Art We Love – Never Out of Style

This being the Fashion Issue, it’s worth noting that art can be a lot like clothing: in or out of vogue. There are fads and trends in art, and just like clothes some art can feel dated or deeply rooted in a particular time. But as with vintage Chanel and the pieces here, some art is timeless.

Lorraine Deprospo, Color the Sky (oil and cold wax on canvas, 30” x 30”), Outermost Gallery

If you’ve spent even a minute in Provincetown, you’ll connect instantly with Lorraine Deprospo’s work. It’s not that she paints familiar landmarks, and in fact her paintings could stand entirely on their own as abstractions. But if you know Provincetown, you feel the magic of the sea and the sky and the fog emanating from her work. And down the generations, as long as our little slip of sand is here, there’s no doubt this work will always have pride of place.

Julian Cardinal, Blue Gown (oil on canvas, 10” x 18”), Kiley Court Gallery

In fashion or in art, it’s hard to be both fresh and classic at the same time. Over the centuries myriad painters have given us a woman in a blue dress. But Julian Cardinal has made the subject his own. With lively brushwork and a carefully considered palate, he’s created a vibrating energy between the figure and the world around her. This visual punch and her elegant, mysterious demeanor combine to make a painting you’ll never tire of looking at.

Cameron Barker, Expo III (graphite and marble dust solution ground on canvas, 18” x 18”), Room 68

Artists have been drawing the human figure for millennia. From stick figures in caves to Renaissance torsos in gilded frames, we never tire of looking at ourselves. Cameron Barker has taken a really good look at himself and created a series of exquisite figure studies. Technically, he’s up there with the Old Masters with his depictions of supple flesh and his brilliant foreshortening. But instead of just drawing “in the tradition of,” he’s created bold, edgy compositions which combined with his brilliant technique make something old new again.

Adam Graham, Blue Gray Nocturne #1, Commercial St. Provincetown (oil & acrylic on board, 24” × 20”), Rice Polak Gallery

Like a great jazz riff, this painting feels a little wild and out of control but at the same time is perfectly in tune and harmonious. A loose collection of squiggles and dashes of paint magically conjures up a rain-slicked Provincetown street bathed in moonlight. It’s a painting you can get lost in, letting your eye wander among the brushstrokes or dreaming where you’re going to end the evening with a nightcap.