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James Frederick’s latest show, “A Quiet Roar,” opens at Frederick Studio Provincetown, 237 Commercial St., on Friday, July 16th and runs through July 25th. On opening night, there will be a Facebook livestream at 7 p.m., followed by an in-person reception at 7:30 p.m. Frederick paints the Outer Cape’s “sun, sea, and serenity” in a series of semi-abstractions that convey emotional reactions to the natural landscape.
Frederick Studio Provincetown is holding a hybrid opening of “In the Garden,” a show of new works by James Frederick, on Friday, June 18th. There will a live-stream preview, via Facebook, at 6:30 p.m., followed by in-person browsing at 237 Commercial St. in Provincetown from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
These paintings are a departure from Frederick’s usual subject matter of water and sky, with a move towards deep, green gardens and insect inhabitants. The weave of the canvas forms a textural counterpoint to Frederick’s joyful application of color. The gallery is open Thursday through Monday, noon to 5 p.m.
Join Frederick Studio Provincetown for “Glow,” a virtual opening on Friday, May 21st, at 7 p.m. It consists of new paintings by James Frederick that portray the natural light of the Outer Cape as well as the “inner glow” inspired by creating and working here. Watch on Facebook.
Join Frederick Studio Provincetown for “A New View,” a virtual opening on Friday, April 23rd, 7 p.m. Artist James Frederick depicts familiar scenes in a new way, “through contrast, color-massing and subtle nuances of brushwork,” he writes in the announcement. Watch on Facebook.
A show of work by Provincetown artist James Frederick, “A Winter’s Tale,” opens on Saturday, November 14th at Frederick Studio Provincetown at 237 Commercial St. (Whaler’s Wharf) and runs through November 22nd.
The show’s opening is virtual, streaming live on the gallery’s Facebook page, on Saturday, November 14th, at 7 p.m. In the gallery announcement, Frederick writes that the winter season, while “long, cold and gray,” is also “dotted with colorful moments of insight, deep perspective and an appreciation of beauty.”
The gallery is open Friday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
The Provincetown Commons, at 46 Bradford St., is having a show of the original artwork that went into making its 2021 deck of 54 artist playing cards (including two jokers) that’s on sale at provincetowncommons.org for $50 each (with discounts if you buy more than one).
The 2021 deck follows a similar artists’ project last year. All proceeds go to help support the Commons, a facility for emerging businesses in town and arts-related projects.
Among the participants this year: Cherie Mittenthal, Jim Broussard, Larry Collins, Mary Giammarino, Joan Cobb Marsh, Sarah Riley, Joerg Dressler, Helen Grimm, Christopher Sousa, Kate Ryan, Shirl Roccapriore, Forrest Williams, Liz Carney, Curtis Speer, Laura Shabott, Gaston Lacombe, and James Frederick.
This event is ongoing.
A show of recent work by James Frederick,” “Vigorous Serenity,” opens on Friday, October 9th, at Frederick Studio Provincetown at 237 Commercial St. (Whaler’s Wharf) in Provincetown and runs through October 18th. The show’s opening is virtual, streaming live on the gallery’s Facebook page on Saturday, October 10th, at 7 p.m. In creating the work, Frederick writes that he is inspired by “the sea, sun, and serenity, and the bold calmness that is Cape Cod.”
Provincetown artist James Frederick will host a virtual opening on Frederick Studio Provincetown’s Facebook page on Friday, September 4th, at 7:00 p.m. The paintings in the exhibit, which express the light and color of the Outer Cape, are on view at Frederick Studio Provincetown at 237 Commercial St., Whaler’s Wharf, through September 13th.
Swim for Life Does More Than Tread Water
Instead of having a crowd of people running into the bay at Provincetown’s beach, this year’s Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact, will be a “Swimming in Place” fund-raising challenge, in which participants join teams and raise money by swimming in their bathtub, in a pool, in a pond, or doing non-aquatic activities. The aim is to maintain social distancing. The challenge will be capped off with a virtual event on Sept. 12. Prayer ribbons will be displayed, as always, in the Provincetown library.
The Swim for Life raises money for AIDS support, women’s health, and the community. To participate, go to Swim4Life.org.
