Thursday, April 23, 2009

Art Collaborative: Gallery at Elm Street in Malden 2006

Sand T/artSPACE@16 is grateful for having the opportunity to collaborate with the First Parish, Universalist in Malden to establish "Gallery at Elm Street" within its church facility in the Summer/Fall of 2006. Sand T also curated its premier exhibit "MALDEN Contemporary" featuring 22 artists from Malden. This project was developed in mostly voluntary time, involvement included but not limited to:
  • Provided start-up consultations on gallery setting, exhibition contract sample, designed the gallery space, worked with volunteers construction team in constructing wall partitions and pedestals, and conducted volunteers outreach.
  • Organizing and planning, identify artists and theme, conducting studio visits, exhibition design and installation, invitation design, web page design, exhibition documenting and filing, community outreach; press release, support public affairs, reception and gallery talk.
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We would like to express our utmost gratitude...

This exhibition, "MALDEN Contemporary", has been made possible in part by a grant from Malden Cultural Council. Additional contributions from artSPACE@16, MaldenMuse.com (Malden’s first online arts and cultural magazine) Malden Access Television, MaldenHomePage.com and local newspapers have been essential in realizing this production.

We would like to express our utmost gratitude to these individuals who have made possible the creation of Gallery at Elm Street through their devoted volunteer efforts: Marie Coulanges, Michael Dembowski, Paul DeVellis, Roanna E. Forman, Rev. David M. Horst, Domnica Horst-Loy, Eaden Huang, Wes Kalloch, Wayne MacKay, Wayne MacKay, Jr., M. Steve McCauley, Chris Morse, James Murphy, Carolina Pachon, John Rodzvilla, Pamela Sheridan, Sand T, Joseph Turner, Mary Elizabeth van der Cross, Bartek Walicki and Erik Whitehurst.


Image: At the opening reception.

Image: Floor plan for Gallery at Elm Street designed by Sand T , director of artSPACE@16.
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GALLERY AT ELM STREET
A NEW GALLERY IN MALDEN WILL BE OPEN IN THE FALL OF 2006!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Rev. David M. Horst
Gallery at Elm Street
First Parish in Malden, Universalist
2 Elm Street, Malden MA 02148
Elm and Pleasant Streets (Route 60). Three blocks west of the Malden Center T station. Free admission. Convenient, free parking. Wheelchair accessible.
davidmhorst@verizon.net
781-322-0474

Sand T, guest curator for "Malden Contemporary"
SandT.artSPACEat16@verizon.net



GALLERY AT ELM STREET
A NEW GALLERY IN MALDEN WILL BE OPEN IN THE FALL OF 2006!
Stay tuned for Its Premier Exhibit “MALDEN Contemporary”
Curated By Sand T Featuring 22 Artists From Malden.
Exhibition Dates: September 9 – November 12, 2006


(MALDEN, MA – August 7, 2006 ) - We are delighted to announce that Rev. David M. Horst of the First Parish in Malden is collaborating with Sand T of artSPACE@16 in Malden to establish a new exhibition space within the Church facility. The name of this new exhibition space is Gallery at Elm Street. It is located three blocks west of the Malden Center T station going towards Medford. A Malden resident for six years, Sand T is an accomplished artist, curator, and community organizer and is serving as curator for this premier exhibit entitled “MALDEN Contemporary.”

Thoughtfully curated, “MALDEN Contemporary” will feature the latest work by 22 Malden artists include paintings, works on paper, comic strips, photography, mixed media work, sculptures, videos, and site-specific art installations. The aim is to bring current, quality work created by our talented local artists.

The 22 artists represented in “MALDEN Contemporary”, they are Kelvy Bird, Ignatius M. Dedd, Eaden Huang, Wesley Kalloch, Michelle Steve McCauley, Amy Morrison, Gordon Morrison, Bruce Myren, Carolina Pachon, Erik Pettersen, Pamela Pritzker, John Rodzvilla, Pamela Sheridan, Charles Stigliano, Stephanie Mahan Stigliano,YoungSuk Suh, Sand T, Hilary Tolan, Mary Elizabeth van der Cross, Kurt Gilbert Wahlstrom, Bartek Walicki, and Douglas Weathersby.

This inaugural exhibit at Gallery at Elm Street, First Parish in Malden runs from September 9 through November 12. The public is cordially invited to an opening reception with the artists scheduled for Sunday, September 10, noon – 3 p.m. with live music and refreshments. Free admission. Free parking available and wheelchair accessible.

