Tayo Heuser, closeup of "Mintaka," 2013, inks on hand burnished paper, 80" x 39"

Showing at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's University Gallery until January 31, 2018 is "Tayo Heuser: Paper Constructs". The solo exhibition is a powerful combination of sculptural abstract work and large scale abstract ink drawings on hand made paper. Heuser, the daughter of a U.S. diplomat, was raised on the African continent and exposed to the art of African countries like Tunisia, Libya, and the Ivory Coast. Her compositions create geometrical patterns by using circles, diamonds, and straight lines to reflect the beauty and aesthetics of multiple cultures. The hand burnished paper which the images lay upon is, one can say, its own beautiful art form. Heuser's artwork intends to let the viewer look inside their own mind, just as her art and its long process of creation help her look inside her own. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's University Gallery is located at 715 Purchase Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is open Monday - Saturday 9:00am - 6:00pm and Sunday 9:00am - 5:00pm, and will be closed on January 1, 2018. For more information, please visit umassd.edu/cvpa/universityartgallery/current/overview.

John Sargent Singer, "Santa Maria Della Salute, Venice," 1903-1907, watercolor on paper, 13.75" x 21.0625"

Ongoing at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum until January 21, 2018 is "Henry James and American Painting." Henry James (1843 - 1916) was an American writer who is considered to be one of the greatest novelists in the English language. His literary work includes such well-known and beloved novels as Portrait of a Lady and The Ambassadors. What one may not know is that he held close relationships with several artists of his day including the Italian-born painter John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925). James is known for writing realistically and compellingly about life at the turn of the last century. The collection examines the parallels of the visual artists to the literary arts of Henry James. The collection on view is a collaboration of work from museums across the United States and Great Britain as well as a collection from the originating exhibit from the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is located at 25 Evans Way in Boston, Massachusetts and is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - Saturday 11:00am - 5:00pm and Thursday 11:00am - 9:00pm, and will be closed on January 1, 2018. For more information, please visit gardnermuseum.org/calendar/exhibition/henry-james-american-painting.

A. Hadamart, Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, 1699. Engraving, 1699

"Modernity vs. Tradition: Art at the Parisian Salon 1750 - 1900" is currently on view at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum until April 8, 2018. The Salon is an annual art exhibition that was started by the French Académie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture as a way to foster artistic competition and allow the common folk to critically view and analyze the work of its Academicians. By the mid-eighteenth century, it had become a public forum for intense debate on subjects of art and politics. Although the Salon exists today as the Salon d'Automne, its heyday was from the mid-eighteenth century to the twentieth century when it was what many considered to be the greatest annual art event in the Western world. "Modernity vs. Traditon" examines the Salon's contribution to art, both in how it gave rise to modern art and how it sparked the creation of today's biennales. The exhibition takes the viewer through a pivotal time in art history, showing them how the Salon brought the art world to where it is today. The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island and is open Monday - Tuesday and Thursday - Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm, Wednesday 9:30am - 8:00pm and Sunday 1:00pm - 5:00pm, and will be closed on December 31 and on January 1, 2018. For more information, please visit redwoodlibrary.org/modernity-vs-tradition-art-parisian-salon-1750-1900.

To view all images, "view images" may need to be enabled on your browser.

Pick up artscope magazine at any of hundreds of museum, gallery and university locations across New England! Where to pick up a copy.

'scope us out!