Nancy Devine Gallery Brings Something New to Warren - Inside Art with Michael Rose

Nancy Devine Gallery Brings Something New to Warren - Inside Art with Michael Rose

 

With the recent news that the Washington Bridge saga will continue for several more years, it is more important than ever to support the artists and art businesses of the East Bay. In Warren, the Nancy Devine Gallery is a relatively new art space that deserves attention. Through April 21, the gallery is hosting a strong exhibition of work by David Frazer, bringing something new and valuable to the local art scene in the process.

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Founded less than a year ago, Nancy Devine Gallery is located at 57 Water Street in the heart of Warren’s picturesque historic district. Where many neighboring galleries like Imago or The Cooperative are non-profit affairs that leverage pools of volunteer artist members, Nancy Devine Gallery is a commercial owner-run exhibition space. Started by Devine when she and her husband relocated from Harlem to be closer to their two daughters, the space shows off the owner’s refined sensibilities. Devine represents a talented coterie of artists, including Anthony Terenzio, Peter Devine, David Frazer, Christopher W. Benson, Sue McNally, Brian Rego, and Abigail Dudley.

 

 

The gallery’s current exhibition is a solo show of RISD Professor Emeritus David Frazer, who spent over 40 years teaching. Formerly head of the Painting Department, Frazer earned his BFA from RISD in 1970 before going on to graduate school at the University of New Mexico. Frazer has traveled extensively in Italy and China and has been the subject of numerous exhibitions, including recent showings in Palo Alto, California. On April 7 at 2 pm, the artist will be in the gallery to give a talk and answer questions from visitors.

 

The work on view in Frazer’s show brings together abstract and representational components into a cohesive whole. Boasting topographical and geometric qualities, the artist’s oil paintings convey a feeling that something is being mapped or charted. This sensibility is paired with organic and natural motifs like silhouettes of birds, squirrels, and eggs, or finely composed floral and barklike abstractions. Other strategies employed in the work include subtle staining of the surface or thickly textured spots that are offset by small points of paint that echo Roy Lichtenstein’s Ben-Day dot technique. There is a lot to see in this solo exhibition.

 

 

Asked what excites her about Frazer’s work, Devine responds, “One of the appeals of David Frazer's paintings is its uniqueness. As accustomed as we are to the often-seen bravura of abstract brushwork, David offers an entirely different path. His work magically combines the happenstance of fluidly applied paint with precisely drafted recurrent images. Somehow, they conjoin to create a new elegant and unanticipated world.”

 

Speaking of the gallery, exhibitor Frazer is enthusiastic, stating, “In the last decade my shows have been mostly in California and China, not here. For many decades I exhibited at the Virginia Lynch Gallery in Tiverton before it closed but now Nancy Devine in Warren opens a new and exceptional gallery for our region once again. This truly fine gallery adds tremendous opportunities for artists and the public in Rhode Island. We should all be grateful.”

 

 

Frazer is right, Rhode Islanders should feel gratitude towards an art-focused businessperson like Devine, who has brought an elegant gallery to one of Warren’s charming tin-ceilinged storefronts. It is a lovely and light-filled space where visitors can take time to look at art and engage with a warm and passionate gallerist.

 

Speaking of her aspirations for her eponymous space, Devine says, “The Gallery's selection of artists aspires to represent the breadth of those who make art. I will show artists of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to arrest the viewer with new thoughts and new perceptions. The gallery intends to create an audience similarly broad. We have places to sit because it's important to me that visitors know this is a place to come for no other reason than to sit and ponder before a work that may be a revelation. I believe experiencing art is healing and unifying; we certainly need that today.”

 

 

Looking ahead, Devine plans to host an exhibition of Deborah Clancy as well as a future solo show featuring her husband, Peter Devine, who makes his paintings on the premises. Nancy Devine Gallery brings an important element to the local art scene and this small business deserves enthusiastic support and patronage.

 

Nancy Devine Gallery is located at 57 Water Street in Warren. The gallery’s current exhibition David Frazer: Landscapes continues through April 21. The gallery is open Thursdays through Sundays from 1-4 pm, or other times by appointment. On Sunday, April 7 at 2 pm, the gallery will host an interactive artist’s talk featuring Frazer. For more information on the gallery, visit www.nancydevinegallery.com. To learn more about Frazer, go to www.david-frazer.com.