This arts project has been made possible by a grant from Malden Cultural Council, a local agency that receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional contributions from artSPACE@16, MaldenMuse.com (Malden’s first online arts and cultural magazine) and Malden Access Television, and MaldenHomePage.com have been essential in realizing this production.

Important volunteer efforts by the members and staff of First Parish and artist-volunteers of artSPACE@16 were invaluable in constructing three “T” walls, pedestals, additional lighting, and the re-configuration of the existing 1,600 sq ft Durgin Hall. Thanks to their efforts, Durgin Hall has been transformed into a multi-functional usage space. When completed, The Gallery at Elm Street will be the largest exhibition space in Malden.

The two collaborators, Rev. Horst and Sand T, have been discussing and envisioning this exhibition space for over two years. Sand T states, “The goal of establishing the Gallery at Elm Street is not only to provide a space for innovative contemporary art in an attractive and historic setting, but also to play a part in a culturally successful Malden – a city that welcomes artists to come together in nurturing the arts and cultural life of our community,” Sand T has a 20-year history in arts administration with an extensive portfolio in community outreach, exhibition curation, planning, design and installation. She has been volunteering and collaborating with local non-profit organizations on art initiatives since she moved to Malden in 2000.

First Parish is an historic Malden congregation now in the process of renewal and growth. A member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, the church serves religious liberals in Malden, Everett, and neighboring communities. Rev. Horst has been the settled minister of the First Parish for three years.

Rev. Horst, who has experience as an arts administrator and event promoter, said, “First Parish is dedicated to promoting a professional artistic presence to benefit Malden and our local artists' community. The Gallery at Elm Street will be another great addition to the Malden art community and the expanding art belt that is building around Boston. The arts are a very important aspect of our Unitarian Universalist faith, helping us see and understand the world in new and enlightening ways."

Through presenting “MALDEN Contemporary” at Gallery at Elm Street, the two collaborators are hoping to elevate the awareness and appreciation of various artistic practices in Malden. To encourage Malden artists to develop new work and present it to the general public thereby stimulating dialogue and educational experience on what’s current in Malden art.

MALDEN Contemporary will be on display from September 9 through November 12, 2006 at Gallery at Elm Street, First Parish in Malden. Gallery Hours: Tuesday and Friday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Sunday, 10 – 1 p.m. Gallery address: First Parish in Malden, Universalist, located at Elm Street and Pleasant Streets (Route 60), Malden, three blocks west of the Malden Center T station.

For more information about this exhibition, please call Rev. David M. Horst, Minister at 781-322- 0474, send e-mail to davidmhorst@verizon.net, visit websites: malden.ma.uua.org and http://as16collaboratives.blogspot.com/2009/04/art-collaborative-gallery-at-elm-street.html, or send email to Sand T, guest curator at SandT.artSPACEat16@verizon.net

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2 2 P a r t i c i p a t i n g A r t i s t s :



Image: pulse038 by Kelvy Bird

Kelvy Bird’s PULSE series evokes a subtle, undeniable, radiance of the human spirit. Emerging from a sea of textured complexity, simple orbs represent the various pacing and rhythms of presence taking form. Bird grew up in an eclectic family in the serenity of the Hudson River Valley and went on to earn dual degrees in painting and art history from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

In addition to steadfast volunteer work with local arts organizations, she is a graphic facilitator in the field of organizational learning. Bird spends time creating artwork in her studio at Vernon Street Studios in Somerville. She has recently exhibited her work in Massachusetts at 38 Cameron in Cambridge; The Nave Gallery; Tufts University Art Gallery in Medford; Somerville Museum; Oylan Gallery (Cambridge) artSPACE@16 in Malden. Bird is a volunteer involved in activities that increase the presence of art in the public sphere. Bird is co-organizing the very first Windows Art Project for Malden with Naomi Brave, which will take place in downtown Malden from September 14 thru 30. She is also one of the exhibiting artists. http://www.kelvybird.com/

Image: Comic Strips by I.M. Dedd

Ignatius M. Dedd has been publishing Dead Guy. The Cartoon. online since January 2005 located at http://deadguylives.blogspot.com. Dedd uses the traditional comic strip as a medium for edgy commentary on social, political and personal issues. Dead Guy. The Cartoon. received the prestigious Best of Blogs award for Most Humorous Blog of 2005 and has been featured on TV38's Morning Show and in the Malden Observer. Mr. Dedd has been cartooning professionally for over fifteen years. His work has been published in several New York newspapers and national magazines. The artist has previously worked in the recording and television industries. He currently works in education and lives in Malden with his wife and son. http://deadguylives.blogspot.com

Image: Open Field by Eaden Huang

Eaden Huang has been tirelessly photographing his favorite subject - the ever-changing landscapes for the past 20 years. In Malden Contemporary, Huang shows five photographs: The Beauty in Imperfect Symmetry, Open Field, Floating Coins, Rolling Water Pearls, and Mosses. These photographs successfully capture the very essence of the natural world.

