november2024
by John Greiner-Ferris
and
Pollination: Body and Soul
by Dominick Takis

November 2 – 30, 2024
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 3, 2-5 pm
Thursday Reception and artists’ talks:
Thursday, November 14, 6-9 pm

Atlantic Works Gallery’s November exhibition will consist of side-by-side solo shows by two member artists, one who uses mixed media to investigate the natural world and the other who uses it to comment on American society. Together, their complementary artwork delivers a visual collision that is intended to ask visitors to reflect on and question their beliefs and values.

Both shows will open on Saturday, November 2, with an opening reception on Sunday, November 3 from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. There will be a second reception on Thursday, November 14 from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. when the artists will talk about their work. The exhibition closes at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 30.

John Greiner-Ferris is an artist who borrows from, and combines, multiple disciplines to create artwork. For november2024, he uses mixed media to fluidly address the perils inflicted on individuals by modern society. The intentionally lo-tech nature of his artwork is in response to what he believes is too much of an emphasis in the art world on commercialism and salability at the expense of originality and truth, and challenges viewers to question their notion of art.

“My artwork has always been about, and will continue to be about, the individual’s struggle to maintain individuality and dignity in the face societal pressures—both real and imagined,” he said.

The materials and resulting artwork of Dominick Takis, a former construction worker, reflect his deep love of nature, the outdoors, and art. He uses everything from found organic and inorganic materials to construction material to investigate the natural world to make what he calls “collage/paintings” whose textural, sculptural surfaces invite the viewer’s eye to linger in their complexity. “I want people to really get into the surface of my paintings,” he said.

For Pollination, Takis, who had been finding bee and wasp nests for years, contemplates and compares the role of bees and artists in their respective societies. “The artist’s job is to feed the soul, through art, music, and literature,” he said. Takis will be exhibiting nine pieces, and cites influences as disparate as the writings of Hermann Hesse, the paintings of Cezanne and El Greco, and the music of Brian Eno and Nick Cave.

Greiner-Ferris will be showing a series of seven multi media pieces he began in January 2024 and continued working on right up to October 2024. “They are my response to some of the events and issues that currently are prevalent in the United States, such as economic disparity, divisiveness, school and mass shootings, and not only our species’ ability to destroy itself, but what appears to be our intent to do so,” he said. “The goal of this exhibition is to use text and images to have a conversation with the viewer. Just as an actor breaks the fourth wall on a stage and talks directly to the audience, I use text and a visual language to break the picture plane to speak directly to the viewer.”

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Atlantic Works Gallery, 80 Border Street, Boston, MA 02128, now in its twenty-first year, is an artist-run collaborative space for art and ideas located in East Boston. The gallery is open to the public every Friday and Saturday, 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. For private viewing, contact contact@atlanticworks.org.