Adria Arch – Art Spiel

August 31, 2026September 1, 2026, by Adria Arch

Image vs Object – Isabel Riley, John Guthrie, and Judy Riola

Isabel Riley, Cardinal Directions of the Heart

Michelle Mercaldo, an artist and master craftsperson in her own right, is hosting a strong group show in her jewelry showroom, featuring the work of Isabel Riley, John Guthrie, and Judy Riola. Michelle’s own practice is in fine metalwork, and that sensibility, precision, and materiality, with a feel for surface, inform whose work she chooses to put on her walls.

July 29, 2026July 28, 2026, by Adria Arch

America, Unfinished?! at WaterFire Arts Center

America, Unfinished?!, a national exhibit at WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, RI, features the work of 80 artists from 13 states and territories. I visited the 15,000-square-foot former rubber factory on a hot July day. The light-filled space is several stories high and could dwarf almost anything smaller than a jet, so it took me a while to find my bearings and focus on the work.

April 15, 2026April 16, 2026, by Adria Arch

Yuko Oda – Decaying into Bloom

Installation view of Decaying into Bloom

Yuko Oda’s recent exhibit, Decaying into Bloom, currently on view at the Brodigan Gallery at the Groton School, located west of Boston, seduces with beauty and delivers a gut-punch from the moment you enter. It is the best kind of artistic experience: being pulled in by the sensuality of the materials, then hit hard with the poignancy of the message. Living things have always had to adapt to new conditions, and Oda imagines for us some ingenious possibilities.

November 3, 2025October 28, 2025, by Adria Arch

Art Spiel Picks: Boston Exhibitions in November 2025

HIGHLIGHTS

Beverly Semmes, Red Bird on Blue, 2017, 16” x 20”, oil and magazine page collage on glass

I’m deeply grateful for Boston’s university galleries—they consistently fill the gaps left by the local commercial gallery scene, which has been diluted, in my opinion, by the pressure to cover rent. These institutions reliably bring high-quality, thoughtful art and ideas to the city. A short but not exhaustive list would include the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis, the Aidekman Arts Center at Tufts, MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, and the Harvard Art Museums.

August 26, 2025August 28, 2025, by Adria Arch

Earth Suits and Beast Machines

left, Jennifer Amadeo-Holl, *Earth Suits* – *Reflections on Thought*, 2022, oil on canvas,, 49” x 64”, right, Mike Libby, *Quarter Vital Amalgam*, 2025, Apoxie sculpt and mixed media, 14” X 14” X 66”, photo by Adria Arch

The two-person exhibition Earth Suits and Beast Machines at Cove Street Arts in Portland, Maine, orchestrates a compelling conversation between Boston painter Jennifer Amadeo-Holl and Maine sculptor Mike Libby. This thoughtfully curated show rewards careful attention, presenting work that resists easy consumption and demands genuine engagement from viewers willing to slow down and look deeply.

July 16, 2025July 11, 2025, by Adria Arch

A Gathering: Gardens, Portals, Protests

Why do we need art in this moment? What art sustains both practitioners and audience in difficult times? These urgent questions pulse at the heart of curator and artist Olivia Baldwin’s extraordinary exhibition at the Kniznick Gallery, part of Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Center—and the answers she’s assembled are luminous.