Sister Act
“Two Sisters,” a show of works by Elizabeth Brooke and Tennille Dix, opens at the Commons, 46 Bradford St. in Provincetown, on Friday, Sept. 10 and runs through Sept. 24. There will be a reception on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Brooke’s photographs embody the beauty, romance, and character of the Outer Cape and its inhabitants. Working in both color and black and white, she seeks to capture fleeting moments with a sense of intuition and openness. Her images find her as much as she finds them.
Dix is an abstract artist who uses acrylic and mixed media. Her approach is not dissimilar to her sister’s — Dix allows the work to guide her, not the other way around. Inspired by nature, Dix notes that “abstract art is a journey, and that journey is the best part of the experience.”
Greg Salvatori Expresses Hope
“Towers of Hope,” a show of paintings by Greg Salvatori, runs through Sept. 16 at Greg Salvatori Gallery in Whaler’s Wharf, 237 Commercial St. in Provincetown.
Salvatori, mostly known for his photographs, pays homage to Provincetown’s inclusive community through this new series of paintings. Focusing on the familiar silhouette of the Provincetown Monument, he uses gold leaf to illuminate this symbol against an array of spectacular sunsets and deep blue skies.
A Pinch of ‘Salt’ at Frederick Studio
James Frederick presents “Sweet and Salty,” a show of his paintings at Frederick Studio Provincetown, located in Whaler’s Wharf, 237 Commercial St. in Provincetown, opening Friday, Sept. 10 and running through Sept. 19. There will be a virtual preview on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. via Facebook, followed by in-person viewing from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
The works are “inspired by the sweet life and salt air of Cape Cod,” according to a press release. Frederick’s loose, unfussy brushstrokes focus on the band of light crossing Cape Cod Bay. He creates his own interpretation of Cape Cod expressionism, with singular moments that feel expansive yet forge an intimacy devoid of figures.
Julie Smith’s Art Is ‘A Riot’
Julie Smith presents “A Riot of Color and Shape” at Four Eleven Gallery, 411 Commercial St. in Provincetown, from Friday, Sept. 10 through Sept. 16. There will be an opening night reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Smith paints florals with a fluid hand, freely integrating drips and abstract passages. Her landscapes are long vertiginous views that reveal the rubbery geometry of the land. This telescoping from the flower to the field — the intimate to the expansive — pulls the viewer in and out of space
Marc Kundmann at ‘Land’s End’
Marc Kundmann presents “Life at Land’s End,” a show of new paintings opening Saturday, Sept. 11 and running through Sept. 17 at Addison Art Gallery, 43 South Orleans Road in Orleans. Kundmann uses encaustic and cold wax mediums for his paintings of stocky figures and Cape scenes. They possess a robust physicality, abandoning strict realism for a lightly abstracted reality. The multi-layered surfaces seem to dictate the forms, which possess a dull luminescence.
There will be an opening reception on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. There will also be an open house at Kundmann’s Provincetown studio, 14 Bradford St., on Friday, Sept. 10, from noon to 4 p.m.
Massad and McCarron at the Commons
A show of paintings by Marilyn Massad and Maureen McCarron runs through Sunday, Sept. 19 at the Commons, 46 Bradford St. in Provincetown. There will be an opening reception on Friday, Sept. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m.
McCarron paints birds in all their decorative, evolutionary splendor, using joyous colors and gilded backgrounds. They’re full of pluck and pomp — the artist’s quietly defiant response to the strain of our pandemic era. McCarron also does collages — a startling adjunct that feels a little Victorian and Alice in Wonderland-ish.
Massad also attempts to counter the times with “Happy Days,” an exploration of the visual and physical allure of flowers. Her joyful, gestural paintings use a flurry of loose brushwork. “Marilyn’s art is a gentle, moving reminder that the most important and eternal garden one can cultivate is within,” says a press release.
Mitchell Johnson at Castle Hill
Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, 10 Meetinghouse Road, is exhibiting “Mitchell Johnson: Sixteen Years in Truro” through Sept. 17. There will be a reception on Thursday, Sept. 9, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The selected paintings — which depict houses, fences, beach chairs, and boats — date from between 2005 and 2021. In his typically forthright manner, Johnson expresses deeply felt color relationships, patterns, and interlocking shapes. He lays down tracts of paint like sugary icing. His tableau of pleasantly arranged buoys amps up the color while diversifying the texture, hinting at Johnson’s quietly alert presence always pushing the work forward.
Fall Courses at Open University of Wellfleet
Open University of Wellfleet has announced its fall schedule, with in-person classes running over five weeks from mid-October to mid-November. There are still spots available in “A Cultural History of 19th Century Russia,” with George Swope; “Jerome Kern on Broadway and in Hollywood,” with Marc Strauss; “Shipwrecks of Cape Cod: Stories of Tragedy and Triumph,” with Don Wilding; “Posthuman Life in the 21st Century’s Anonymous Society,” with Fred Magee; and “Comedies of Oscar Wilde,” with Ed Golden. Finally, Robert Rindler teaches the fourth installment of “Contemporary Artists of Cape Cod” on Thursday afternoons, 4 to 6 p.m., beginning Oct. 21.
The course will include conversations with Bailey Bob Bailey, Cherie Mittenthal, Esteban del Valle, Laura Shabott, and others. Courses are $60 each; visit openuniversityofwellfleet.org for dates, availability, and registration.
Invoking the ‘Muse’
Gaston Lacombe’s new show, “Muse,” is on view at Studio Lacombe, located in Whaler’s Wharf, 237 Commercial St. in Provincetown, through Sept. 27. Showcasing 20 mixed media works, Lacombe celebrates his latest model and muse, Justin, in a flurry of activity, applying his signature style of black and white photographs set against a backdrop of deep primary colors overlaid with haloes and pop-art bubbles.
