Lowell’s art scene has generated great interest in recent years. Galleries, studios, and museums have grown in numbers, offering interpretations for several genres of visual art. They’re hosting a number of exhibits during the month of October.
The Loading Dock Gallery (LDG) presents Repetition, Replication, Variation. This exhibit focuses on using repetition of patterns and shapes within imagery to create a unique aesthetic meant to showcase the evolution of art using elements of contrast and other techniques. This show conveys a message of creativity, sparking new ideas and emotions for the viewer. Repetition, Replication, Variation begins October 2nd and runs until the 27th. Following this show, LDG presents Orbs: Spheres of Unity from October 30th through December 1st. This presentation observes the significance of circular shapes that create a unifying principle. These shapes hold complexity, but portray perfection, balance, and unification. Discover how these shapes play a role in the world.
The Ayer Lofts Art Gallery is a high-ceiling gallery designed to present several pieces of artwork within a well-lit room. Their exhibits consist of local artwork that evokes emotion, challenges minds, and creates welcoming atmospheres. The gallery, opened in 2000, invites select groups of Lowell artists for annual shows, and presents live music, dance performances, and student projects. Local artist Steve Clements will have several pieces of his artwork on display from October 4th until October 27th. The exhibit is open 12 to 4 p.m. on each day throughout the month.
“Benefits of the Lowell’s Urban Environment” is a series of activities raising awareness of Lowell’s urban setting. Arranged by The Brush Art Gallery and Studios, the events run until April of 2020 in partnership with the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Lowell Cemetery, Lowell National Historical Park, and Lowell High School. The Quiet World of Aging, a collection of observations by Melinda Reyes, shows facial photographs of the elderly, depicting themes of beauty, sorrow, joy, despair, and dignity. The exhibit takes viewers “into direct contact with a diversity of emotions within the aging process.”
Macabre, an art show by local artists’ co-op, Gallery Z, begins on October 3rd and runs until October 31st with a reception on Saturday October 12th. The exhibit introduces grim forms of artwork perfect as Halloween approaches. Several exhibits will open daily until Halloween Night. Following on Saturday the 26th, Gallery Z’s A Hell Raising Fundraiser opens from 7 to 10 p.m. This event celebrates the gallery’s 5th year by presenting visual and performing arts by Lowell artists. The event includes raffles, a costume contest, food, music, and an Edgar Allen Poe reading by Leo Jordan’s Balefire performers.
Tom Gill brings his collection of oil paintings to TreMonte Ice Bar and Pizzeria at the end of October. The collection Impressions: New Work, by the Lowell artist, highlights city life through glimpses of events, street views, landscapes, and gatherings.
The Arts League of Lowell (ALL) wraps up Earth, Wind, & Fiber mid-October; the event examines pottery, artwork, and quilts by Paula Eldridge, Pamela Wamala, and Louise Abbot. Hosted at All Greenwald Gallery, the company encourages and supports the art local creators make. Exposed 2019: Black & White, the succeeding exhibit, showcases black and white photography until November 10th. This juried exhibition emphasizes the effect of this method of photography that has become stylized in recent years.
The New England Quilt Museum (NEQM) hosts artist, Sue Bleiweiss, to demonstrate how fusible web, a man-made fiber, can be used in several applications. She shows how to add color, apply metal and foil to fabric, and how to transfer shape outlines. Learn expert techniques in quilt making on Thursday, November 7th. NEQM is also open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for quilt exhibits.
The Whistler House Museum of Art galleries are open every Wednesday and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Whistler’s galleries include a large collection of 19th and 20th century paintings by artists like Marie Danforth Page, Mary Earl Wood, and William S. Elwell. The galleries are on three floors, including a main gallery and “Francis room,” showing artwork inspired by Lowell. The museum also hosts a special exhibit until October 26th, Titled, Fiber Fusions, an exploration of quilted creations by contemporary quilt creators. The focus is on how fiber and related materials are fused together to form creative works of art.