Dennis Cunningham’s Poetic ‘Stations’
“Stations of the Peaked Hill Bars” is an installation by Wellfleet actor, filmmaker, and Renaissance man Dennis Cunningham. It’s based on the Roman Catholic tradition of the “Stations of the Cross” — 14 paintings or carvings representing the Passion of Christ. No pilgrimage, however, is needed to visit Cunningham’s installation, located in the back yard of Wellfleet Preservation Hall.
Despite its religious references, the installation is totally secular. It was inspired by Cunningham’s two-week stay in the “Boris” dune shack, sponsored by the Outer Cape Artists in Residency Consortium and the Peaked Hill Trust. The installation consists of 12 wooden stations with a nature poem, photograph, and QR code linked to a recording of Cunningham reading.
As you circumambulate the back yard, the air is filled with the sounds of birds singing. “A lone breaker whitens far off shore/ then I hear the flat exhale of its collapse/ the two are siblings separated by a second/ like lightning and thunder.” —Saskia Maxwell Keller
James Frederick Captures the ‘Light of Winter’
James Frederick’s final show for the year, “Light of Winter,” opens Friday, Nov. 12 and runs through Nov. 28 at Frederick Studio Provincetown, 237 Commercial St. The paintings in the series are inspired by the “thousand shades of grey and long shadows” of winter, according to a press release. There will be a virtual opening on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. on Frederick Studio’s Facebook page.
Jeff Canham at Longstreet Gallery
San Francisco-based artist, designer, and woodworker Jeff Canham is showing “Trade Winds,” an exhibition of palm tree paintings and beach-inspired sculptures, at Longstreet Gallery, 4730B Route 6 in Eastham, through Nov. 28.
“I grew up in Hawaii and my parents have two amazing old palm trees in their yard,” says Canham. “Being a surfer, I was always looking up at them to get a read on which way the wind was blowing. The paintings are an attempt to capture them in a variety of conditions, from the perfectly still days to the heavy gusts and the trade winds in between.” —André van der Wende
Kat Marissal at the Truro COA
Kat Marissal is showing paintings at the Truro Council on Aging, 7 Standish Way, through the month of November. Marissal started painting two and a half years ago after health issues forced her to take a break from work. Her subjects include seascapes, mountains, waterfalls, forests, and flowers painted on canvas, stones, seashells, or plates. “Every day I am very excited to get up in the morning to see what I can create,” she says in a press release. “I believe that creative expression can foster healing physical and mental well-being.”
‘The Same Four Walls’ at PAAM
The Provincetown Art Association and Museum, 460 Commercial St., digs deep into its permanent collection, and into our collective psyche, for “The Same Four Walls: Intimate Interiors,” curated by PAAM’s Chief Development Officer Lesley Marchessault.
The show, which runs through Jan. 23., includes 36 works by 28 artists. Some of the highlights are Lumberyard Studio in Winter by Charles Darby, Listening to Ronnie’s Arteries Hardening by Susan Baker, Antique Books by Rachel Ellis Kaufman, and A Sense of Balance by Nick Patten. The show is unnerving yet strangely comforting — there’s solitude, isolation, humor, and distress. It asks the viewer to re-examine what it means for space to be private, especially in Covid times. Admission is $12.50 at paam.org.
Wellfleet COA Presents Paul Suggs
Wellfleet artist Paul Suggs has a show at the Wellfleet Council on Aging, 715 Old Kings Highway, through the month of November. Suggs’s current paintings use a photorealistic approach, a shift from his earlier plein-air, impressionistic style. He works from memory or old sepia photographs to capture the Outer Cape’s unique light.
The Circus Comes to Wellfleet
Though its tent may be packed away, Payomet Performing Arts Center brings its circus artists to Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St., for two performances of “Saddle Up!” on Friday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The kid-friendly show blends juggling, acrobatics, and comedy for a Wild West-inspired tale about gender equality. Tickets are $25 for adults; $15 for children.
Then, on Saturday, Nov. 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the troupe offers “Mini Cirque Skills Workshops.” These half-hour sessions teach the fundamentals of aerial arts, juggling, and acrobatics. Open to all ages; registration is free at payomet.org.
Provincetown Film Art Series
The Provincetown Film Art Series begins its 15th season on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. with a screening of Starman, John Carpenter’s 1984 extraterrestrial love story starring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. The 14-film series, curated and hosted by Howard Karren, takes place at Waters Edge Cinema, 237 Commercial St. in Provincetown, every other Wednesday through May. Other films in the series are Le Crime de Monsieur Lange on Dec. 1, Sidewalk Stories on Dec. 15, Brick on Jan. 5, Diary of a Lost Girl on Jan. 19, Married to the Mob on Feb. 2, Monsoon on Feb. 16, Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable on March 2, Nine Days on March 16, The Long Goodbye on March 30, Stan & Ollie on April 6, Sound of Metal on April 20, Ailey on May 4, and The Truffle Hunters on May 18. Individual tickets are $14; season passes available. Visit provincetownfilm.org for more information.
The War on Journalism
Howard Healy and Darryl McGrath will discuss the challenges facing today’s journalists in “Fearlessly and Ferociously: Journalism in the Era of ‘The Enemy of the People.’ ” The Zoom event, hosted by the Truro Public Library, will take place Wednesday, Nov. 17, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The backdrop of the discussion will be the book I’ll Be Home: The Writings of Jim McGrath. Jim McGrath, chief editorial writer for the Albany Times Union, was Darryl’s late husband. There will be a Q&A following the talk. Registration is free at trurolibrary.org.
