Bert Gallery

Gallery Night Providence
Smith Center for the Arts, Providence College
Thursday, January 26, 2012

5:00PM-6:45PM:
Providence College Exhibition Reception
6:45PM: Welcome & Gallery Night Preview – Ryan Concert Hall, Smith Center for the Arts
7:00PM: Artist Lecture by Joseph Norman – Reilly Auditorium in Ryan Concert Hall, Smith Center for the Arts

Providence, RI. The community is invited to a very special evening in which Gallery Night Providence, a citywide celebration of the visual arts, previews its 2012 season at the Providence College SPORT: ART exhibition. At 7:00, all are invited to a gallery talk by University of Georgia Art Professor, Joseph Norman, on his series, “Out at Home: The Negro Baseball League”, on view in the Reilly Gallery.

Gallery Night Providence helps kick off two special SPORT: ART exhibitions on the Providence College Campus: “Out at Home! The Negro Baseball League”, Joseph Norman Lithographs at the Reilly Art Gallery, Smith Center for the Arts and the Student Sports Photography Exhibition at the Hunt-Cavanagh Gallery, Hunt-Cavanagh Hall.

The Providence College galleries have been part of the Gallery Night Providence visual arts celebration for over a decade. Gallery Night Providence, starting its 16th season this March, is a free, fun-filled introduction to Providence’s exciting art scene. On the third Thursday of the month, from March through November, over twenty-one of the city’s hot “art spots” open their doors inviting you to a visual arts party.

The SPORT: ART exhibition and reception is free and open to the public. There will be no Gallery Night bus for the evening but there is free parking next to the Smith Center for the Arts. For more information on the Gallery Night Providence preview, please contact Catherine Bert: at bertgallery@cox.net and for the exhibits contact: Sara Young, PC Gallery Art Curator, at syoung3@providence.edu. Additional programming schedules are found at http://www.providence.edu/sportart2012.

Providence, R.I. – Providence College and its departments of art and art history, and athletics will host a two-month showcase of exhibits, lectures, and programs, focusing on sport and art entitled, SPORT: ART, from January 26 through March 29, 2012. The project will explore the significance and relationship of art and sport through media and fine arts, while examining gender, race, and cultural identities.

SPORT: ART is an unprecedented collaboration among departments across campus, promoting student involvement and diversity, combined with bringing new audiences to the world of art.

In conjunction with SPORT: ART, the College will recognize the achievements of African- Americans throughout the month of February, which is Black History Month. Exhibitions, special lectures, and receptions will pay tribute to the extraordinary contributions of distinguished African-Americans in U.S. history.

Featured images: Out at Home lithograph, courtesy of Joe Norman & the Newport Art Museum (left); Soccer photo by Jessica Ho ’14 (right).

Dana Levin: A Classical Realist in the 21st Century [Pocket Show]
January 11 – February 18, 2012
Artist Demonstration: Sat, January 21st, 12-2pm

Providence, RI. Bert Gallery, located along the Providence waterfront at Corliss Landing, 540 South Water Street, opens the 2012 season with the pocket exhibit, Dana Levin: A Classical Realist in the 21st Century. The exhibit runs from January 11 – February 18, 2012. Gallery hours are Wednesday–Friday from 11am-5pm, Saturdays 12-4pm, or by appointment. Exhibits are free and open to the public.

For many artists and critics, realistic painting in the 21st century is passé. For Dana Levin and her Classical Realist colleagues, this approach to painting is a disciplined and dynamic approach to creating good art. Levin demonstrates in this exhibit how the world of craft, beauty, and thought come together in her drawings and paintings. She continues the evolution of the vital and ongoing realistic tradition to paint, “A work of fine art that strikes a chord in the viewer and deepens their sense of humanity.” There will be a selection of 12 paintings and drawings on view, ranging from still life to self- portraits. Dana will also do an artist demonstration on January 21st at 12:00pm.

