In 1990, well before Gallery X moved into its present location in an historic church on William Street in New Bedford, it was situated in a storefront on Spring Street. The gallery was founded by a small group of alumni (including this critic) of the Swain School of Design and some close associates and allies in the community. It was primarily guided by the devotion and unbridled enthusiasm of sculptor Chuck Hauck, who to this day remains the heart and soul of the X.
It was called Gallery X because of its close proximity to the YWCA (since moved) and to the Zeiterion Theatre (now called the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center.)
In the intervening years, many of the original members departed but many more joined, some for brief stints and some for decades. Hundreds more (as guests at the invitation of the Gallery or as non-members submitting artwork for a small fee) have exhibited in the original space and the present one.
In an online solicitation seeking new members, Gallery X states that it recognizes that “everyone is an artist with their own individual talents, skills and interpretations of their medium.” It further notes that the membership is made up of formally trained artists, self taught artists, students, and hobbyists of all ages and skill levels.
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Nothing provides greater evidence of that broad and inclusionary philosophy than the annual exhibition known as the Public Hanging, an unjuried celebration of community creativity. All who enter a work for consideration (and pay the fee) are included.
Currently on display is the 33rd incarnation of the Public Hanging, and as with every previous installment, it is joyously and unapologetically “all over the place.” And that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. There are over fifty artists displaying close to 200 works of art, salon style, on both floors of the gallery.
The exhibition includes traditional still lifes of flowers and fruit, nautical scenes, more than a few non-objective paintings, landscapes, and a spattering of nudes. And there are whale cutouts decorated with buttons, keys and other paraphernalia, ceramic critters including a newt and an oversized wasp, multiple visual references to ancient Egypt, a charcoal drawing of a woman being attacked by an angry rabbit, blue doll heads under glass or in a birdcage, and at least one faux superhero comic book cover.
The Public Hanging effectively democratizes the exhibition of artwork by exercising something that might be called ‘“non-curating,” allowing everything to stand on its own merit, without judgment.
That said, it is the duty and the folly of an art critic to pass judgment. And in this particular instance, I will do that by honoring the tradition of the Public Hanging and give a nod to all those artists who participated and to the gallery that welcomes all with a warm and wide embrace.
Among the notable works is Daniel da Silva’s “Madonna Litta,” a copy of a 15th-century painting traditionally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, although it could be by one of his pupils, such as Giovanni Antonio Boltraffino or Marco d’Oggiono. Taking some liberties with color and style, da Silva’s interpretation is a valid one.
As in the original, a plump Christ Child breastfeeds from the Virgin Mary, with a symbolic goldfinch in his left hand, and stares at the viewer with as much self-awareness as any contemporary toddler who understands that an iPhone user is taking his picture.
Dee Geller’s small painting “Millicent Burning” does not actually depict the iconic Fairhaven library in flames but rather as illuminated by an orange sunset. “Truro” by Kate Doyle-Gallant is a classic and lovely Hopperesque Cape Cod painting of a yellow cottage at night.
Rylan Brenner’s “Prints” and Avelino de Costa’s “Shock” are both charmingly garish portraits that manage to be unsettling even as they are tempered by a bit of wit.
Alexandra Jordankova’s “Dreaming of Basquiat” pays homage to the New York City-based neo-expressionist painter, who died in 1988, by utilizing some of the elements common in his work: pointed crowns, big-eyed cartoon faces and chicken scratch text.
Jordankova’s “So I Wish You Were Pink” shows her strength as a mixed media artist. Working with a fairly limited palette of dirty pink, gray and murky black, the work is text-heavy. “”I wish you were here” is scrawled in red, and the blocky letterforms that spell out “PINK” will be immediately recognizable to anyone who has walked by a Victoria’s Secret in a shopping mall.
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Chloe Bachstein’s displays several paintings that seemingly all depict the same man, lying on a bench in a garden in one, sitting in an automobile with a door open in another. She is a powerful and inventive painter, using elaborate patterns and unafraid to take chances with unexpected elements, including a lavender ghost dog.
But it is her quixotic “Safe With You” that is perhaps the highlight, not only of the work she displays, but of the entire exhibition. Lovingly rendered is a bearded and bespectacled young man in a citric green t-shirt who reclines on the ground of a not-quite-real landscape. But his empty arm and his soulful gaze speaks volumes.
The 33rd annual Public Hanging art show is on display at Gallery X, 169 William St., New Bedford, until Aug. 28.