium” to master, the art of watercolor painting is presented in all its glory — from works of delicate intimacy and subtlety to those of bold coloration and design.

While the majority of works are representational, several explore the possibilities of abstraction, leveraging all of the nuances available within the medium.

H.W. Holden Jr.
End of Summer
25 x 28 inches

The New England Watercolor Society (NEWS) was founded in 1885 as the Boston Society of Watercolor Painters, becoming the Boston Watercolor Society in 1896 and subsequently the New England Watercolor Society in 1980. Its 27 charter members included some of the best-known names in American Art, such as Charles Curtis Allen, Frank W. Benson, George Hallowell, F. Childe Hassam, Louis Kronberg, Otis Philbrook, Maurice Prendergast, Charles Woodbury, honorary member John Singer Sargent and more recently, Andrew Wyeth. Today, the Society has over 400 members throughout New England.

Guest curated by Vera L. Cross, former Director of the Attleboro Museum in Attleboro, Mass., and formerly a professional illustrator and watercolor and pastel artist in her own right (though not a NEWS member), the works in the exhibit have been carefully selected to demonstrate the medium’s exceptional capabilities, as well as the varied talents and interests of the chosen NEWS members.

 

 

Mike Mazer Paints New Bedford & Other Scenes from the South Coast
Curated by David B. Boyce
In the Heritage Gallery

Mike Mazer
Whaleman Statue, New Bedford (detail shown)
Collection of the New Bedford Free Public Library
20 x 14 inches
1999

Mattapoisett resident Mike Mazer is a watercolorist recognized locally, regionally and nationally as a master of the medium.

Since retiring in 1998 from a very fulfilling 36-year career as simultaneous Chiefs of Cardiology and Nephrology at several hospitals in the greater Boston area, and prior U.S. Navy LCDR retired, Mazer has had his work included in over 220 national and international exhibitions while being the recipient of more than 65 major awards.

Mike Mazer
The New Bedford Art Museum  
18 x 24 inches
2005

With this exhibition — the artist’s first one-man museum show — the New Bedford Art Museum presents a selection of Mazer’s watercolor paintings of New Bedford landmark sites, such as the new façade of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the double bank building at the foot of William Street, the whaleman’s statue outside the New Bedford Free Public Library, fishing boats and scallopers from the city’s fleet, the Anthony S. Catojo Jr. Building that houses NBAM and several scenes of our littoral communities.

Curated by the Museum’s Curatorial Consultant, David B. Boyce, Mazer’s paintings are about light and how it plays on each of the artist’s subjects.

Strong and often unexpected composition and bold color mark Mazer’s work as assured in a medium regarded by many as exceptionally difficult. In Mazer’s hand, his brushes reveal the confidence of his perceptive vision, his mastery of expression, and his love of the South Coast.

 

10.12.2006 ~ 12.31.2006

Nature Intercepted

“Nature Intercepted” was chosen as the theme for NBAM’s two summer programs after the museum hosted a very popular exhibit Nature Interrupted show in late winter/early spring 2006.

Fish #1
Team Project
NBAM Summer Youth Art Education Programs
2006

artMOBILE (visiting arts outreach program) participants enthusiastically painted large-scale flowers (usually working in teams at artMOBILE sites), drew pen & ink “fantasy” birds, rubbed leaves then added layers of color paper in a “mola” style, “finished” drawings around cut out photographs of nature, twisted paper bags to resemble trees and constructed insects out of found objects.

SuMmerART (a four-week in-museum program) participants painted and arranged seashells (like Sailor’s Valentines) and sculpted their favorite animal from clay (which was incorporated into a “vignette” complete with the animal’s habitat).

artMOBILE travels to 20 community sites (parks, schools, youth centers, New Bedford housing) in two vividly painted purple vehicles bringing art activities to more than 400 youth each summer. Participants are required only to be present at a site at the scheduled visit time to make art in the artMOBILE program.

SuMmerART participants are recruited from the current school year’s City of New Bedford Invest-In-Kids, NBAM’s after-school program — artMUSed! Eight students from two elementary schools enrolled in SuMmerART 2006.
 
Led by creative museum educators Sheila Duarte Andrade, Elizabeth Dooher, Allie Hall and Roger Rouleau, the program delivered free high-quality art activities related to New Bedford Art Museum’s past/current exhibits. This dedicated group of educators bring the museum’s mission — “to engage the public in experiencing, understanding and appreciating art” — to a greater New Bedford youth audience.
 

 

Propose an Exhibit

Got an idea for an exhibit? We'd love to hear it. Just read through our curators handbook to learn about our criteria for submission.