A pair of new exhibitions showcases the work of two notable Cape Cod artists.
By: Lisa Cavanaugh
Richard Neal
With his new fall exhibition, Cape Cod-based painter Richard Neal tackles social issues while engaging viewers with visual flair. “I am fascinated with how the eyes and the brain work together to create comprehensible images,” says Neal, whose Ever and Ever show is at The Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) from September 13 through mid-November. “As an artist, I have the opportunity to test that process out every day, and each new piece is an experiment that involves visual elements, perception, meaning, and memory.”
Born in Washington, D.C., Neal earned his Master of Sculpture degree at Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art and was the inaugural recipient of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod Fellowship. His current studio is in Barnstable Village, Massachusetts, where he creates his large-scale canvases using various materials, including pastels, paints, antique wood, copper electrical wire, manipulated photos, aluminum screens, denim, rope, and charcoal.
“My work touches on many of the social issues of our times, but my primary interest has always been to engage a viewer visually,” says the artist, whose new show is curated by David Wright, a former contemporary art gallery owner, and current Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum Director.
Neal explains that his goal is to explore the nature of contemporary challenges through expressive art pieces. “I am passionate about my subject matter: the human face, the human condition, the natural world, the built world,” he says, “but in getting there, I like to find and ride the line between the deliberate and the accidental.”
The painter says he is honored to share his work at PAAM, where he has been a member for nearly 40 years, and in other museums and galleries across the Cape. “I am fortunate to have found a vocation that I feel no need to retire from and provides an endless supply of interest.”
Ever and Ever runs from September 13, 2024 — November 11, 2024 at PAAM.
Sarah Holl
“I have always found inspiration in the movement of animals and colors of nature, says Sarah Holl, an innovative mixed-media painter and sculptor based in Dennis, Massachusetts. “I use bold colors and additional materials like patterned paper and reflective mylar to add depth and interest.”
A celebration of Holl’s unique style and vision is on display at the Cape Cod Museum of Art from now through November 10. Color and Clay, the Life and Art of Sarah Holl, showcases a selection of her brightly painted pieces, each individually covered with clear resin, and some of her evocative bas-relief sculptures.
Holl began her creative life at Scargo Pottery, where she apprenticed with her famous sculptor father, Harry Holl. She also actively shares her passion for the arts, teaching figure drawing and portrait painting classes at her sunny and welcoming Route 6A studio.
COLOR and CLAY: The Life and Art of Sarah Holl is at the Cape Cod Museum of Art from now through November 10, 2024.
