Arc Iris
AMERICANA TRIO LONE BELLOW and ARC IRIS to PLAY at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – The folk-rock trio the Lone Bellow brings its rootsy take on Americana to MASS MoCA for the annual Memorial Day weekend kickoff concert on Saturday, May 23, at 8pm. The group’s recent album, “Then Came the Morning,” was produced by Bryce Dessner of the National, and introduced a more contemporary sound into the Brooklyn-based band’s repertoire. Chamber-pop group Arc Iris, led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Jocie Adams, formerly of the Low Anthem, warms up the crowd for the Lone Bellow.
Twelve animals of the zodiac okimono, wooden, Japanese, 19th century. Collection of Berkshire Museum; photo by David Dashiell.
EAST ASIAN ART EXHIBIT OPENS at BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Immortal Present: Art and East Asia, a new exhibition featuring the Berkshire Museum’s historic collection of Asian art and showcasing works by a number of significant and influential contemporary artists with ties to Asia, opens at Berkshire Museum on Saturday, May 23, will be on view through September 7, 2015. The exhibit, curated by Maria Mingalone, Berkshire Museum’s director of interpretation, and Gary Smith, a noted Asian art scholar, illuminates the rich and diverse legacy of East Asian art, from its origins in the distant past to compelling current works. An opening reception will be held Friday, May 22, from 5:30 to 7:30; tickets are $5, free for museum members.
Big Red by Murray Dewart (photo Paul Rocheleau)
EXHIBIT by TWO DOZEN BOSTON SCULPTORS OPENS at CHESTERWOOD
(STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – Boston Sculptors Gallery at Chesterwood 2015, an exhibition featuring site-specific contemporary sculptures by 24 Boston-area artists, opens at Chesterwood on Saturday, May 23, and remains on view through October 12. The new works by two-dozen members and alumni of Boston Sculptors Gallery, based in Boston’s South End, represent a diverse range of media and styles. An artist’s reception for Boston Sculptors Gallery at Chesterwood 2015 will be held on Saturday, June 27, from 4 to 7pm.
Liz Deschenes, Gallery 7, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2014 (Installation view), Courtesy the artist, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York (Photo: Gene Pittman)
LENS on CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) — Three new exhibitions of contemporary photography open at MASS MoCA with a reception on Saturday, May 23, from 5 to 6:30pm. The exhibits include Clifford Ross: Landscape Seen & Imagined; Liz Deschenes: Gallery 4.1.1; and Artists’ Choice: An Expanded Field of Photography. The opening reception is free for members and $7 for not-yet-members. The eight artists represented in the exhibitions take an exceptionally acrobatic approach to the medium, from Clifford Ross’ Harmoniums and large-scale high-resolution images to Liz Deschenes’ panoptic photograms to photographs that encroach on sculpture and architecture.
Indigo Girls (photo Jeremy Cowart)
INDIGO GIRLS HEADLINE POP MUSIC FESTIVAL at TANGLEWOOD
(LENOX, Mass.) – Grammy Award-winning folk duo Indigo Girls will perform on Saturday, May 23, as part of the SummerSound Live weekend of music on the grounds of Tanglewood. The two-day festival, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, takes place at a parking lot outside Tanglewood’s main gates, and includes a host of national and regional acts, including Pimps of Joytime, Barefoot Truth, Adam Ezra, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Bella’s Bartok, West End Blend, Whiskey Treaty Roadshow, the Interlopers, and DJ BFG.
Central Park by Martha Peskin
DOWNTOWN STUDIOS and GALLERY OPEN DOORS to PUBLIC
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – After significant updating to the sprawling gallery and artist studios, the NUarts Studios and Gallery will be reopening its doors on Saturday, May 23, at 4-7pm. New works by the artists will be on display in the gallery, and many of them will open their studios for this first event of the year. Other openings are in the planning stages for the summer and autumn. Several artists have joined the roster since last year, including Eric Federer, mixed media artist and musician; Miriam Ross, whose focus is oils, drawing, and community-based art; Karen S. Jacobs, contemporary landscape painting in oils; and Martha Peskin, oil portraits, figurative abstractions and one-of-a-kind hand-built porcelain ceramics.
MASHA from CHEKHOV’S ‘SEAGULL’ GETS HER OWN SHOW at BTG
(STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – “Masha’s Seagull,” an exploration of the character of Masha from Anton Chekhov’s original play, “The Seagull,” gets a three-day run at the Unicorn Theatre from Friday, May 22, through Sunday, May 24, with performances at 7pm on Friday and Saturday and at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. The one-woman show, written by Justin Scheuer, artistic director of The Classical Edge Theatre, stars Virginia Scheuer.