“Everything meaningful in my adult life has come from the relationship with this material,” says artist Michael David, referring to encaustic — a painting material composed of wax, damar varnish, […]
OUTSIDER ART
The Alternate Realities of Michael J. Andrews
The former town hall custodian explores local and celestial visions in his paintings
“I don’t claim to be an artist,” says Michael J. Andrews, sitting in an easy chair at his Provincetown condo. “There are artists out there, like Mrs. Packard, or all […]
RAZZLE DAZZLE
Screen Printing the Visual Zeitgeist
Chris Kelly’s paintings mine imagery from past and present
Pulling Through, the title of Chris Kelly’s show at Gallery 444 in Provincetown, is both a nod to his Provincetown debut — he’s pulling through town — and a reference […]
REAL ABSTRACTION
Works Built to Complicate Perspective
Quinn Gorbutt’s photographs are not ‘what your eyes are used to seeing’
It’s hard to know how to categorize Quinn Gorbutt’s artwork, hovering as it does in the space between photography, sculpture, and painting. In the artist’s statement accompanying his exhibition, Heart, […]
ARTISTS
A Public Exploration of Privacy
Kamrooz Aram’s Chicago exhibition reflects his Wellfleet experiences
Iran and Wellfleet are worlds apart, yet the painter Kamrooz Aram managed to find memories of his native country in the reflections of Wellfleet’s kettle ponds on two visits to […]
AT HOME
When Houses Floated Across Harbors
Moving was a statement of both permanence and adaptability
WELLFLEET — David Wright, the curator at the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum, has over the years compiled a list of houses in Wellfleet that had been moved from their […]
IN THE STACKS
Finding Rhythm in Truro’s Hills
The Truro Public Library’s art collection connects its community and landscape
The Truro Public Library, like its peers on the Outer Cape, hosts an art collection donated by artists and patrons. This past month, Tom Wojtalak became the latest donor with […]
MEET THE MAKER
Building a Better Bat Box
In an Eastham barn and on Etsy, a fan base for a maligned mammal grows
EASTHAM — George FitzGibbons became interested in bat boxes out of frustration. Not with bats, but with bugs. “My wife hates mosquitos,” he says. They would drive her nuts during […]
IN THE STACKS
First a Church, Then a Museum, Now a Library
Hanging beside bookshelves, paintings tell of Provincetown’s cultural history
If you’ve walked down Commercial Street in Provincetown, you’ve likely met the tourists standing outside the public library. Immortalized in bronze by sculptor Chaim Gross, the couple — a large-chested […]
BOOK REVIEW
Landscape as ‘Poetic Space’
How artists and thinkers influenced America and its politics
Considering the origins of the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961 doesn’t usually bring Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th-century transcendentalist, to mind. Or artists, either. In local imagination, the origin […]
HARD QUESTIONS
Existence and Nonexistence
A Four-Year-Old Considers Death and Rebirth
Around his fourth birthday, my son, Noah, started asking probing questions about life and death. It began innocently enough. He wanted to know if he would become a baby again. […]
MEET THE MAKER
A Cape Cod Stick Chair Takes Shape From Detritus
On walks in Wellfleet, John D’Aponte finds pallets and palettes for his craft
“I’ve had my eye on garbage for a long time,” says designer John D’Aponte. In Brooklyn, where he lived most of his life, he learned to pillage the detritus of […]
ARTISTS
Battling the Elements for Art’s Sake
Elizabeth Flood paints layers of history and meaning
As an elementary-school student in Virginia, Elizabeth Flood found a Civil War bullet while digging in the sand at recess. “It was on my radar at a very early age […]
INSTALLATIONS
Blurring the Line Between Sculpture and Photography
Clint Baclawski combines light with undulating form
Clint Baclawski’s installation Bound/ary at Room 68 is a welcome reprieve of light and color on a blustery winter day in Provincetown. The installation consists of a folding screen where […]
DIY
In a Wellfleet Back Yard, One Family’s Maple Sugaring Tradition
What to do after the thaw, when daffodils push up, crows return, and the sap rises
The Outer Cape is known for many culinary delicacies: Eastham turnips, Wellfleet oysters, and Provincetown’s seafood-laden Portuguese stews. But maple syrup? That’s long been the pride of our neighbors to […]
