Misstropolis

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Elegant Bounty: Spring at Jules Place

by Robin Hauck

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A private art gallery in Boston’s South End, Jules Place is as cozy and inviting as its name implies. Originally the apartment where owner Jules Mussafer lived (and stored all her artwork), the space retains a warm, eclectic homeiness, rare in the minimalist gallery world.

It’s hard at this point, 8 years after Mussafer transformed her apartment into a showroom, to know if the great vibes are coming from the space itself or the collection of art now filling it. Paintings, photographs, sculptures and original works on paper from the over 50 artists Jules Place represents, dominate the space, filling the walls and stacking up against them.

Tomorrow night, May 3, from 6:00 to 8:30, Jules Place celebrates the opening of their spring show, “Bountiful Impressions” . Featuring Amy Maas and Craig Mooney, both of whom will be present for opening night, as well as Karen Tusinski, Laura Bowman, Christy Bonneau and Charlotte Foust, the show should help herald in spring to the South End. In addition to the featured artists, new work has arrived from Candice Eisenfeld, Nathaniel Mathers, Rebecca Koury and Judy Barie. Works by all of Mussafer’s represented artists may be viewed on their website, julesplace.com.

Artist Amy Maas of Swampscott creates expressionistic works which seem to delve deep into her consciousness. Her new work is especially personal, as she writes in her notes for the show:

This series is a trip into the past – the milky layers depict a place between the now and then. They are a combination of chaos and calm, a journey into “seeming” adulthood. Painting with lines both thick and thin is my way of entering these feelings in a journal. The colors and confusion are of the era of EST, TM, mantras, experimentation and self-exploration; of sex, music and protest that continues to follow the Baby-Boomers into their middle-years-the struggle to accept our new roles with the frustrations and pleasures of being children to aging parents and parents to aging children.

Craig Mooney’s paintings also seek to translate the emotional impact of experience. For Mooney it is place that evokes the emotion, his familiar yet intangible imagery reflects on places he has been. Images of nature, especially a strong, dynamic sky, are prominent in most of his works.

If you can’t make the opening on Thursday night, stop by the Saturday open house on May 5th between 1 and 4pm. Jules Place is open daily from 10am to 5pm by appointment, and on most Saturdays from 1 to 4pm.

Jules Place
1200 Washington Street #204
Boston, MA 02118

Title image: “Polka Dot Dress” by Laura Bowman
Second Image: “Jigsaw 1” by Amy Maas
Third Image: “Coastal Triptych” by Craig Mooney