Provincetown artist Joe Trepiccione’s new show of paintings, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” is at Hutson Gallery at 432 Commercial St. in Provincetown through August 27th. Trepiccione, who lives on Bangs Street and commutes once a week to his graphic design and art studio in Charlestown, has painted the path through the Seashore to Hatches Harbor for 40 years.The gallery is open daily, except for Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and, on Friday’s, until 8 p.m.
Hutson Gallery
Arts Briefs and Listings
Arts Briefs for July 30 through August 5
Now Screening: ‘Clay,’ Short Film on Potter Steve Kemp
Michael Cestaro was born and raised in Eastham, graduated from Nauset Regional High School in 2004, and left for college in Boston and a life in California until just recently. “I’ve been working in film and cinematography for 12 years,” Cestaro says. “I do mostly online video marketing. I’m trying to do weddings and such.”
When his parents downsized, Cestaro bought the house he grew up in, and moved back in with his own family. But his corporate work didn’t fully satisfy him. “I hit this time in my life when I needed to create something and stop judging myself,” he says. “I wanted to do something without consideration of its commercial value.”
He was intrigued by the idea of shooting pottery being made and thought of the Kemp Pottery store on Route 6A near the rotary in Orleans, which he would pass when picking up his daughter from child care.
“My first conversation with Steve Kemp was two and a half hours long,” Cestaro says. “In the way that Steve speaks, it’s almost like commandments, but in such a friendly, nice way. I really fell in love with Steve. He’s such an enlightened artist.”
Cestaro ended up shooting the film “Clay,” with Kemp working at a wheel, casting his signature sand ripples out on the flats, and talking about the practice of art that sustains him.
It’s a gorgeous, engaging 13-minute film that is well worth the time it takes to screen it online at upabovecreative.com/clay. There’s no charge, but Cestaro, who financed the film himself, is hoping to raise money to turn this into a series on local artists. —Howard Karren
Mary Giammarino Featured at Four Eleven Gallery
“Poetry & Science,” an exhibit of new paintings by Mary Giammarino, will open Friday, July 31, at Four Eleven Gallery at 411 Commercial St. in Provincetown, and run through Aug. 6.
Giammarino’s plein air paintings are driven by light and color in the classic tradition of Provincetown impressionism. Four Eleven Gallery is open for two people at a time, Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment (617-905-7432).
Wellfleetians Page and Witkowski at Hutson Gallery
The Hutson Gallery, at 432 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is putting on two exhibits: “Catalan Sun,” featuring new work by Michael Page, and “Same Not Same,” with new pieces by Luanne Witkowski. The shows will open on Friday, July 31, and remain on view through Aug. 13. The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Tuesdays.
Page’s work is inspired by his recent travels to Morocco, Jordan, Italy, and Spain. He does his painting on the ground, not on an easel, using palette knives and nontraditional materials such as rags or sandpaper. Witkowski’s show consists of collagraph and intaglio monoprints inspired by nature.
Virtual Marx Brothers, Presented by WHAT
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater and Marc Strauss are streaming five classic naughty pre-Code Marx Brothers film comedies on five Mondays in August at 7 p.m. The series begins on Aug. 3 with The Cocoanuts (1929), continues with the anarchic Broadway adaptation Animal Crackers (1930) on Aug. 10, Monkey Business (1931) on Aug. 17, the hilarious football romp Horse Feathers (1932) on Aug. 24, and, as a finale, the brilliant Duck Soup (1933) on Aug. 31.
All five films star all four Marxes — Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and handsome young Zeppo (forever shtick-less) — and each will be introduced by Strauss, who will lead an online discussion post-screening. Tickets for the films, at what.org, are $10 each or $30 for the series.
Provincetown Exhibits for Chris Roddick and Jan Donley
Stewart Clifford Gallery, open daily at 338 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is presenting new work by two artists, Chris Roddick and Jan Donley, from Friday, July 31, through Aug. 12.
Roddick’s show, “At the End of the Cape,” features scenes of Provincetown using different media and techniques. It will have an opening reception on Friday, July 31.
