Provocative Artworks in Bristol - Inside Art with Michael Rose

Provocative Artworks in Bristol - Inside Art with Michael Rose

 

Living in a culture that is so sodden with images, it can be difficult to be surprised by art. In a new exhibition on view at Bristol Art Museum (BAM), artists seek to change perspectives and make viewers reconsider what they are seeing. The show, titled Shift, opened on July 21 and continues through September 11, 2022. Through work in a variety of media, it challenges attendees’ preconceived notions and pushes forward conversations through art.

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Shift features works ranging from sculpture and installation to two-dimensional prints, photographs, and more. On view in the show, visitors will find artworks by Boris Bally, Brett Day Windham, Kate Gilbert, Lois Harada, Matthew Kemp, Thomas Spencer Ladd, Scott Lapham, Lisa Lowenstein, Kerianne Quick, JP Terlizzi and William Van Beckum. There is plenty to see and much to consider in BAM’s galleries, which are open Thursday through Sunday from 1-4pm each day.

 

 

Upon entering the museum at 10 Wardell Street in Bristol, viewers will find the walls of the institution’s lobby covered in posters by Providence printmaker Lois Harada which make the case for the changing of the name of Victory Day in Rhode Island. Harada has long used her printmaking to advocate for a reconsideration of this holiday, but in the grouping of work presented at BAM, viewers get to see a great number of Harada’s prints all in one installation. With Victory Day on August 8, the timing of this show is apt.

 

Just off the lobby in the museum’s smaller gallery space, there is an interactive display by artist Matt Kemp, which invites viewers to create stories using blocks featuring characters on their surfaces. An engaging artwork for kids and families, it also allows adult art enthusiasts to participate in an artwork in an unexpected way. Photographs make up a large portion of Shift and alongside Kemp’s installation, works by photographer Jesse Burke are on view. One image of a child with a bloodied nose is particularly eye-catching.

 

 

In the main gallery, still life photography is a recurring theme, with artists using it to encourage audiences to reconsider objects they might take for granted. In photographs by William Van Beckum odd events seem to take place. A digital camera swings through space in one image, while in another an iPad hangs from its wire while dominoes topple from out of frame. Careful arrangements of color and composition make for outstanding photographic contributions from Van Beckum, who earned his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in 2017.

 

Other strong photographic still life images come from artist Thomas Ladd, and are notable for their precision. In one of Ladd’s images the ash-laden end of a cigarette balances over the precipice of a plank, accompanied by a vegetable peeler. There is a tight choreography to Ladd’s work that makes viewers look anew at common objects.

 

In the main gallery, one of the most compelling works is a menorah created from recycled handguns by Providence artist Boris Bally. Titled Loaded Menorah, the work was created using handguns taken off the street. Bally has also contributed a nearby platter which bears symbols alluding to topics like gun violence and abortion. His work makes one rethink well known pieces of design while confronting difficult topics.

 

 

Assemblage works make up another element of the show, with artists exhibiting works that bend definitions and welcome close looking. JP Terlizzi has contributed a dazzling collection of deeply personal work in this category that combines his own family history with recognizable objects. In one sculpture, spools of thread are faced with family portraits, suggesting connections between generations. Nearby, Kerianne Quick’s contributions combine glittering surfaces with mat black finishes. The aesthetic contrast beckons viewers to examine them carefully.

 

Scott Lapham has contributed several of the most potent pieces in the show, which all probe the crisis of gun violence. One of Lapham’s sculptures is a pistol encrusted in mussels while another is a rifle formed entirely from matches. The pair is accompanied by a photo showing a pair of matchstick guns bursting into flame while pointed at one another. All are part of the impactful One Gun Gone project.

 

 

There is plenty to see in Bristol Art Museum’s Shift exhibition and much of it will cause a double-take. Whether reconsidering the name and purpose of Victory Day or looking anew at objects sometimes taken for granted, this exhibition will definitely shift perspectives.

 

Shift is on view at Bristol Art Museum through September 11, 2022. The museum is located at 10 Wardell Street in the heart of Bristol. It is open to the public Thursdays through Sundays from 1-4pm. For more information and to plan your visit, go to www.bristolartmuseum.org.