Huang has participated in many major exhibitions and competitions since 1988. He is a six time award winner in the Annual Spring Photography Contest organized by “Photographer’s Forum Magazine”. His photographs were selected into the Public Photography Magazine Competition's Final Award four times; and recently awarded an Honorable Mention in the 5th Annual Creative Community Juried Art Exhibit from Perkins Gallery at the Jewish Community Center Gallery in Stoughton. He has exhibited his photos in Boston area galleries as well as artSPACE@16, MATV Gallery and The Mayor’s Gallery in Malden. He will be showing his photographs in Window Arts Malden this Fall. http://www.eadenphoto.com/


Image: No Trespassing by Wes Kalloch

Wes Kalloch’s photographs demonstrate his current interest in buildings in construction phase. The images are of the skeletal support structures erected for a building to become a building. Kalloch’s aim is to get the viewer to examine the detail of the assemblages and to get lost in the repetition of the squares and rectangles created by the mighty construction materials. A secondary aspect to these photographs is their quality of temporariness; the beautiful geometry of the framework soon to be hidden forever under a skin glass, concrete and bricks.

Besides photography, Wes’s art making involves mixed media works on paper. His recent exhibitions include: CONFIGURATIONS, at artSPACE@16, Malden ; Museum Council’s Summer P(art)y Silent Art Auction, Museum Of Fine Arts Boston; BLUE, at Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge; PHOTOLAB(oratory) juried by Leslie K. Brown at artSPACE@16, Malden; No0965859F - Exhibition Series 2004 at Westbrook Artists' Site in Iowa; and COLLABORATIONS curated by Adria Arch at BrickBottom Gallery in Somerville. Kalloch also exhibited his work in group shows at The Mayor’s Gallery, and MATV Gallery in Malden .

Image: Dreaming of Teeth by Michelle Steve McCauley

Michelle Steve McCauley’s “Dreaming of Teeth”, drawing series presents abstract, stylized versions of red pastel lips encircling rows of white teeth. These swarms of disembodied mouths are reminiscent of a cloud of bees, while displaying the menacing grin of a clown, the bared teeth of an angry dog. The primitive, harsh strokes of paint and graphite signify the primal emotions of hunger and rage that are associated with that most fundamental of body parts, our teeth. The artist invites viewers to contemplate - “Are these smiles forced through smeared lipstick or a fat bloody lip? Is this a delusion of ecstasy or a nightmare?”

McCauley earned a BS in Fine Art at Skidmore College. She has exhibited widely and at numerous venues in the United States; as well as Switzerland and Germany. She was one of the five Malden artists featured in The LOCALS: III at artSPACE@16; and many others were selected to participate in juried shows at artSPACE@16 including recent exhibitions include: PRESENT TENSE, a drawing show juried by Heidi M. Marston, LOVE SMALL juried by Adria Arch, and SMALL WORKS: II, juried by Leah Oates. Michelle Steve McCauley is one of the many dedicated volunteers and will be showing her work in Window Arts Malden this Fall. http://www.steviegirl.com/


Image: (Detail) Ladles Pods by Amy Morrison

Amy Morrison continues to expand on the subject of attachment and separation. She has created an installation that combines wires, paper and beeswax; these materials are utilized to create forms that resemble both ladles and pods for Malden Contemporary. Morrison says, “Ladles scoop up a substance and often relocate it, pods allow for incubation, growth and stirring within. The ladle pods and the materials they consist of elicit themes such as holding, unraveling, connecting, creating distance and strengthening bonds.”

Morrison studied art and psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and graduated in 1996 with BS in Art Therapy. In 2001 she graduated from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a Masters in Expressive Therapy, which is an inter-modal arts approach to psychotherapy. Morrison currently works in the North Shore area as an Expressive Therapist and is adjunct faculty at Lesley University. Morrison has exhibited at Massachusetts area galleries including Elise Mankes Gallery, MATV Gallery, LynnArts Gallery, artSPACE@16, Marran Gallery at Lesley University and many others. She will be showing her work in Window Arts Malden this Fall. http://groundingspace.com/

Image: Gordon Morrison at work in his studio

Gordon Morrison is a computer security and network specialist. He received a bachelor of Liberal Studies in 1992 and has always explored mediums and artistic ideas. In Malden Contemporary, Morrison shows two of his latest mixed media sculptural pieces that explore the themes of perception and relationship, filtered through the everyday technologies which silently shape our lives.

