Every Thursday, GBH News Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen joins Morning Edition to discuss the latest in Boston's arts and culture scene. This week, three new art installations take center stage.
'Frank Bowling's Americas'
On view at the MFA through April 9
After growing up in British Guiana and spending time in London, artist Frank Bowling was drawn to the United States in the 1960s as a "hotbed of art in the world." This exhibition at the MFA is the first showcase dedicated to his art created in the U.S., featuring work from early in Bowling's career in New York. It is also the first time in more than 40 years that a U.S. institution has held a major exhibition of any of Bowling's work.
As Bowen describes, Bowling worked in the U.S. at a time when "this country [was] trying to deal with the fact that it had been ignoring Black artists, and so it [started] to put together exhibitions of Black artists." Bowling challenged the notion of Black artists being a monolith, pushing back against the trend and establishing that Black artists "all have different stories to tell."
The pieces featured in this exhibition of Bowling's work, according to Bowen, are "just electric. They really spoke to me in terms of their color and form and style. [...] They're so radiant. It's a joy to walk through the galleries and experience them."
'Wendy Yu: As We Rise'
On view at the Rose Kennedy Greenway through Nov. 29
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy commissioned this work by Sydney-based aritst Wendy Yu, which features projections of street dancers on the side of the Federal Reserve Bank building.
For "As We Rise," Yu partnered with The Flavor Continues, the first local nonprofit organization fostering street and club dance culture in Greater Boston. Yu worked with the organization and affiliated dancers to "get a sense of their essence, their individualistic style and how they dance." From there, Yu created a projection featuring her artistic interpretation of street dance, which Bowen says is "this mesmerizing swirl that works its way down" the side of the Federal Reserve building.
'To Begin Again: Artists and Childhood'
On view at the ICA through Feb. 26
This group show at the ICA is the first of its kind to center around the theme of childhood. Each of the 20th- and 21st-century artists featured in the exhibit use their work to explore childhood and how it influenced their art and lives.
Paul Klee, esteemed early 20th-century German artist, famously rediscovered artwork from childhood after finishing art school and used those pieces to completely reconstruct his artistic style. Also on display in the exhibit is Deborah Roberts, who depicts the unique experience of raising Black children, capturing both their suffering and their joy.
"To Begin Again" prominently features children's book illustrations, such as those by local artist Ekua Holmes. Bowen reflects that the work of illustration artists such as Holmes are significant parts of our understanding of art: "Our first exposure [to] art comes through children's books. It's the first time we see color and illustration and stories told that way."
