The Boston Biennial 3 opened July 17th at Atlantic Works Gallery to a packed crowd of artists and art lovers!

If for some silly reason you missed this not-to-be-missed event, here’s a link to a video of the selected work:

And here is a sampling of some of this great art with comments on the pieces by the artists, plus links to see more work:

Open Arms, by Walter Kopec

"This land is your my land, this land is my land..." Of course we were here first and it's our inalienable right of, you know, Finders Keepers. And it's not like we are bordering on paranoia... it's just that we don't create the problems... and it's not like we are the ones who are different... and that word..." alien"... but... I say we should be kinder... let's be gentler... no need to fortify the fences, nor buttress the barricades, forget the burdensome obstacles... we'll just welcome with Open Arms.

See more at: walterkopec.com

Memories Lost/Found #1 - Memories "undergo a complex process of reconstruction during retrieval." (Damasio; Feeling of What Happens, 227), by Laura Krasnow

For me, defining a sense of place is the allure of the photographic image.  The instant, when time and place seem to merge to catch a moment.  But it is the imperceptible connections I seek to define.....when something catches your peripheral vision, but is gone when you turn for a longer glimpse.  My photographs aim to force the viewer to look beyond the obvious....to be present and aware of the physical and spiritual light within the subtleness.....to reveal the essence beyond the normal visual spectrum.

See more at: http://laurakrasnow.com

Frida, by Rachel Shatil

The pieces shown on the BB3 slide-show are part of a series which I call "The Absent Family". Every chair represent one person, usually a family member, most of whom vanished from the face of the earth during the most horrific assault performed by humans against their own kind, known as "The Holocaust". The stories of those people were told by my mother, a holocaust survivor, who embodied an incurable trauma, and dedicated her life to pass on her testimony. The chair called "Frida" represents a center figure in the story, my late grandmother and my mother's hero. She was last seen alive in the fall of 1943.

See more at http://www.rachelshatil.com

Notes on "ONE (A Space Timeline)", by Majorie Kaye

My sculpture has been about layering and piling cut pieces on top of each other, which lends itself to mirror natural forms such as pinecones, rock formations, etc.  It also is a statement and study of cause and effect, one piece's situation leading to the next, which is responsible in part, acting as magnetism, for phenomena in the natural world. In this piece, I have begun to utilize shingles, gluing them together, as they form a kind of wedge.  These are placed in between the cut plywood pieces to create an uneven area in between.  This leads to many possibilities of snake-like motions, "U", shapes, etc. The bending and warping of the layers created by the wedges signifies the warping of time, suggesting events on a timeline, and a oneness of space emerges.  This is the realization that time is an illusion, one big point in an endless stream of being.

See more at www.marjoriekayeart.com

All We Are Arises From Our Thoughts, by Carolyn Wirth

This image is really a collaboration between me and my photographer, Teresa Coates (http://www.coatesestudio.com), who has a strong vision of the noir-ness in my sculpture. This piece is called "All We Are Arises From Our Thoughts," which is a fortune-cookie saying from my new series of the same name. In a lighthearted mood, I think of this sculpture as an encounter between Ozymandias and Chuckie. More pensively, I imagine it as embodying the divide between thought and feeling.

See more at http://cvw198.wordpress.com

Exuviae: barnacle (TAG0074), by Adamo Macri

Exuviae is an ongoing project. The basis: an ecosystem built with a multitude of sculptural works created, then photographed. Collectively forming a photographic, abstract plantation. An allegorical narrative dealing with the delicacy of nature and its potential deceptive beauty. This particular photograph is one of the artworks in the Exuviae project.

See more at adamomacri.blogspot.ca, and facebook.com/Adamo.Macri

In Perpetuity, by Marlene Siff

In Perpetuity is one part of 47 paintings, works on paper and sculptures that became a solo exhibition at the Walsh Art Gallery in the Quick Center at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, 2012. The exhibition entitled "Elements Of Peace" was my response to a desire to create spaces and gateways for people of all walks of life to come together to reflect on war and peace and to commemorate our "Fallen Heroes" in Afghanistan. All of the paintings entered in the BB3 are part of the series "Elements Of Peace".

See more at www.marlenesiff.com

Flirtation of meeting and parting, by Hildy Maze

To live the wound of love and yet not become scarred by despair or cynicism is a great living secret. How to live wounded without being chased by shadows and not merely 'endure'.