Morrison says, “I hope to create moments of surprise, realization and discovery by the juxtaposition of idea and media.” One of the pieces in the show, "Relationship/Network/Web" composed of test tubes, telephone wire supported by a wood and copper infrastructure, “is an attempt to elaborate on the complex web of memory and context which defines individuals and their relationships that in turn define a community.” His mixed media and photographic works have been shown at artSPACE@16, The Mayor’s Gallery, MATV Gallery in Malden; and Elise Mankes Gallery in Marblehead. http://www.cerebuzz.com/

Image: Parking Meter by Bruce Myren

Bruce Myren shows a selection of images from his “Wide Open” in Malden Contemporary. The photographer has called Malden his home a handful of times over a period of nearly 18 years; these were pictures of small details and unique moments, made during a time of life transition after he moved back to Malden from South Boston in 2003. Myren shoots film with his 14mm lens and 35mm camera set to the largest aperture, or “wide open” as it is known and moved back and forth until the specific small detail he wanted in the picture is the only point in full focus. The title and phrase “wide open” also suggests meditation and contemplation of these small details and recollection of moments in time.

Bruce studied at the Hallmark Institute of Photography (Turners Falls, MA) and attended Massachusetts College of Art (Boston, MA). He holds a BFA in Photography with Departmental Honors from Mass Art. He has taught at Boston University, served as the US tech rep for Eyelike medium format digital backs (now Sinar), and was a digital mentor for American Photo Magazine’s Mentor Series. This fall, he will be an adjunct faculty with the new digital photography program at The New England Institute of Art in Brookline, MA. Bruce has exhibited widely and at numerous venues such as the Photographic Resource Center (Boston, MA) and the Laconia Gallery (Boston, MA). His upcoming exhibitions include two solo shows in Boston this Fall: at the Panopticon Gallery, the Artists Foundation; and the Boston Cyberarts Festival. http://www.brucemyren.com/

Image: Funel by Carolina Pachon

Carolina Pachon earned her Baccalaureate from Massachusetts College of Art and has attended residency programs at Haystack School of Arts and Crafts, Maine, Chautauqua School of Art, New York, and Vermont Studio Center, Vermont; and will be attending her Graduate Studies at BU in the Fall. In Malden Contemporary, Pachon shows four of her latest, saturated, high contrast color paintings inspired by the patterned fabrics of contemporary and ancient interior wall decorative art. This new body of work was created during her recent art residency at Vermont Studio Center. This month long residency allowed the artist to become totally submerged in her painting world and to further explore the issues of color, space and pattern and how they interact on the picture plane. The result is jubilating. The colors scream their celebratory sensation in the interior spaces Pachon has created.


Pachon received a Departmental Award in 2004 and Foundation 2D Auction Awards from the Massachusetts College of Art in 2003 and 2002. Soon after she moved to Malden, Pachon became a regular attendee of the Malden Sketch Group's Monday drawing sessions at the Oak Grove Community Building and artist-volunteer of artSPACE@16. Pachon exhibited her work in PRESENT TENSE, a drawing show juried by Heidi Marston; and THE LOCALS: III a group show at artSPACE@16 recently, and will be painting a window in Window Arts Malden this Fall.

Image: CityScape #5 by Erik Pettersen

Erik Pettersen's truthful quality small scale cityscape oil paintings border between representation and abstraction. Pettersen says, “Each subject of my paintings is a diary of my travels in life. The idea of cityscapes came from looking out toward my back yard in Malden, which overlooks the city of Boston. The city is alive; it breathes and pulsates, filled with energy.” He gives his paintings an expressive and tactile quality, by the viscosity of his paint, bold mark making and varying color schemes. The dynamic use of color in his paintings serves to trick the eye and play upon traditional rules of perspective. These paintings can evoke a sense of calmness or of turmoil. His compositions use elements of abstraction and the natural world, to create a unique perspective on traditional landscape painting.