For the works in her show “Rooted in Place and Time,” Donley creates layered digital images using an iPad. Her opening reception will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1.
New Works by Sandra Jones Campbell and Deborah Martin
William Scott Gallery, at 438 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is showing works by painters Sandra Jones Campbell and Deborah Martin through Aug. 5. Call 508-487-4040 for hours or to make an appointment.
In her show, “Summer,” Campbell draws on her collection of vintage black-and-white photographs to depict nostalgic summer scenes in a style drawing on German impressionism. Martin’s show, “Narrow Lands,” focuses on homes of the Outer Cape in states of disrepair or decomposition.
This season, a portion of proceeds from sales at the gallery will benefit Cape Cod Arts Relief, in support of artists affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seth Rudetsky Hosts Cheyenne Jackson
The virtual Seth Concert Series, in which Seth Rudetsky chats and accompanies stars of Broadway, continues on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m. (encore presentation on Monday, Aug. 3, at 3 p.m.) with Cheyenne Jackson. Tickets are $25 at thesethconcertseries.com.
Jackson, a Provincetown habitué and out and proud singer-songwriter, is best known for the long-running Xanadu on Broadway, as well as playing a Liberace boy toy in HBO’s Behind the Candelabra, and recurring roles on American Horror Story, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 30 Rock.
Jim Broussard Shows at Alden Gallery
The Provincetown streetscapes and dunescapes of local painter Jim Broussard, formerly at Shirl Roccapriore’s Oils by the Sea, have found a new home at Alden Gallery, 423 Commercial St. in Provincetown, open daily noon to 5 p.m.
Broussard will have a solo show of new oils from Friday, July 31, through Aug. 13, with scenes from winter, spring, and summer, on Commercial Street and out by the dune shacks, and some with rooftop bird’s-eye views.
Bakker Gallery Presents Arthur Cohen Retrospective
An exhibit of iconic works by the late painter Arthur Cohen will be on view at Bakker Gallery, at 359 Commercial St. in Provincetown, from Friday, July 31, through Aug. 22. The art featured represents the whole of Cohen’s career, with images of both Provincetown and New York City. The gallery is open Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment (508-413-9758). There will be no opening reception.
Arts Briefs and Listings
Arts Briefs for July 23 through July 29
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.
Arts Briefs and Listings
Arts Briefs for July 2 through July 8
Impressions of Cape Cod: Local Color
Photographer Lee Glickenhaus has a decidedly unpretentious take on his artistic vision. He may be inspired by Ansel Adams and Joel Meyerowitz, but his self-published book of Cape Cod land- and seascapes, Impressions of Cape Cod, has no precious packaging, no spiritual subtext, no dreamlike extremes. He clearly likes to play with multiple exposures and enhanced color in Photoshop. But he has a curious eye, a great sense of composition, and a subtle way with narrative. His Cape Cod subject matter is familiar but not his approach.
“I’m completely self-taught,” he says. “I was the photo editor of my high school yearbook. But I was not good. I knew the fundamentals. And I looked at tens of thousands of other people’s photos and YouTube videos.”
He was a lawyer for 15 years, then
owned an internet business for another 20. He has a second home in Brewster, and he was determined to learn how to shoot well and put together a book on Cape Cod. It’s available at mid-Cape bookstores and online (for a $10 digital or $50 signed hard copy) at capecodphotobook.com. There are also free sample pages, which are very persuasive. —Howard Karren
Of Provincetown, Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Time, Tide and Treasures is, in essence, a history of Provincetown via beachcombed objects: arrowheads, whale bones, buoys, and sailing ropes. “The book is a study of a culture, in a way,” says co-author Amy Heller. “It is a love letter to old Provincetown.”
Co-author Gail Browne says that when she finds a piece of treasure on the beach, be it a pottery shard, china doll head, or coin, she is instantly transported back in time, imagining the person who once grasped it.
