Boston International Fine Art Show: Our Favorite Artists

Each fall, Sally and I look forward to the Boston International Fine Art Show, organized and presented by Fusco and Four. They have a knack for finding and bringing in fine art dealers and artists to the show who are the cream the crop from across New England and the East Coast. 

Since we weren’t “shopping” for clients this year, we could simply enjoy and appreciate as we wandered the floor. Three artists in particular resonated with us. Each for very different reasons.

ANNA THURBER: The fINe art of Detail

Anna Thurber’s booth spoke to me from across the room for a deeply personal reason. Her work remind’s me of a comment my Mom once made about how she approaches photography. It’s essence is to seek out how little one needs in the camera’s frame to create a photograph. As it turns out, not much, yet at the same time, a whole lot.

Anna creates and photographs ice compositions by freezing flowers, plants and objects found in Nature in water. The freezing process can take hours.

The results are stunning and at times, other worldly. 

She has an extensive collection of images available on her website or you can commission her to create something custom with a wedding bouquet or special floral arrangement. If you are an event planner, she can work with you to create a one off table center piece. or display.

MIKE SLEEPER: The Fine art of Ephemeral

Mike Sleeper  works in film. Uses a dark room. You get one chance with each shot. That’s old school. I like that! 

His photographs are the kind of images I wish I could take. I can’t tell you how many times I have stood on the back shore of Gloucester watching the waves exploded on it’s rocky shore or walked Crane Beach in Ipswich at sun up, wishing I could immortalize the moment.

I’ll bet you have had the same thought. His images capture those moments. 

What’s amazing is many of his photographs are taken within three miles of his home in Marshfield. Who needs to travel the world? There’s beauty all around you!

SUSAN PETREE: The fine art of Joie de Vivre

Susan Petree’s contemporary paintings exude a palpable vitality and joie de vivre. Chatting with her in her booth, we learned that eight years ago she had one of those, “So where have you been all my life?” moments when on an impulse she took an abstract painting class. She walked away from her career in the world of finance, began to paint and has never looked back. This decision resonated with Sally and me because we have walked away from one career to start another.

Today, working out of her Newport studio, she creates her paintings using a centuries old oil and cold wax technique. This technique allows a painter to build layers of color and texture on top of each other, the wax adding a luminous quality to the paint. She uses an additive and subtractive approach to her work.

It’s pretty cool to look at on of her abstract paintings, knowing that Rembrandt used the same technique to paint some of his paintings.

I find myself wanting to place one of her paintings in a traditionally paneled room over the fireplace. Perhaps in the master bedroom we are working on right now…

Or perhaps over the sofa in the living room of this 1670’s antique colonial we worked on several years ago.

The TAKE AWAYS:

1. As we walked the floor of this fine art show, we were reminded of the adage, listen to your heart. Buy what you love, what speaks to your heart. In this show I found three artists with whose work I fell in love. 
2. Notice the little things – the details. 
3. You can capture the ephemeral.
4. Beauty is no further than your back yard or just a few miles away.
5. Is there a Second Act lurking in your future?
6. What is old is new.

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If Sally and I can help you with any aspect of the design of your home, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form on our website, here:

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