Nov
23
to Dec 27
Sep
6
to Sep 28
Jul
13
to Aug 17
Shay Culligan
Shay Culligan’s FIGURAVOLUTION tracks the evolution of his portrait paintings from figurative realism towards modernist abstraction. It also represents a personal revolution for him as he no longer feels confined within the structures of representational realism.
“I have often been torn by the diverging pulls of classical realism and modernist abstraction, straddling polarized genres in a fusion that continues to evolve,” says the Irish-born Culligan, who came to America in the 1990s to study painting at Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt).
Disillusioned by the focus on minimalism and pure abstraction that persisted in the MassArt painting department, Shay—by then an already technically trained figurative painter—decided to switch his major to graphic design but continued to paint in his spare time.
Shay used to paint traditional portraits and landscapes, but in 2002 he transitioned over to serigraphy, silkscreen printing his photos and collages onto various media, exhibiting such work in Ireland, London, the Netherlands, Canada, and throughout America. After 12 years in the serigraph medium he transitioned back to painting in oil, with his Russian wife Marina featuring prominently in his portraiture as his model and muse. Lately Shay has been flirting with abstraction in various degrees, without totally abandoning proportionality or figurativism. FIGURAVOLUTION is the culmination of several years of experimentation in styles, chronologically transitioning from realism to abstraction.
“Modern life is unpredictable and chaotic, the gatekeepers of cultural and moral acceptability have been obliterated by modern technologies such as the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence,” he maintains. “Nobody knows what the future holds for our globalized society and civilization as a whole, so my expectation is to evolve to a point where my paintings become a puzzlement not just to the viewing public, but also to myself as an artist, whist I continue to develop my ability to capture physical beauty on canvas.”
Shay Culligan at shaymultimedia at yahoo.com, and at www.seamas.com.
May
31
6:00 PM18:00
Final Fridays at Washington Street!
It's time again for Final Fridays! - May 31, 6pm-8pm.
Please join us for art, refreshments and conversation! Preview our latest gallery show. A few of our artists may have their studios open as well.
May
31
to Jun 29
May
4
to May 5
Apr
26
6:00 PM18:00
Mar
29
6:00 PM18:00
Feb
23
6:00 PM18:00
Jan
26
6:00 PM18:00
Final Fridays at Washington Street!
It's time again for Final Fridays! - January 26th, 6pm-8pm.
Please join us for art, refreshments and conversation! We have a showcase of work by our members in the gallery, and a few of our artists may have their studios open as well. Come and see what we've been up to lately!
May
6
to May 27
Washington Street Somerville Open Studios Showcase 2023
Somerville Open Studios: Saturday, May 6, and Sunday, May 7 from 12-6 PM
For Somerville Open Studios, the Washington Street gallery and studios present an array of work from our diverse and dynamic members at 321 Washington Street, Somerville, just outside Union Square. Our members work in many media: traditional silver gelatin, digital, and panoramic photography; assemblage, collage, drawing, painting, small sculptures, installation, book arts and much, much, more! Featured artists include: Artists featured include: Meghan Bailey, Jennifer Erbe, Gretchen Ann Graham, Kerrie Kemperman, Ariel Kessler, Lee Kilpatrick, Iaritza Menjivar, and Mimi Silverstein
Apr
8
to Apr 29
Organic Mechanisms by Meghan Bailey
Opening Reception - Saturday, April 15, 2023 6-8pm
Organic Mechanisms by Meghan Bailey
Washington Street Art Center presents a solo exhibition of local artist Meghan Bailey. Her current body of work remakes the original form of tools and machines using the formal language of abstraction, design, and decoration.
Feb
11
to Mar 25
Borrowed Time — A Community-Sourced Time Machine by Bess Paupeck
Opening Reception - Saturday, February 11, 2023 6-8pm
Borrowed Time — A Community-Sourced Time Machine by Bess Paupeck
Time disappeared, spread out, sped up and slowed down in different ways for all of us during the long months of pandemic lockdown. Borrowed Time is a community-sourced installation-exhibition made of borrowed time pieces, creating space for us to come together and consider the meaning of all of our time – something we ourselves create and define, lose, share and borrow.
Dec
2
to Jan 14
Secret Santa
Opening Reception - Friday, December 2, 2022 5-7pm
For “Secret Santa,” an upcoming exhibit at Washington Street Art Center, artists were inspired by swapped ideas for the creation of this group show.
Oct
15
to Nov 19
Invitation — Portraits and Figures, paintings by Maggie Cedarstrom
Opening Reception - Oct. 15, 2pm - 4pm
New paintings by Maggie Cedarstrom.
Sep
10
to Oct 8
Somerville Toy Camera Festival 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 17, 2022, from 6-8 PM
For the ninth year, the Somerville Toy Camera Festival celebrates the moody, quirky, and creative results that happen when photographers are forced to loosen their controls, submit to the light, and embrace the accidental. The Festival includes simultaneous shows at Washington Street and the Nave Gallery, and features related programming including artist talks, panel discussions and social events.
You can get all the info here including full event listings and hours for all the galleries.
Proof of vaccination and masks required
Jul
9
to Aug 13
The Road to Zoe, a Mixed Media Exhibition by Valerie Imparato
Opening Reception - Jul. 9, 5pm - 7pm
The Road to Zoe, a mixed media exhibition by artist Valerie Imparato, explores themes of Miscarriage, (In)Fertility, Pregnancy, and Motherhood.