The book’s artifacts are also reflexive: they reveal something about its authors and the beachcombing artists — Judy Berkowitz, Betty Bodian, Varujan Boghosian, and Paul Bowen — whose collections fill its pages. Collections speak volumes about their collectors. “I’m nondiscriminatory,” Browne says of her beachcombing style. “I see the beauty in everything.”
“Betty Bodian is really attracted to glass stoppers and bottles,” Heller says. “You can see a direct correlation with the colors in her paintings.”
Heller writes of the delight she took as a child beachcombing with her mother in Provincetown, while Browne writes of beachcombing with her twin daughters. Indeed, there is something childlike and magical about the activity. “I don’t think about any bills when I’m beachcombing,” Browne says. “I don’t think of the state of the world.” Adds Heller: “During this pandemic, I’ve reconnected with nature.”
The book itself complements the experience of beachcombing. In its pages are images of windswept sand — Heller’s photographs of meticulously arranged multitudes form grids of like objects that tell a narrative. Even the dust jacket has the texture of sand. “It’s a magnificent obsession,” Heller says. “You can’t stop yourself. If you do, you are a denying a part of your being.”
Lost and Found: Time, Tide and Treasures was published last month by Schiffer Books, lists for $34.99, and can be purchased from East End Books Ptown, Bookshop.org, and other retailers online. —Saskia Maxwell Keller
Three-person Show at Alden Gallery
The Alden Gallery, at 423 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is offering its first show of the season from Friday, July 3, through July 16.
Work by three artists will be featured: Anne Salas, Linda Reedy, and Robert Glisson. During the Covid-19 crisis, hours are limited to noon to 5 p.m. daily. Appointments can be made by calling 508-487-4230 during gallery hours, or 646-483-8164 at other times.
Hutson Gallery Launches ‘Thirteenth Season’
The Hutson Gallery, at 432 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is presenting “The Thirteenth Season” on Friday, July 3, through July 16. The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.
The exhibit is a group show of gallery artists — Harry Folsom, Peter Macara, Gay Malin, Jesse Mireles, Felice Newman, Rose Olson, Michael Page, Lynda Schlosberg, Joe Trepiccione, Luanne E Witkowski, and Gary Zack — and guest artist Rowena Perkins.
A Radio Show to Di For
Not only is Lady Di and her weekly show, Leggs Up and Dancing, on WOMR-FM 92.1, back on the air on Friday, July 3, from 5 to 7 p.m., she’s also one of the first DJs on Outermost Community Radio to be literally back in the station’s Provincetown studios, which have been closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
After a four-month hiatus due to health problems, Lady Di will be back singing and grooving to the best tunes of the ’50s through the ’80s. Listeners can send in their requests to [email protected] in the week leading up to the show.
“With the music I play, I always try to lift people’s spirits,” Lady Di tells the Independent. “And I sing along with it, not necessarily in tune.”
Lady Di, who will have been on air 21 years this July, has thousands of listeners all over the world (streaming on womr.org). “I feel my purpose is to bring happiness to people, and maybe a little bit of light if there is any darkness in their lives,” she says. She has raised money for WOMR and countless charities. Lady Di is also known as Vernon Porter — Mason, life coach, and sought-after wedding officiant.
After the pandemic, Di says, “I hope people get educated, appreciate how precious life is, and learn to keep an open heart and open mind. Every single person is different, and they all have different attributes. If you treat people right, you’ll be treated right yourself.” —Saskia Maxwell Keller
Lucy Clark at Berta Walker Gallery
There’s still time to see the current show at Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown, featuring the work of Deb Mell, Joseph Diggs, and Lucy Clark. It’s on view through July 11. The show is part of “A Season of First Landings,” celebrating Provincetown 400.
Clark, who is based in Washington, D.C., and Truro, is one of the newer artists at Walker’s gallery. “Her current paintings reveal the motions and emotions of land and sea that the artist has represented through the rhythms of line and color,” the announcement for the exhibit says.
Berta Walker Gallery, at 208 Bradford St. in Provincetown, is open by appointment only, noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. To make an appointment, call 941-350-7135 or go to calendly.com/bertawalker.
