{"id":110857,"date":"2024-06-21T12:09:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=featured-work&p=110857"},"modified":"2025-01-30T12:19:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T17:19:23","slug":"a-summer-place","status":"publish","type":"featured-work","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/featured-work\/a-summer-place\/","title":{"rendered":"A Summer Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Summer Place<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Works by Breehan James and Nancy Wissemann-Widrig<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
June 4 – August 10, 2024<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Equal parts portrait, landscape, and still life, Breehan James<\/a> and Nancy Wissemann-Widrig<\/a>\u2019s paintings are a testament to their deep connection with seasonal, rustic, summer dwellings\u2014Wissemann-Widrig\u2019s on the coast in Maine and James\u2019 in Northern Wisconsin. These acutely-observed rural sites come to life in carefully rendered works, which serve as both an archive of everyday things and a window to nature\u2019s close embrace. Both artists meticulously paint from life, capturing the subtleties of their surroundings\u2014depicting unfussy and intimate interiors adorned with the casual accumulations and keepsakes of annual gatherings. Brushstrokes describing the environmental textures of nearby shores and the towering northern forests crowded with fir, pine, and birch reveal a quiet but adventurous space.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The artists draw their color palettes directly from life, at times enhancing them to reflect the emotional essence of the place. Recurring hues, including maroon, burnt orange, avocado green, and deep mustard yellow, symbolize coziness and warmth and reinforce the passage of time. Similarly, the use of patterned blankets, curtains, and tablecloths speaks to the artists\u2019 fascination with the language of paint. While initially representational, these patterns dip into abstraction, demonstrating the artists\u2019 pleasure in color, light, and repetition of shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conversations with painters from across time and place are present in the painters\u2019 works. James\u2019 depictions of the saturated and densely forested world just outside the cottage door are reminiscent of fanciful landscapes by Charles Burchfield and the layered, chromatic, and veil-like landscapes of Canadian painter Tom Thomson. In contrast, her depiction of yellow curtains echoes Vuillard\u2019s painting of the same name. Wissemann-Widrig\u2019s interior patterns pay homage to the French Nabis\u2013Vuillard and Bonnard. Maine and Long Island painter Fairfield Porter inspired the inclusion of her backyard and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A persistence of vision is evident throughout the exhibition as the artists portray the poetic and cyclic nature of a summer place. The past is always present as the artists elevate the everyday, illustrating how objects hold memories and how it feels to live with and cherish ordinary things. The paintings are diaristic, offering insider information about what it feels like to return here year after year, to experience the place anew while looking back to bid farewell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Summer Place<\/em> is curated by Emily Lanctot.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Virtual Tour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n