Dana grew up in Miami, FL. In high school, she attended the New World School of the Arts and Belvoir Terrace, a summer program for gifted young women in Lenox, MA. She received a BFA from the acclaimed School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she learned to foster her creative thinking and apply that to her work. Finally, she traveled to Florence, Italy to study at the rigorous Florence Academy of Art, and trained in the painting and drawing techniques of the Old Masters, where she subsequently taught for several years. Her private study of realism oil painting has taken her to museums throughout Europe, Britain, Russia, and across the United States. Dana has received awards and honors from prestigious national and international juried shows and museums. She is also included in important museum collections.

For more information on Bert Gallery and the current exhibit, contact Catherine Bert at 401-751-2628 or email at bertgallery@conversent.net. Check our website www.bertgallery.com for further details.

Art Gossip: Behind the Providence Art Scene in the Late 19th Century
January 11 – March 10, 2012

Gallery Reception / Spotlight Tour:
Thursday, January 12 from 5:30–7:00pm

Gossip: Idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others…

Providence, RI. Bert Gallery, located along the Providence waterfront at Corliss Landing, 540 South Water Street, opens the 2012 Season with the exhibit Art Gossip: Behind the Providence Art Scene in the Late 19th Century. The exhibit runs from January 11 – March 10, 2012. Gallery hours are Wednesday–Friday from 11am-5pm, Saturdays 12-4pm, or by appointment. Exhibits are free and open to the public.

The art profession is not immune to one of the most common means of sharing facts and views – gossip. In fact the Providence Journal during the late 19th century had just such a column – “Art Gossip” published weekly. Reviewing both the Providence Journal Art Gossip column and personal writings by artists from the 19th century gives you a clear insight into the dynamic art world of Providence. More importantly, one hundred years later this “gossip” is the glue that binds the facts, that creates the narrative.

This exhibit will look into the relationships between artists in Providence during the dynamic cultural development of the art community in the late 19th Century. Who were the power brokers behind exhibits, what did artists think of other artists works, who had the best studio, where was the best place to show, how did artists sell? And more. Friendships and rivalries abound. When Thomas Robinson (1834–1916) was on a buying trip for Seth Vose in Europe – did he abscond with the funds? Charles Walter Stetson (1858–1911) reveals in his diaries that he adored Edward Bannister but loathed E. C. Leavitt (1842–1904). Why? How did Burleigh (1853–1931) become the whirling dervish around town charming clients and getting jobs for his Art Workers Guild? How did Emma Swan (1853-1927) promote herself, launching studio sale after studio sale, unable to keep up with inventory for clients?

As the stories unfold, you will look at the paintings of these Providence artists in a new light within a context of a complex and ever-changing Providence art scene. Twenty paintings by historic Rhode Island artists will be on view along with documentation and quotes on Providence artists of the late 19th century. For more information on Bert Gallery and our historic Rhode Island artists, contact Catherine Bert at 401-751-2628 or email at bertgallery@conversent.net.

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
Bert Gallery is Closed from December 24th-31st. See you in January!

January 2012: New Exhibits
Main Exhibit
Art Gossip: Behind the Providence Art Scene in the Late 19th Century
January 11 – March 10, 2012 / Spotlight Tour/Reception: January 12th, 5:30-7:30pm

Pocket Exhibit
Dana Levin: A Classical Realist in the 21st Century
January 11 – February 18, 2012 / Studio Demonstration: January 21st, 12-1pm

Winter Hours
Wednesday-Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 12-4pm, Sunday-Tuesday by appointment

Our pocket show, Collect Contemporary, is now open, and runs from December 1st through 23rd. The exhibit features artworks by contemporary Rhode Island artists for $500 or less. If you always thought buying a great Rhode Island contemporary artist was unaffordable, stop by and see our “$500 or Less” exhibit.

The struggle of the creative soul has been the topic of many a book over the centuries. Bert Gallery works closely with a few of the talented artists in the region who are promoted regularly at the gallery through exhibits. The gallery primarily works with seven contemporary artists: Frank Gasbarro, Kathy Hodge, Kenn Speiser, Dana Levin, Paula Martiesian, Robert Thornton, and Carmel Vitullo. A selection of works by each artist priced at $500 or less on view. Visit the exhibit page and view the virtual slideshow here.