New England artists

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.

Installation View, *A Gathering: Gardens, Portals, Protests*, Left to right: Lu Heintz, Kristy Hughes, Eva Zasloff, Kevin Umaña, Liza Bingham, Lu Heintz, Kate Holcomb Hale, Bhen Alan, Dara Benno, Damien Hoar de Galvan. Elizabeth Ellenwood Photography.

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.