Supremely Nostalgic Group Show at Albert Merola
The Albert Merola Gallery will present a new group show, “Reflections of…,” opening Friday, July 24, and on view through Aug.12. Featured are work by Matías Alvial, David Armstrong, Richard Baker, James Balla, Richard Bosman, Harry Callahan, William Christenberry, Pat de Groot, Lyle Ashton Harris, Karen Heagle, Peter Hujar, Jacqueline Humphries, Kunle Martins, Jack Pierson, Mischa Richter, Tabitha Vevers, John Waters, and Helen Miranda Wilson.The title of the show is borrowed from a 1967 song by the Supremes and is variously interpreted by the individual artists.The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. or by appointment (508-487-4424).
Tianna Esperanza’s Afro Gypsy Arrives
Singer-songwriter Tianna Esperanza, a Cape Cod native now living in Wellfleet, is clear from the jump about her range of influences. Her debut album, Afro Gypsy, will be released on Friday, July 24 (at tiannaesperanza.com), and its title delivers not only a hip-sounding sobriquet but a condensed rundown on her style. She’s searching for a sound that’s somewhere between Erykah Badu and Roma music. It’s also clear from the first moments of the album,with its woody double-bass and floating guitar and trumpet harmony, and from the confident, evocative storytelling she talk-sings, that Esperanza is a fluent songwriter. Afro Gypsy is full of well-crafted, memorable songs.
Over the course of the album, her voice changes as she takes on various approaches. She moves from a well-executed grasp of Badu jazz to a Bill Withers roots sound to a fiddling American folk thing (written by Wellfleet’s Alex Brewer), then goes into a 6/8 groove that recalls Balkan music and the jazz it inspired. The last song, “Truth,” seems to draw from Broadway’s Hamilton. As with many debut albums, Esperanza’s skills come through gloriously, but there’s a sense that she’s still seeking a form to carry all that she has to say. And indeed, there’s a lots he has to cover—family, dreams, the black experience, American violence. She’s a formidable writer and musician, and we’re lucky to have her on the Cape.—Will Powers
‘Still Woman Run Deep’ at Bowersock Gallery
The Bowersock Gallery at 373 Commercial St. in Provincetown has curated a group show, “Still Woman Run Deep,” opening Friday, July 24, and on view through Aug. 6.There will be a virtual preview on Friday, July 24, at 6 p.m., before a live reception at the gallery at 7 p.m.The show features still-life paintings by the artists Noriko Fox, Sydney Bella Sparrow, Julie Beck, Terry Rafferty, Natalie Featherstone, Loren Pugh, and Brittany Haynes. Featherstone is making her gallery debut. The gallery has a limit of 10 people at a time due to Covid-19 restrictions. Masks are required.The hours are weekdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Gaa Gallery and the Art of ‘Repose’
Through Aug. 11, Gaa Gallery,at 494 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is offering a group show, “Repose,” featuring work by Jane Corrigan, Jen Dwyer, Patrice Aphrodite Helmar, Nan Goldin, Dani Leventhal Restack, Autumn Wallace, and Qualeasha Wood.The exhibit, apropos of the pandemic,reflects on the activities we do in bed—sleep, sex, work, and reading—exploring notions about the body, nude or clothed, in art and society, such as passivity, power, the gaze, and voyeurism. The gallery is open by appointment: go to gaa-gallery.com to schedule a visit. For the duration of the show, Gaa Gallery will donate 20 percent of profits from each sale to the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust and the Boston Ujima Project.
Elise Kaufman at Off Main Online
Off Main Gallery in Wellfleet, though closed to the public, is offering virtual exhibits and Zoom openings. Artist Elise Kaufman’s virtual exhibit opens Friday,July 24, with a reception via Zoom at 7 p.m., and will remain on view through Aug. 7.To register for the Zoom opening or see the exhibit, visit offmaingallery.com. Kaufman’s most recent work consists of India ink paintings on Mylar as well as cyanotypes and photographs. She takes her inspiration from architecture and landscapes,and explores memories both clear-cut and foggy, in the way that light conveys the passage of time.
