Art

ON THE COVER: Chenlu Hou

 The eggplant piece featured on the cover of Motif is the first completed work in Chenlu Hou’s Garden series, making it a perfect fit for this issue’s theme of Summer. A low-fire terracotta sculpture, airbrushed and hand-painted with underglaze, the work is titled Eggplant braised with long beans, long beans braised with eggplant. Alongside other […]

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You Don’t Have To Go Far: Providence’s Gallery Night shows the art was here all along

Mount Pleasant. Elmhurst. The Valley Arts District. These are all neighborhoods whose offerings I thought I knew well, having worked in and around Providence over the last few years. But you can certainly miss a lot of subtle, intricate treasure troves of experience in this city if you’re not looking for them. As the Gallery […]

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Mural Wars: New public art puts backs up against a wall

PVD-based artist Ian Gaudreau got a tip from a friend about a grant-sponsored mural project. Ten thousand dollars (the advertised amount) is a pretty good commission in the working artist world, so he looked into it. He discussed it with the sponsoring organization, who conveyed the tragic life-cut-short story of Iryna Zarutska. Gaudreau declined to […]

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Celebrate Becoming a Mom with Some Beautiful Maternity Henna

It’s hard to picture celebrating a pregnancy with a temporary tattoo, especially given all the risks that come with carrying a little one. In some cultures however, henna, also known as Mehndi, is actually a very popular and beautiful way to celebrate pregnancy, which can certainly spawn some amazing ideas this Mother’s Day season. You’ve […]

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