Compact founder Jay Critchley tells the Independent that the term “swimming” takes on a more metaphorical meaning this year. “I’m developing the choreography for a Swim for Life dance,” he says. “Somebody already said that they’ll be running up and down the stairs in their house. It could be anything, making a challenging dish at home, doing something for the community.”
All participants will get a Swim for Life swim cap, and those who raise $100 will get a T-shirt with artwork by Duane Slick, a Native American artist with longstanding ties to Provincetown. Critchley says that he felt it was imperative to have an indigenous artist create the Swim’s logo this year, due to the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival here.
“People can wear their swim cap when riding their bike, jogging, when they’re in the bathtub, whatever they are doing,” Critchley says. He’s hoping for some humorous pictures on social media.
The significance of the event is greater now than ever. “Initially, the impetus for Swim for Life was an environmental one,” Critchley says. Back in the summer of 1988, Critchley and his friend Walter McLean would swim across the harbor because most of the town beaches were closed due to pollution. Weeks later, they organized the first Swim for Life to raise money for HIV/AIDS. Since then, they have added other charities, such as Helping Our Women, and, this year, Outer Cape Health Services and the Covid-19 Task Force.
“Swim for Life developed in response to HIV, but now we have a very different pandemic,” Critchley says. “The town still knows how to rally and come together.” —Saskia Maxwell Keller
Bakker Auctions Kicks Off Season Online
James Bakker, one of Provincetown’s resident experts on art colony history, has been holding online auctions for years, so the pandemic hasn’t changed things all that much. His spring auction of classic and contemporary Provincetown art, now on view at bakkerproject.com, will unfold live on Saturday, May 30, at 1 p.m.
A highlight of the selection up for bid is a rare 1905 oil landscape of Provincetown by Charles Webster Hawthorne, valued at $15,000 to $20,000. Works by Ray Nolin, Cynthia Packard, George Yater, Arthur Cohen, Harvey Dodd, Lois Griffel, and John Clayton will also be offered.
After registering, you may make bids until a lot has closed. If your bid clinches the sale, the work can be picked up or shipped later
James Frederick to the Power of Six
As reductions in pollution as a result of the coronavirus shutdown continue to have an effect on the landscape, sky, and light, one can’t help but wonder how painting on the Cape will be affected as well. This is precisely the question that Provincetown artist James Frederick explores in his new exhibit, “S6: Sand Salt Sea Surf Sky & Sun,” which will be streamed live online on Saturday, May 30, at 7 p.m. on Frederick Studio Provincetown’s Facebook and Instagram pages. The show will include new and recent works traversing the full gambit from figurative to abstract.
Broadway, Broadcasted
Broadway star Kelli O’Hara was scheduled to appear at Provincetown Town Hall this August with Seth Rudetsky on the piano as host, presented by the Art House. That was then. Now, with Broadway and Provincetown theaters shut down, O’Hara and Rudetsky will chat and perform live online on Sunday, May 31, at 8 p.m. and Monday, June 1, at 3 p.m. at thesethconcertseries.com. Tickets are $20 (early birds) and $25.
In 2015, O’Hara received the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in The King and I. Her Broadway credits include Kiss Me, Kate; South Pacific; and The Light in the Piazza. She has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in The Merry Widow and Così fan tutte.
Kim McAninch Evokes the Idyllic in Wellfleet
“Idyll,” the title of painter Kim McAninch’s new exhibit at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, is defined in the show’s announcement as “an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one.” It is a fitting topic for a time when we can step back and appreciate, with sudden intensity, the things we take for granted.
McAninch studied surface pattern design at Miami University. Her exhibit, which is running currently through June 18, will be available for virtual viewing at wellfleetpreservationhall.org, although it hadn’t been set up at press time.
Ptown Gallery Stroll Launches Website
The Ptown Gallery Stroll, a group of more than 30 galleries in Provincetown, is coordinating efforts to ensure safe and efficient operations during the current health crisis.
The group’s broader mission is “to foster a sense of community and mutual support among gallery owners, as well as explore strategies for promoting Provincetown as a thriving art and design community both today and into the future,” a press release announced.
The group’s website, ptowngallerystroll.com, is expected to go live on Friday, May 29. Participating galleries will be represented. Information for visitors will also be included.