Apr
30
to Jun 4
Washington Street Somerville Open Studios Showcase
Somerville Open Studios: April 30 and May 1 from 12-6 PM
For Somerville Open Studios, the Washington Street gallery and studios present an array of work from our diverse and dynamic members at 321 Washington Street, Somerville, just outside Union Square. Our members work in many media: traditional silver gelatin, digital, and panoramic photography; assemblage, collage, drawing, painting, small sculptures, installation, book arts and much, much, more!
Feb
5
to Feb 19
A Fundraiser For The Somerville Homeless Coalition
Saturday, February 5, 12-4pm through Saturday, February 19, 12-4pm
Washington Street gallery and studios in Somerville, MA, is pleased to announce a small works show and fundraiser with proceeds going to the Somerville Homeless Coalition.
Sep
18
to Nov 6
Back to the Drawing Board: A Covid Emergence Show
Opening Reception - Sept. 18, 6pm - 8pm
Back to the Drawing Board presents what we’ve been working on during these pandemic months, as our building was closed to the public but our creative practices remained in full swing.
May
1
to May 2
Washington Street Members at Somerville Open Studios
Saturday, May 1st, 12-6pm and Sunday, May 2nd 12-6pm
Several of our Washington Street members are participating in Somerville Open Studios. This year it is a hybrid event.
Jun
20
to Jul 31
Virtual Exhibit: Power and Service by Catherine Aiello
Virtual Reception/Artist Talk - Jun. 20, 7pm - 9pm
Virtual Reception Zoom Meeting
https://mit.zoom.us/j/94690997317
Password: VirtualArt
Washington Street Arts presents its inaugural virtual exhibition of the COVID-19 era, a solo show by studio member Catherine Aiello, opening June 20. Power and Service, an online and interactive exhibition, features multimedia work that reflects on and illuminates Aiello’s experience working in the food service industry.
Feb
1
to Feb 22
“Gelatus,” An Exhibition of Photographs by Vanessa R Thompson
Opening Reception - February 1, 6pm - 10pm
“Gelatus,” an exhibition of photographs by Vanessa R. Thompson uses everyday items associated with comfort, such as toys and food, to ladle the familiar into the uncertain.
Dec
5
to Dec 19
An Ode to My Mother
Opening Reception: December 5, 2019 from 7:30pm-9-30pm
In Valerie Imparato’s powerful new show, “An Ode to My Mother,” painting and collage offer revelations on motherhood, illness, transition, and becoming. Imparato says she created these works as a response to her mother’s degenerative illness.
Nov
8
to Nov 30
The Art Outlet: Affordable Art for Everyone
Opening Reception: November 8, 2019 from 6-9 PM
Please join us at Washington Street Gallery, 321 Washington Street, Somerville, MA, for “The Art Outlet: Affordable Art for Everyone” A Group Exhibition Curated by Maggie Cedarstrom at Washington Street gallery Opening on: Friday November 8 6-9 pm on view November 9 through 30 Saturdays 12-4 pm.
Oct
5
to Oct 27
Scribing: An Art of the 21st Century
Opening Reception: October 5, 2019 from 6-8 PM
The Washington Street gallery presents “Scribing: An Art of the 21stCentury,” with Kelvy Bird. Scribing, a visual practice that maps ideas as people talk, is presented here as art. This exhibit also features three workshops: The Art of Scribing, Levels of Listening, and Systems Scribing.
Sep
7
to Sep 28
Somerville Toy Camera Festival
Opening Reception: September 7, 2019 from 6-8 PM
For our seventh year, the Toy Camera Festival takes over Somerville! The festival takes place at the Washington Street gallery, the Nave Gallery, and the Brickbottom Gallery. See http://www.somervilletoycamera.org/ for a complete roster of selected artists, links to artists' sites, and info on additional Festival events!
Aug
9
to Aug 31
Gretchen Ann Graham’s “Unsee This”
Opening Reception: August 9, 2019 from 6:30-10 PM
In Gretchen Graham’s Unsee This, black and white film photographs are not only what they seem at first glance. Like events unfolding in dreams, or images seen in clouds, the photographs in this show require interpretation to reveal the latent images. The metallic sand of Block Island, footsteps in the snow, and water stains on the MBTA subway walls all reveal hidden shapes and figures.
Jul
13
to Jul 27
“Tasty,” A Group Exhibition Curated by Maggie Cedarstrom
Opening Reception: July 19, 2019 from 6-9 PM
“Tasty: A Group Art Show About Snacks” is a riff on our popular group show “The Beer Show” from last summer at Washington Street and the Cutter Gallery. With the idea of consumption and indulgence in mind, our studio members and friends create art inspired by what we eat for fun or in the meantime.
Jun
1
to Jun 29
“Interiors,” A Group Exhibition Curated by Maggie Cedarstrom
Opening Reception: June 1, 2019 from 6-9 PM
“Interiors” explores the depiction of inside space--whether that is the domestic interior, the cellular structure, or the psychological subconscious: what lies within or beneath the surface? This showcase of two- and three-dimensional artworks takes you to the heart of the matter.
May
4
to May 25
Washington Street Somerville Open Studios Showcase
Opening Reception: May 4, 2019 from 12-4 PM
For Somerville Open Studios, the Washington Street gallery and studios present an array of work from our diverse and dynamic members at 321 Washington Street, Somerville, just outside Union Square. Our members work in many media: traditional silver gelatin, digital, and panoramic photography; assemblage, collage, drawing, painting, small sculptures, installation, book arts and much, much, more!