Erik received a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in 1998 with a concentration in painting. He has shown his work in a variety of galleries in Massachusetts including Gallery 181 in Lawrence, AGC Gallery, Charlestown; Bromfield Gallery, South End Boston; artSPACE @16, Malden; The Mayor’s Gallery, Malden; Winchester Hospital Gallery; Cape Cod Art Association; Concord Art Association; Stebbins Gallery, Cambridge; Depot Square Gallery, Lexington; Brickbottom Gallery; Massachusetts College of Art and many more. http://www.erikpettersen.com/

Image: Alison and Kat by Pamela Pritzker

Photographer Pamela Pritzker presents her series of portraits of same-sex in Malden Contemporary exhibit. This new series of work is intended to support First Parish’s advocacy for the community of same-sex couples. Pritzker says, "The aim of these images is to visually confirm that same-sex couples live exactly like everyone else. I entered the homes of same-sex couples who were strangers to me at the time, and captured them in natural moments together. Through the use of color, gesture, and environment, I hope to convey the love and energy in my photos as those who welcomed me into their homes did for me."


Pritzker graduated from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University with a B.F.A. in Photography in 2005. She has exhibited her photographic works in numerous galleries in Massachusetts. Currently Pritzker works as a Manger at Caswell Gallery in Boston. She will be showing her photographs in "Summer Exhibition" at Gallery 181 in Lawrence this Fall. http://www.pampritzker.com/


Image: (detaill) Echoes 3 by John Rodzvilla

"Echoes," John Rodzvilla latest series of drawings on vellum, is a mash-up of mechanical diagrams, botanical drawings and ornamental designs. The finished pieces carry only hints of what images were used, being, in a very literal sense, an echo of the original. Rodzvilla says, “Everything gets mashed together to help create a space for the line to move and undulate and grow. The focus is on how line creates its own pattern and rhythm.”

John Rodzvilla, who maintains a studio in his Malden home, also works in trade publishing. His recent exhibitions include: The LOCALS: III and Present Tense, a juried drawing show both at artSPACE@16, participated in SOWA Art Walk 2006 and Medford Open Studios. In September, John will also be exhibiting at Windows Art Malden; the Beebe Estate; and the Annual NEMO Art Show. http://www.guttertype.com/art/index.html

Image: Paradox by Pamela Sheridan

Pamela Sheridan’s large scale sculpture entitled PARADOX is full of vitality and movement. The artist stated, “Life is full of twists and turns and paths that do not seem to make sense, but for some reason do.” Sheridan succeeds in portraying the energy of life’s paradox in this astonishing sculpture through the use of barbed wire, brightly colored embroidery chord, beads, paper mache’ and acrylic paint. The harshness of the barbed wired is somewhat disguised within the beauty and energy of the color that surrounds it. There are surprises through out this work.

“It is not only about my battle with cancer, but also about others who have, in the face of adversity, used that energy to propel to a better place.” This sculpture embodies the energy, hope, and the beauty within struggle. The more one looks into the twists and turns, the more one will see. Pamela Sheridan who is currently a student at Montserrat College of Art, is also a new art critic writing for www.MaldenMuse.com, Malden’s first online arts and cultural magazine. Sheridan will display her paintings in one of the windows in downtown Malden this Fall.

Image: Found Object by Charles Stigliano

Charles Stigliano shows five sculptures from his “Found Objects” series carved out of wood. He states in his artist statement, “Nothing ends when it ends. A skeleton seems to be the end of the story, and it carries evidence of the appearance and nature of the individual, and indications of the manner of death. Traditionally, the presence of a skull or skeleton in a work of art refers to the end of life, that of the original owner of the skull as well as that of the beholder whose death is inevitable. The skeletal remains remind us that the fullness of life, the richness of thought and action and emotion are, or are soon to be, in the past. Even as nature is breaking down the physical material of life, that material is used in the creation of new life. In some parts of the ancient world it was believed that the soul did not desert the body until the flesh was entirely gone from the bones. In this representation, the wood, the roots of the plants have wrapped the bones in new flesh, allowing them to support new life and possibly share in a new soul. There is an indication of some kind of resurrection, the growth carries the bones upward, out of the ground and once again into the sunlight.”

Charles Stigliano is the chair of Fine Arts 3-D Department at Massachusetts College of Art. He has been the Professor of Sculpture at Mass Art since 1984. He graduated from University of North Carolina at Greensboro with an MFA in 1984, and a BFS from Philadelphia College of Art in 1978. His recently exhibited at Bentley College Art Gallery, New Art Center, Fort point Artist's Community Gallery, Mystic, and Bakalar Gallery. His works are in the numerous collections of churches, community centers, museums, education institutions.

Image: Plaster Book by Stephanie Mahan Stigliano

Stephanie Mahan Stigliano has created artist’s books since 1988 after receiving her MFA in printmaking from MassArt. Creating plaster casting and mold making sample pieces to teach students inspired her to further develop the fossil-like pieces in MALDEN Contemporary exhibit. The surface of the plaster is reminiscent of museum casts and molds made of things unearthed from the past. With these small scale pieces, Stigliano has made dimensional sketches of new book ideas.