See more at http://hildymaze.com, and

http://issuu.com/artistportfoliomagazine/docs/northvssouth/87?e=2382761/8424055

LEGO Firearms 2014, by David Turner

I am a Belfast-based artist who creates autobiographical work through toy mediums that reflect conflict, terrorism, and evoke critical commentary on present day violence and war.Growing up in turbulent Belfast, I was surrounded by violence and conflict. These events have had a direct influence on my life and artwork, causing me to revisit my adolescence and recreate these memories with childhood mediums such as LEGOs, Hama Beads, Plasticine, and jigsaw puzzles. My artwork presents a platform that is both a direct reflection of my childhood and the conflict I have experienced, as well as giving a voice to current atrocities, be they children of war, child soldiers, or children who have lost their lives or a loved one to gun violence. My most recent series of work have materialized in many forms, from two-dimensional depictions to fully functioning firearms, which break down contentions of representation and offer new and exploratory directions for investigating themes of conflict, war, self, and popular culture.

See more athttp://www.belfastarts.co.uk/ and

http://jungkatz.com/2014/07/03/artist-interview-david-turner/

3000 ans d'errance, by Christine Comeau

3000 ans d'erranceis a performed installation, a choreographed tableau vivant. It is about the wandering of a small community of nomadic creatures pulling with them their mobile home. They are both curious and frightened by the discovery of this peculiar world. The topics of this project are about nomadism, exile, identities and networks between human being and their environment.The carts and tents have been made during a two months artists residency at Est-Nord-Est artists run center, St-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec, in 2011. A photo shooting and a parade have been organized in the streets of the village and near the Saint-Laurent river, in the province of Quebec, Canada.

 See more at www.christinecomeau.com

A delicate Balance, by Nick Nazzaro

Originally this piece was going to be specifically about student debt, since I'm a recent college goer. After a lot of brooding, it became more about the 1% on top in general, with emphasis on the harm on they can cause. Some of these guys are true cartoon characters, getting away with dastardly deeds you'd only see from a goofy villain. If it wasn't so frighteningly sad, it'd be comical. My favorite part of the piece is the face. I wanted to bring it back to reality a little bit, and show this ugly mug, with a half finished, sort of sloppy, extremely red face. This whole process presented me with the question, "Are these people at top being corrupted by the money they make, or are only the corrupt able to get to the top?" 

See more at http://nicknazzaro.com

The Boston Biennial 3 is up until August 21st, so come on by and take a look:

ATLANTICWORKS.ORG

And come to the GALA BOSTON BIENNIAL CLOSING RECEPTION AUGUST 21ST 6-9PM!!!

              &n

Call for Entry

Now how can turn down a shot at fame and fortune like this? You might get so rich you can eat Boston Cream Pie and Lobster all week down the Cape or in your walk up in Beacon Hill!!!

The potential for exposure is enormous! You'll be running with the big dogs here. Duh!! It's a no brainier...we want you to enter!  

We want the world to see your creations. We want you to be celebrated and wealthy. You must enter!!! You can be as happy as a Boston Brahmin on graduation day from Harvard.

It's About US

The Biennial Project is an artists' collaborative whose goal is to explore the nature and understand the perception of biennials within the art world and, in so doing, to develop a collective body of work that will be exhibited in as many biennials as possible - especially the really cool ones.

Our Event

If your Killa work is picked it will be shown on The Biennial Project website and in a blog posting reaching 3,000 very important people of influence in the art world.  

You know, The Big Wigs. Ain't that a Pissa!!

Best of all your art will also be presented a digital display at Boston Biennial 3. That's almost as asume as BoSoxs sweeping the The New York Stankies in the series.

Yankees Suck!!

Eligibility

Open to all artists.  Open to all media, including 2-D, 3-D, sculpture, photography, performance, video, installation mixed media, and art from a kit.

Our Jurors

All work will be juried by the internationally known art collective The Biennial Project with special guest juror. We are working out the details with a very, very important Boston Art Big Shot.  Maybe Yaz!!

Deadline for submission is July 1, 2014.  

