Portman’s ‘A City in 7 Years’ Exhibit at Jamaica Plain Branch Library

Boston artist Eli Portman's exhibit 'A City in 7 Years' is now on display at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library. Portman describes his work as “the dissonance between perceived unique individual solitude in a crowded environment, and the commonness and sameness of such feelings,” according to a press release. He specializes in detailed, studied renderings of city- and landscapes in ink and watercolor. Portman's solo exhibit is the newest exhibit as part of the rotating art program supported by The Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library in partnership with Uforge. Portman often draws based on his own photography including Boston landmarks like the Boston Public Library and the Gardner Museum, which allow him to tap into shared experiences of those who live in or visit the city.

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Local Photographer’s Jamaica Plain Library Exhibit is ‘Preserving Nature in the City’

Local photographer Dawn Colsia's new exhibit at the Jamaica Plain Library captures the diversity of Jamaica Pond. “Every morning I walk around Jamaica Pond with my camera in one hand and my dog in the other. What started as a daily walk has become my morning meditation and reflection on the role nature has played in my life," said Colsia. The show, Preserving Nature in the City: A Daily Walk Around Jamaica Pond, runs through August 31, with a public reception on July 28 from 5:30-7:30 pm. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, Colsia practiced law, was a mediator, and worked to improve policy for people with disabilities, according to a press release.

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Donley’s ‘Reading and Riding’ Art Exhibit at Jamaica Plain Library

The latest art exhibit at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library is Jan Donley's Reading and Riding, which opened May 6.  

"Though she studied traditional techniques, Donley has unexpectedly found the iPad to be her main canvas, believing that digital art is an important disruption to the art world. Her works on view display a distinctive collage style, combining digitally painted figures with text from various literary sources, including Lorraine Hansberry, Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, and James Baldwin," said a press release from UForge, which is presenting the show in partnership with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library. Donley is also a teacher. “My students come from all over the world, and they remind me that home is fragile and varied and elusive.

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‘In Close Proximity 2.0’ Art Exhibit at Jamaica Plain Branch Library Thru May 4

Unlike 2020, Jamaica Plain-based collage artist Marnie Jain's art exhibit at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library, was not cancelled thanks to the lousy pandemic. And you can check out Jain's In Close Proximity 2.0 exhibit at the library through May 4. The exhibit is part of the library's rotating art program, supported by The Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library in partnership with Uforge. Uforge described Jain's work:
With a steady hand and an incredible eye for detail, Marnie Jain is known for her delightful collage compositions featuring all manner of flora and fauna, with rabbits, frogs, birds, and snakes hidden among flowers and forest greenery. Using bright colors and a range of found imagery, her constructions are playful, textured, and often enlightening.

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‘Local Scenes’ is JP Library’s First Art Exhibition for ’19

Maybe you'll recognize some of the watercolors in the Jamaica Plain Branch Library's first art exhibition for the year because it's "Local Scenes" by Kevin Gillespie. The Jamaica Plain resident's work is often done en plein air, as he illustrates his neighborhood's natural scenes like the shadows of tree branches, water ripples, the four seasons of New England and more. This is the first of six art exhibitions at the library branch due to a partnership between the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library and the Uforge Gallery. The exhibition will be on view from Jan. 4 through Feb.

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New Exhibit ‘Is the Dark Going to Catch Us’ at Jamaica Plain Branch Library

Myles Dunigan's "Is The Dark Going to Catch Us" is a new exhibit at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library, with black and white images that are reminiscent of photographer Ansel Adams' work. 

Dunigan's exhibit is the sixth, and last one of the year, from the partnership of the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library and UForge. Myles Dunigan's work uses different printmaking styles with photography and other media to produce layered, textured landscapes that straddle the line between abstraction and realism. The RISD graduate's work is described as, "Rendered in dark, antique hues, hints of scattered flora and mountain terrain weave in and out of more ambiguous motifs resembling cloud bursts or the surface of water." “In an era of technological saturation and cataclysmic weather, I draw upon the tropes of landscape painting to digitally forge new spaces that evoke the sublime and uncanny,” said Dunigan. Myles Dunigan's "Is the Dark Going to Catch Us" is on view at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library from Nov.

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New Art Exhibition ‘Kristen Gossler: Confluence’ at Jamaica Plain Branch Library

In Kristen Gossler's art exhibition at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library, "Confluence," the expressive abstract paintings pose a question, wanting to provide an interactive experience to the viewer. Gossler uses a variety of materials, including water-based pigment, screen painting ink, sumi ink and acrylic paint. The RISD graduate utilizes "a mental inventory of repeated forms found in both the natural and manmade worlds, provoking a familiarity and comfort in the viewer through subliminal means." “The unconscious use of these symbols is not art – it is the cognitive filter of the artist that gives these paintings relevance and meaning as a body of work,” said Gossler. Her new exhibit uses earthy browns, warm yellows, soft greens, burnt oranges, while centering bold shapes and natural textures.

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2019 Call for Art Proposals at Jamaica Plain Branch Library

The Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library are gearing up for a new round of submissions to select the exhibitions for 2019 season. These bi-monthly exhibits will be proposal-based and selected by a committee comprised by representatives of the Central BPL, JP Branch, Friends of the JP Library, as well as standing members of the local business and arts community. The Friends welcome artists from across New England to submit recent two-dimensional work for a solo or group show, each lasting for two-month periods. There is no specific theme, but artists are encouraged to include work that can be enjoyed by the diverse visitorship of the JP Branch Library, including children, teens and other community members. The following art mediums will be considered for selection of five solo shows and one themed group show in Drawing, Mixed Media/Collage, Painting, Photography, and Printmaking.

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Art Exhibit: ‘Joni Lohr: Unfinished Stories – A Social Documentary’ at JP Branch Library

Photographer Joni Lohr's exhibit, "Unfinished Stories -- A Social Documentary," is the newest art show at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library. Lohr has been a professional photographer for 50 years and her exhibit captures her view of the world around her while utilizing black and white tones. For half a century Lohr has captured, "...the energy of live musical performances, the camaraderie between friends, the ghosts of abandoned buildings, and the spontaneity of urban life." Lohr's exhibit includes photos of some familiar Boston area locations, as well as ones you may not recognize. "The subjects in her photographs laugh, play, wait, walk, talk, teach, and observe, some engaging with one another and others seemingly isolated from the world around them.

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Everything’s ‘Just Ducky’ at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library with Art Exhibit

Two ceramic ducks are the stars of newest art exhibit that recently opened at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library. Artist Maureen O'Connor is known for her playful still life works of tchotchkes, and in this exhibit it's a pair of ducks that were given to her by her former roommate’s mother. The is the latest exhibit presented by the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library in partnership with Uforge. This is one of six art exhibits planned for the year at the South Street library. "These small inanimate knick knacks find new life under O’Connor’s brush, turning their seemingly quizzical expressions on gumball machines, rubber ducky toys, flowers, and each other.

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