Stephanie Mahan Stigliano’s plaster books developed from her printmaking. In making prints, Stigliano often works with mirror images as drawings transform to prints. “With these books, the inside page spread has the two halves of the image: right and left, raised and recessed; shown together. In the creation of a book, the artist must consider front and back as well as inside and out. Textures are important elements in art which is designed to be handled. The sound of the plaster pages fitting neatly together is unexpectedly different from the turning of paper pages. The weight and feel of the plaster creates a different experience that holding a traditionally bound book.” These plaster books, in the show, have transformed the traditional idea of what a book is. Yet these books have pages, they open and close, and they each tell a story.

Stephanie Mahan Stigliano is a faculty member of the Visual Arts Department at Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA. She has served on the Malden Cultural Council, co-produced “Gallery Spotlight” for Malden Access Television for two years, and is a member of Boston Printmakers. Stigliano’s recent exhibitions include three solo exhibits at EXCHANGE STREET BISTRO in Malden; LILY PAD GALLERY in Cambridge, and PEARL STREET GALLERY in Chelsea. Stigliano also curated “From Two to Three Dimensions: Prints into Books” featuring seven area artists at artSPACE@16 gallery from September 9 – 30, 2006. She will show her books in Window Arts Malden as well. http://stephaniemahanstigliano.com/

Image: Room #107 by YoungSuk Suh

YoungSuk Suh’s Untitled Rooms is a series in which the photographer investigates residential space in its most generic form. “The spaces that I have been photographing are condos and apartment units in its transitional stage, before/after someone moves in/out. These residential units are mass-produced and devoid of individualities. Waiting for someone to move in, they are yet to be inscribed with traces of life by occupants. The meticulous process of cleaning and painting erases its own history, to be re-written by another occupant. They are in a stage, that is to say a non-stage, in which a meaning of the space is erased and written at the same time.

YoungSuk Suh obtained an MFA in Studio Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2001; BFA in Photography, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 1998; and graduated from Sogang University, majored in Biology, Seoul, South Korea 1989-1991. Suh will be taking on as Assistant Professor for University of California in Davis this Fall. He was a Faculty in the Photography Dept. at School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 2001- 2005. He also taught in the Photography Dept., The Art Institute of Boston and Tufts University, Medford. Suh was awarded Post-Graduate Teaching Fellowship from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, an Honorable Mention Yusef Karsh Award in Photography; and a Dean’s Honor from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Suh’s recent exhibits include “Summer Frieze,” at Jane Deering Gallery, Boston; “Chicken: a Dance in Photography,” Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; MassArt Foundation’s 17th Annual Benefit Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art; and “In a Certain Place,” at Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery. http://www.youngsuksuh.com/

Image: (Detail) It was just a Dream by Sand T

In Malden Contemporary, Sand T presents three mixed media illuminated sculptures that attempt to explore the conscious and subconscious, spaces of intimacy and immensity, dream and reality. She has embedded elements such as sketches, computer generated images, floor plans, journal excerpts, and trilingual text in this mixed media work on plexi panels. She is particularly interested in looking into the substance of transformation (change, creation), and interpretation (language, communication).

Sand T completed her graduate and Museum Studies programs from Tufts University / the Museum School with a MFA in 1997. She has been actively creating and exhibiting her works nationally and internationally. Sand T is also the founder/director of the alternative exhibition spaces artSPACE@16 (2000 – present) in Malden. Recently she was awarded a Contemporary Work fund from the LEF Foundation to organize six exhibitions for artSPACE@16. Her gallery, artSPACE@16 was selected by Raphaela Platow, curator at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, as one of Platow’s 11 favorite Greater Boston galleries. REPETITION - Negotiating the Irrationalities, one of the exhibits Sand curated has been selected as one of the eight best shows by Mary Sherman featured on VISUAL ARTS: April Visual Arts Best Bets www.wbur.org/arts April 3, 2006. Sand T will create a site specific installation entitled “Cr/Eating” at Bravo Pizza for the Window Arts Malden this Fall. Http://www.SandTworks.com

Image: (Detail of installation) Beloved by Hilary Tolan

“Beloved”, a site specific installation by Hilary Tolan takes viewers into a world where organic materials- grasses, roots, and rock- coexist alongside their stand-ins, silk and plastic replicas of nature. The works are transformed by manipulation, arrangement, and a blending of the organic and the synthetic. Tolan exploits the facts of fragmented nature and its possible meanings. She explores the fact that nature, which was once alive and embedded in an environment that existed as a part of a system, is now extracted and defunct of its original function. Tolan asks the viewer to consider the nature of time. In her work, she reflects the desire to keep and save things. Thoughts of memory, loss, and longing pervade much of its quiet beauty.