ENTER THE BOSTON BIENNIAL 3

"I'll tell you this. No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn", Texas Radio and the Big Beat

A brief history of the past:
Near the beginning, there arose a prophet through whom the word* was revealed. He so reviled the sinfulness of the city that he determined to create a purer place where study of the word would be facilitated. He chose a small town in the remote Texas dessert for his endeavor, and commenced to create a grand compound of many buildings furnished to his detailed specifications. Word spread of the accomplishments of the prophet, and others who recognized the correctness of the his vision gravitated to this place. Pilgrims seeking a better understanding of the word began to travel there for study and reflection, which continues to this day.

A brief history of the week of 3/29-4/6/14
One small band of fervent seekers, also weary of the city and it's sin and endless dirty snow, arrives in said town for a week of such study and reflection.

Being a group with a long-established affinity for the wrong side of the tracks, they set up camp on the trailer-trash side of town. In trailers. Literally.

There they commence their study of the word, and of the town. Here follow a few impressions from this leg of their ongoing spiritual journey:

The Donald - thank you eternally Sir for having constructed pyramids in honor of your escaping, and thank you for letting us look at them - even if you didn't let us take pictures. Perfectly imposing constructions laid out just-so against the backdrop of the luscious Chihuahua dessert. Marvelous. Memorable. We were impressed, even if an evil little voice did whisper in our ear once or twice that as a theology it was perhaps just a wee bit, well, tidy.

Dan Flavor Flav Flavin - This we loved. Totally intoxicating. So much visual pleasure we felt like kids on a truly excellent sugar high. This work alone would have made the trip worth it.

Prada Marfa - The emptiness of commercialism. The fetishism of commodities. Man-made vs natural environments. Decay over time. The usual themes handled here with an extremely deft touch. Plus, it's fun. You try doing that. (Note to the State of Texas - we have a deal for you - back off on your plan to tear this place down and we agree to allow George W. Bush to continue to call himself a painter.)

El Cosmico - The above-mentioned trailer park. Only it's a trailer park as re-imagined by generous gurus on a particularly good batch of windowpane.  The perfect spot for your next wedding, bar mitzvah, acid trip. Did we mention the hot tubs?

Biennial Roadshow Marfa Opening Reception - The main event, held at El Cosmico. Sublime. The transcendence of life lived among art and artists. So much glorious art, and artists and art lovers to share it with. Proving once again that art is reason enough not to put a gun to your head. Did we mention the hot tubs?

One of the highlights of the night was artist Artemis Herber – one of the prize winners and a truly amazing artist and person, speaking about her work. We are in total awe of her.

Check out more of her work here: artemisherber.com

Then there was the also amazing and really nice Karen Rosenkrantz – on the left below at the reception - who showed work from her witty and apropos series Cowboys, and had this to say about the event afterwards: “Thanks so much for including me .. It was an interesting experience. I think I was particularly impressed that the entire cast of characters (of course) just showed up: artists, gallerists, curators , and buyers. ... Pretty amazing and nicely done. All the best.”  Right back at you Karen – you are great!

Check out more of Karen’s work here: karenrosenkrantz.com

Another great participant was Ginny Barrett, who brought her human and canine entourage down from Austin for the event:

We love her and her work! See more at: ginnybarrett.com

See all the Biennial Roadshow Marfa art here:

See the Biennial Roadshow prizewinners here:

Because this work is great, and because as artists ourselves we take seriously our responsibility to publicize the fuck out of your work, we are going to show all the Biennial Roadshow Marfa artwork on a large sreen for the entire Boston Biennial 2015 (July/August - Atlantic Works Gallery Boston). Come one, come all!

Community of Marfa and Environs - We offer our most most profound un-ironic thanks for warming our hearts, tanning our faces, and sending us back to Gomorrah with a skip in our step. Such a gorgeous, unique huge little town. We'll be back if you'll have us.

There is lots more to be told about Marfa. But it will have to wait for now. El Cosmico doesn't have cable, and those re-runs of Project Runway don't watch themselves.

XXOO,

The Biennial Project, in collaboration with the Biennial Roadshow Marfa Advisory Group.

* And the word is Minimalism.  (Prominent artists associated with this movement include Donald Judd, John McCracken, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella. Minimalism derives from the reductive aspects of Modernism and is often interpreted as a reaction against Abstract expressionism and a bridge to Postminimal art practices.)