New England Art Worth The Drive

Boston is not lacking in great art this summer, but sometimes it's good to venture outside the familiar. Why not take a drive to see the best art New England has to offer? Here we round up the must-see museum exhibits in the area.

Pissarro's People

Through October 2
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
225 South Street
Williamstown, MA
(413) 458-2303
Hours: Open daily July and August, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
$15; free for members, children under 18 and students
Website

One of the most prominent and brilliant Impressionists, and a mentor to artists such as Cezanne and Gaugin, Camille Pissarro was among the most experimental of the artistic movement. He was known for his landscape paintings, but Pissarro also had a lifelong interest in the human figure. This exhibition explores that interest, one of the first to do so, as it brings together Pissarro's figure paintings (subjects include family members, rural and domestic workers), drawings, and prints made over the full course of his career. If you're new to Pissarro's work, Pissarro's People is the perfect introduction, but Pissarro fans will also find something new to love.

Man Ray | Lee Miller, Partners in Surrealism

Through December 4, 2011
Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square
161 Essex Street
Salem, MA
(978) 745-9400
Hours: Tue - Sun 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays
Adults $15, Seniors $13, Students $11, Youth 16 & Under Free
Website

One of modern art history's most important collaborations, the Surrealist artist Man Ray and his student (and later, lover) Lee Miller helped shaped the course of modern art and photography. This impressive exhibit at the Peabody Exhibit Museum collects more than 75 rare vintage photographs, paintings, sculpture and drawings that came out of their three-year relationship. It's a rare and powerful look at a brief but passionate partnership.

Wall Works

Through April 29, 2012
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
51 Sandy Pond Road
Lincoln, MA
(781) 259-8355
Hours: Tue - Sun 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Free on weekdays through September 2
Website

For this exhibition, six artists (Kysa Johnson, Natalie Lanese, Caleb Neelon, Alison Owen, Justin Richel and Mary Temple) serve as curator for their own projects and create site-specific wall installations as a response to the Museum's collection of modern and contemporary art. Each piece was inspired by a particular artwork in the Museum's database of 3,500 objects. Highlight include Neelon's slogan and street art-inspired piece and Temple's sound piece Someone Else's Secret, which encourages visitors to participate and share "someone else's secret."

Paul Caponigro: The Hidden Presence of Places

Through October 9
Farnsworth Art Museum
16 Museum Street
Rockland, ME
(207) 596-6457
Summer hours (through October 31):
Mon - Tue, Thurs - Fri 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Wed 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
$12 Rockland Campus, $17 Rockland Campus and Olson House, $10 Olson House only
Website

Born in Boston, Paul Caponigro is one of the country's foremost landscape photographers and has spent most of his fifty-year career capturing the striking beauty of nature and the spiritual dimensions of the natural world--what Caponigro described as "the hidden presence of places." This exhibition collects work spanning his career, including stunning images (many in larger scale, and some never seen before) of ancient sites in Ireland, landscapes of the Southwest, and natural wonders of New England.

Paperwork in 3D

Through October 30
Shelburne Museum
6000 Shelburne Road
Shelburne, VT
(802) 985-3346
Hours: Mon - Sat 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Sun 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Adults $12, Children (5 - 18) $10), Children under 5 Free
Website

On display at several galleries throughout the museum, Paperwork in 3D features the work of 23 artists who transform sheets of paper into amazing three-dimensional art using a variety of techniques: origami, cut paper, pop-up books, sculpture. Highlights include an illuminated sculpture by Vermont artist Riki Moss, and papercut by French-born, New york-based artist Beatrice Coron. But every piece in this exhibit is inspiring--especially considering their humble, flat beginnings.