Olson, Schlosberg, and Malin at Hutson Gallery
The Hutson Gallery, at 432 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is presenting an exhibit of Rose Olson’s work, “Neil’s Game,” a tribute to her late husband,and new paintings inspired by quantum theory and the philosophy of science by Lynda Schlosberg, through July 30.The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Tuesdays. Also during these dates, the Hutson Gallery is showing a virtual exhibit of sculptures by Gay Malin at hutsongallery.net.
Megan Hilty Joins Seth Rudetsky Online
Nathan Johnson)
Broadway star Megan Hilty is the next guest featured on the Seth Concert Series, presented by Mark Cortale of Provincetown’s Art House. Hilty will join Seth Rudetsky for a virtual evening of song and conversation on Sunday, July 26,at 8 p.m.Tickets are$23.50 at thesethconcertseries.com. Hilty is best known for her role in the TV musical drama series Smash. She made her Broadway debut as Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, and has since been nominated fora Tony for her performance in Noises Off.
Garrard Conley to Read From Boy Erased
East End Books Ptown is hosting a virtual book event with Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased, on Friday, July 24, at 5 p.m. This autobiographical tale, adapted into a film starring Lucas Hedges,tells how the author, the son of a Baptist minister in Arkansas, endured a conversion therapy program aimed at eradicating his gay desires. Advance registration is required for this free Zoom event. Visit eastendbooksptown.com for a link and to purchase signed copies of the book.
May Tveit’s Industrial ‘Self’ at Farm Projects
“Fields, Planes, Systems: Self,” a show of new prints by Kansas City-based artist May Tveit, is on view at Farm Projects at 355 Main St. in Wellfleet through Aug. 2. Tveit, a sculptor and printmaker whose large-scale installations use the materials of commerce and industry, is Farm’s first artist-in-residence, working in the barn just above the gallery’s exhibition space.The prints on view in this show are monochromatic investigations of Tveit’s primary sculptural material: corrugated cardboard.
Farm Projects is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Call Susie Nielsen at 617-650-9800 to schedule a visit to the gallery or barn studio. Masks are required at all times.
Women Artists at Schoolhouse
A new group show at the Schoolhouse Gallery, at 494 Commercial St. in Provincetown, features the work of photographer Amy Arbus (“Iconic”), sculptor Breon Dunigan, mixed media artist Lynne Kortenhaus, and painter Jeannie Motherwell (“Multiples”). It opens on Friday, July 24,with a live virtual walk-through on Instagram, and is on view through Aug. 10.This summer, the Schoolhouse Gallery is open by appointment or online. Go to galleryschoolhouse.com or call 508-487-4800.
Queen of Katwe Screens at Preservation Hall’s Back Yard
The film Queen of Katwe is about a single mother in Uganda (Lupita Nyong’o) whose young daughter (Madina Malwanga) is a chess prodigy.Directed by Mira Nair, and co-starring David Oyelowo as the girl’s mentor, the film is a beautifully wrought family drama. Wellfleet Preservation Hall, at 335 Main St., is screening the film as part of its renewed series of films shown outdoors in its back yard. Showtime is Wednesday, July 29, at 8 p.m. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. A cash bar with drinks and snacks will be open.Admission is free, but due to the pandemic, preregistration and social distancing are required. Go to wellfleetpreservationhall.org for details.
Renaissance-inspired Hounds at Gary Marotta
A series of photographs by Kimberly Witham that were inspired by the paintings of Dutch master Jan Steen will be featured at g-1: Gary Marotta Fine Art, at 162 Commercial St. in Provincetown’s West End, from Friday, July 24, through Aug. 20. Witham studied art history at Duke University and got her M.F.A. in photography at UMass Dartmouth.The show will have opening receptions on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, from 7 to 9 p.m.