Tolan received her Master of Science in Art Education from Massachusetts College of Art in 2002 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from State University of New York at Purchase College, Purchase, NY in May 1994. A member of the Kingston Gallery in Boston in since April 2002, Tolan has participated in exhibitions held at Art House at 85 Rockview Street, Jamaica Plain; “Beloved”, her Solo exhibit at Kingston Gallery, Boston this past March. She has exhibited her work in Massachusetts galleries including Barbara Krakow Gallery, Gallery@Green Street, Massachusetts College of Art, and Cambridge Art Association. http://www.kingstongallery.com/artists/htolan.html

Image: (detail) Vaccinations Against The Hair Club for Men by Mary Elizabeth van der Cross

Mary Elizabeth van der Cross is primarily a fiber artist, investigating the possibilities of knitting as an art form. She was a playwright and director from 1979 to 2003, often approaching her work from a theatrical vantage point, inventing a story, imaginary characters, subtext and conflict along the way.

van der Cross presents three works in Malden Contemporary. First, her Vaccinations Against which consists of 5 Petri dishes on tray. Inside are knitted ‘vaccines’ to protect us from: Corporations, the Hair Club for Men, Vice Presidents with Guns, Encryption and Imagination (which, the artist notes, “was specially funded by Halliburton – but, as the vaccination failed, imagination will, hopefully, continue to thrive”). Second piece is entitled A Message from Oupenskya, which she recreates a psychic’s parlour, using knitted candles, a candlestick and offertory box. Each visitor can take a psychic message drawn on the gifted clairvoyant Madame Oupenskya’s calling card. Ms. van der Cross has exhibited at artSPACE@16, the Cambridge Cultural Council Gallery, and Harvard University.

Image: Kurt Gilbert Wahlstrom paint can video still for "artskit"

Kurt Gilbert Wahlstrom is a filmmaker/video artist and musician currently residing in Malden. His video work seeks to investigate and describe his suburban family through critical, nostalgic, ambivalent, and loving subjectivity. His strong interest in further understanding the family dynamic has led him to take a closer look. His latest video works entitled “Kuret & Dad: new [musical] works on video (2006)” takes a unique and comic look at a father/son relationship through a somewhat candid unrehearsed and improvisational session of blues, jazz and bossa nova. A fictional context veils the raw footage. Although their work is recognized by a supportive music critic (Mom), Kurt & Dad's passion for playing combined with their strive for perfection is then challenged by cheap technology.

Wahlstrom says, “My curiosity lies in what happens when comedically absurd and bizarre parameters control the "normal" household. My family and I are learning new things about one another through breaking the barriers of authority, role and identity, and through the disruption of norms.” Wahlstrom will screen two other videos “momdadkuretshimmy (2004)” and “artskit (2004) in MALDEN Contemporary at Gallery at Elm Street.

Kurt Gilbert Wahlstrom is a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and currently works at the Harvard Business School. He has aired work on Malden and Lawrence Public Access Television stations, screened at the New England Student Film Festival and the New York Independent International Film Festival, and has exhibited in several galleries in and around Boston. He recently received an award in the category of "Entertainment Variety" in the Hometown Video Awards. Kurt has recently created short documentaries of other working artists in the area as well. http://www.kurtwahlstrom.com/

Image: Green Bombs by Bartek Walicki

Bartek Walicki’s two drawings are inspired by his interest in rhythm, pattern, humor as well as cartoon imagery, poster art and graphic design. The content is derived from images of military technology and the general humanitarian situation in the Middle East and Africa. Images of violence, explosions and air attacks mingle with stylized depictions of bombs, patterns and figures. The simplicity of the palette - green tones, black, white, hint of silver, has allowed for greater clarity and creative mark making.


