Art Smarts: Boston's Gallery Spree
Updated: September 16, 2009
There’s a wealth of art to be found throughout Boston--from ethnic to eccentric with many points in between. Whether you seek outdoor works (see the bold Henry Moore sculptures on display in Harvard Yard), art events (which include SoWa Open Studios First Fridays) or unexpected exhibitions (like pop-up installations at the Beehive restaurant), the city is full of head-turning visual art. Take a good look around: We promise inspiration is a given. (Photo: ICA Boston by Christine Liu)
Galleries
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Fort Point Arts Community Inc
Write a review300 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210 (map)
Centered on the artist community of Fort Point Channel, FPAC is the place to find affordable art by locally based artists. Besides the gallery (whose exhibitions run the gamut, including silk screens, photography, painting, sculpture and mixed media), events like the annual Fort Point ArtWalk, open studios and a holiday sale connect art lovers with artists directly. Though independently run, the gallery sits beyond the subterranean dining area of the quirky, inviting Channel Cafe.
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Keiko Fine Japanese Handcraft
Read Reviews121 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114 (map)
This Beacon Hill boutique gallery features Japanese art and handicrafts in the form of fashion, furniture and fine art. Keiko’s treasures adhere to the ancient Japanese ideals of thoughtfulness, and this applies to the most everyday object, as well as to fine works of sculpture and painting. It’s an aesthete’s dream space filled with exquisite, minimalist art and objets, to either collect--much of Keiko’s wares are very affordable--or to simply contemplate.
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Lanoue Fine Art
Write a review125 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116 (map)
Owner Susan Lanoue has moved her gallery a few blocks, but kept its criteria for selecting artists the same. Lanoue looks for a unique artistic voice that provokes the viewer to think about something familiar in a completely unexpected way. The collection features both representational and abstract work by nationally and internationally renowned painters, sculptors and printmakers (e.g., Melody Postma, John Folsom, Maggie Taylor), many using mixed media in innovative ways, but with flawless execution.
Museums
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Decordova Museum
Read Reviews51 Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773 (map)
The DeCordova is the place for contemporary art that’s both provocative and inspiring--and often fun, too. Located in the turreted, castle-like former summer home of self-made merchant Julian de Cordova, the photography, painting, sculpture, mixed media and digital art galleries each focus on regional contemporary art. The sculpture terrace and rolling gardens add about 80 more works, including an array of enormous tubular bells. Don’t pass by with just a timid tap; go for a full-on, end-to-end glissando. (Did we mention fun?)
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Gropius House
Write a review68 Baker Bridge Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773 (map)
For a bit of Bauhaus design school 101, start here at the home of one of its founders, architect Walter Gropius. The house’s sleek, simple design and its bold, still-futuristic looking Marcel Breuer furniture reflects Gropius' ethic of form reflecting function. From the height of the windows to the curve of the stair rail, the architecture is palpable testament to both beauty and utility.
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Institute of Contemporary Art
Read Reviews100 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210 (map)
Unlike your typical art museum filled with heavy oil paintings and arte crudo of ancient civilizations, the ICA plunks the viewer in the here and now--give or take a decade or three. The cantilevered building itself is a modern art study, with a design that embraces its natural surroundings. Sky and sea form a filmy flowing backdrop through the glass facade, and an expansive adjustable skylight system allows natural light into the flexible, moveable gallery walls.
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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Read Reviews280 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115 (map)
Grand masters from Titian to Rembrandt, Michelangelo to Degas, and Whistler to Sargent fill the galleries, which wrap around the famous Italian courtyard. The fine art-filled Gardner broadens its appeal with cocktail evenings and music performances, including contemporary classical concerts featuring members of the New England Conservatory. In April, a giant wall of nasturtiums is planted in the lush indoor garden, honoring namesake art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner’s birthday.
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Museum Of Fine Arts Boston
Read Reviews465 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (map)
The venerable MFA goes far beyond its own solid collection of art and artifact, bringing in world-class exhibits, holding niche film festivals and hosting concerts that range from indie rock to Latin jazz. Long-established collections range from the Lee Gallery’s colonial art from the New England region, which includes the iconic Paul Revere Liberty Bowl, to musical instruments, textiles and fashion. The Herb Ritts photographic gallery further augments the MFA's progressive and vital agenda for the city.
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Museum of Bad Art
Read Reviews580 High St (Dedham Community Theater), Dedham, MA 02026 (map)
From its quirky beginnings as a one-man basement obsession, to its debut in the Dedham Community Theatre, and its further expansion into Davis Square's Somerville Theater, MOBA strikes a chord with lovers of the kitsch and the quirky. Of course, the term "bad art" is deliberately self-effacing and ironic and provokes the question serious art buffs have wrangled with since the first upstart artist challenged accepted mores: What is good or bad art?
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