This week, Jared Bowen brings us through the latest public art installation on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and speaks with author Debra Balken about her catalogue raisonné of artist Arthur Dove.
“The Herd,” a new installation on the Rose Kennedy Greenway by Andy Li
According to the Chinese Lunar calendar, it is now the Year of the Ox. To welcome the new year, the Greenway Conservancy has commissioned an ox-themed piece of public art titled “The Herd.” The work was designed by Boston-based artist and MassArt graduate Andy Li, who works primarily in fibers and text. The installation features a series of bright green and yellow banners, suggesting bountiful crops, that channel the spirit of the ox with messages of encouragement and perseverance like “keep doing what you’re doing” and “don’t stop because you failed once.”
“I found that [oxen are] very hard workers,” says Li of the work he hopes will inspire people. “They're diligent, they're honest, and they don't like to be praised for what they are, but more for what they do and what they can create.”
“Arthur Dove: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings and Things,” available for purchase now
One of the major American modernists of the early 20th century, Arthur Dove was an artist whose work predated the rise of abstract expressionism. The painter found himself in a circle of major artists of his time, including Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, and Alfred Stieglitz. However, he’s often overlooked despite his ahead-of-the-curve innovation. Independent curator and author Debra Bricker Balken has built on a catalogue raissoné of the artist’s work, with comprehensive imagery of Dove’s art accompanied by essays, an extensive bibliography, and exhibition history.
“It was a pure project for Dove,” says Balken of the painter’s abstract works. “He knew that there was no material gain, that there was no market for abstract painting — in particular in the decades of the teens, 20s and 30s.”
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