Bartek Walicki received a Baccalaureate of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art in 2002. In 2005 he graduated from Boston University's College of Fine Arts with a Master of Fine Arts degree. Walicki has been attending Malden Sketch Group's Monday drawing sessions at the Oak Grove Community Building and volunteering at artSPACE@16 since his move to Malden. Currently, Walicki teaches drawing, printmaking, and advanced printmaking at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He has exhibited his work in Boston-area galleries since 2002 - his most recent shows were two solo shows: at the Mayor’s Gallery and the MATV Gallery. His work was selected to show in PRESENT TENSE, a drawing show juried by Heidi Marston; and THE LOCALS: III a group show at artSPACE@16 in Malden in 2006. http://www.bartekwalicki.com/

Image: Formless, video by Douglas Weathersby

Institute of Contemporary Art Boston’s Annual Prize Winner of 2003,
Douglas Weathersby, is showing his environmentally mindful, atmospherically stunning video piece entitled “Formless” in Malden Contemporary. This documentary video was shot on location while cleaning a tool shed. Weathersby is the owner and operator of ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES – a cleaning and home repair company which encompasses both the artist’s livelihood and art practice. “I consider all aspects of ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, from the documentary photos and video to the working process to the relationship between the client and me as service provider, to be an art enterprise. My aim is to call into question perceptions of boundaries both social and perceptual. How do we differentiate between light and dark, clean and dirty, art and life, process and product, form and formless. I try to make my work exist in many different forms at once, cleaning as performance as meditation, business as conceptual art, exhibition as advertisement, installation as drawing as functional work.” Weathersby states.

The artist attempts to provide us with fresh perspectives on our living and working space through his ongoing documentary projects. His environmental services, “Making-Art-While-Working” has been “presented” at various locations in and around Boston including the ICA Boston, Green Street Gallery, Kingston Gallery, Allston Skirt Gallery, as well as homes and studios. Weathersby graduated from Mass College of Art with an MFA in 2002. He obtained a BFA in printmaking from Atlanta College of Art in 1995. He was a LEF Foundation 2003 Artist Grant Recipient. http://www.drwservice.com/

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MALDEN Contemporary
will be on display from September 9 through November 12, 2006 at Gallery at Elm Street. Gallery Hours: Tuesday and Friday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Sunday, 10 – 1 p.m. Gallery address: First Parish in Malden, Universalist, located at Elm Street and Pleasant Streets (Route 60), Malden, three blocks west of the Malden Center T station.

For more information about this exhibition, please call Rev. David M. Horst, Minister at 781-322-0474, send e-mail to davidmhorst@verizon.net, visit websites: www.malden.ma.uua.org and www.artSPACEat16.com/contempo.html, or send email to Sand T, guest curator at SandT.artSPACEat16@verizon.net

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IN THE NEWS
  • GROWING FAITH - IN THE ARTS - The Gallery at Elm Street, Malden's Latest - and Largest - Exhibition Space by Roanna Forman, July 30, 2006, Malden Muse MaldenMuse.com
  • EXCLUSIVE PROFILE of New Works by Artists in MALDEN Contemporary by the Malden Muse MaldenMuse.com
  • Arts & Cultural September coming to the City of Malden - by ChinWen LEE, The World Journal, Boston News pg, Sat, Aug 12, 2006. http://www.worldjournal.com/wj-bo-news.php?nt_seq_id=1400423
  • Gallery at Elm Street to open Sept. 9 - Friday, September 1, 2006, the Malden Observer, Arts in the Area, pg 21
  • First Parish opens art gallery: 'MALDEN contemporary’ to open on Elm Street. By Dan Baer. the Malden Observer, Front pg & pg 8, Friday, September 1, 2006
  • PEOPLE - Great fires - MADE IN MALDEN. By Wendy Killeen, September 3, 2006, The Boston Globe North. pg 1 & pg 2
  • Malden Contemporary was entioned in an article entitled Full disclosure “... and a new gallery in Malden.” by: RANDI HOPKINS, in the Boston Phoenix Tuesday, 9/5/2006 http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid21886.aspx
  • 'Gallery at Elm Street' set to open in Malden: Sept 9 at Firsh Parish in Malden - in the Malden Evening News, Tuesday, Sept 5, 2006, Vol. 126, Number 178, Front page & Page 8
  • mentioned in an article entitled "Stephanie Mahan Stigliano: Thinking Outside the Book" - by Brian Goslow, artscope magazine, Artist Profile page 9, Sept - Oct 2006 issue, Volume 1 - Number 4
  • Made In Malden: Five photographers exhibit in Gallery at Elm Street. - In the Malden Observer, Friday, October 20, 2006
  • 'MALDEN Contemporary' closes: Inaugural Gallery at Elm Street exhibit ends this week. - in the Malden Observer , Friday, November 10, 2006
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ART LISTINGS

  • Boston.com A & E by Artzmania
  • Listed in Art New England August-September Issue
  • Listed in artscope September - October Issue
  • Listed in Middlesex BEAT Arts Magazine September Issue
  • listed in Autumn at a Glance
  • ART FOR THE SEASON - The Boston Globe North Magazine, Sunday, Sept 17, 2006. page 28


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