Great Barrington — The most recent series by local artist Marilyn Kalish has been incubating for some time. “I felt like I was on the cusp of the excitement,” she explained, “a feeling that [I was] onto something” when she was invited to show at Art Basel Miami Beach, an international art fair focusing on modern and contemporary art that puts more than 250 galleries and 4,000 artists from across the globe in front of the art world’s top curators, museums and collectors. This year’s event took place Dec. 5-8.
“’Human Rights’ is a series [one that has] brought me to Boston, half time,” Kalish explained. And still she struggles when asked to explain the genesis of her work. “[‘Human Rights’] isn’t specifically the Black experience; it isn’t specifically the women and young girls who are savaged in third-world countries; it isn’t minorities [or the] Mexican experience with children being in camps and separated from their parents; it’s much bigger than that — it’s a whole thing,” she explained. “And it’s still evolving.” Kalish believes that in emanating positive — as opposed to “defeat, doom and gloom”— therein lies the power of the artist. “I feel like I’m home,” the artist said, considering the many, many series she’s completed. It’s her means of experimenting — with materials, how far she can push things, ideas — and it all begins with pencil and paper. “That’s all I really want to do, is sit with a sketch pad and draw; that’s my strength,” she divulged. In fact, it’s as if Kalish’s artwork has converged after all these years. In her current series, she described the “oil paints do[ing] the sketching,” evidence of her passion.
Kalish considers but two questions when at work in her studio: What’s working and what’s not working. “And my eye goes right to what’s not working,” she explained, noting the sense of pride that comes when a particular piece “tips the scale” and is more working than not working. She finds this stride in her current series. “I just can’t believe I could think of another subject matter to approach that would be as fulfilling [as ‘Human Rights’],” Kalish explained. After spending more than 30 years basking in the solace and inspiration that comes from the Berkshires — Kalish is the owner of the Vault Gallery on Main Street — she is presently being inspired by the stimulation and the pull of Boston.
It was a connection to Kaveh Mojtabai, founder and publisher of the Boston-based Artscope Magazine, that culminated in Kalish being invited to Art Basel Miami Beach. The publication, established over a decade ago, hinges on a business model that supports connections among artists, collectors and the public. Olivia MacDonald of Artscope described “Human Rights” as “present[ing] a bare figure flickering out of the darkness with strokes of red, purple, white and orange. Kalish explained that the piece ‘begs the viewer to think of the ideas of the human body as a source of Power, particularly energy, radiance and inherent complexity’ with its melding of colors and lines through the paint. The light from the abstract figure rises to the surface and is juxtaposed with the dark background. As a part of her series, this piece speaks to Kalish’s expressive oil painting quality and ability to convey feelings of struggle and hardship, but ultimately a sense of bravery and elegance in her work.” Artscope is available in print throughout the region at over 700 locations; in addition, a robust selection of articles is available online.
There is something refreshing in both the subject and the process Kalish describes; it allows the viewer, regardless of their experience, to interface with the art in the absence of expectations or an answer. In fact, Kalish reiterates for the viewer that there isn’t an answer, or something they are supposed to “get.” Instead, her process of having created and the viewer’s process of having interacted furthers the dialogue, an essential element to human progress. As to any criticism she might receive along the way? “It’s fuel, it’s always been fuel.”
Since launching in 2002, Art Basel has become North America’s premier art fair; at the nexus of North America and Latin America, Art Basel in Miami Beach presents artwork from across the globe and draws more than 70,000 visitors each year. Miami Beach is but one in a trio of locales — including Basel, Switzerland, and Hong Kong — showcasing the highest quality of modern and contemporary artwork in media ranging from painting and sculpture to photography, film and installation.
