Upon entering the Marion Art Center to view the newest exhibit VESSELS, there is a stillness, a calm, gentle quiet that seems to permeate the galleries. That is the essence of the exhibit that fills the delicate venue – elegance and grace.
VESSELS, now through August 15, is a harmonious tripling of talent. Three regional artists working in three different mediums have come together for all to see the perfection of their chosen artform. Michael Pietragalla works in wood, Craig Coggeshall is a painter, and Hollis Engley is a potter and ceramicist. Each is a master of their medium.
“I had the idea for the show for about three years,” said Pietragalla, explaining how the show came together. He pitched the concept of bringing two artists together with himself to the MAC with favorable results. Having known the painter and pottery for many decades, Pietragalla believed an exhibit displaying their pieces would work. Then everything came to a halt due to the pandemic – the world in suspended animation. Once the state and the local Board of Health approved the gallery’s reopening for public events, the show was finally realized.
Pietragalla’s talent for creating pieces from wood shows his deep understanding of the natural material. A furniture maker and finish carpenter by trade, the artist uses exotic woods to create exquisite boxes from purple-heart wood, Birdseye maple, and other fine-grained woods. His influence for the boxes is Asian art, he said. While his furniture pieces are primarily California Mission style, the arts, and craft movement as embraced by the architects Greene and Greene also informs his works. “The brothers were getting their inspiration from Japanese arts.”
The boxes or vessels in the exhibit have an exterior glow, not unlike lacquered Asian pieces with interiors that invite further examination. Lining the boxes in the exhibit, Pietragalla has used suede or woven leather that adds depth and texture to the pieces. While each container may be used as a vessel to hold precious items, they are in and of themselves precious. In the show the boxes, along with the paintings and pottery, have been placed into complementary groupings where each can stand on its own merit or be taken in as whole cloth.
The life of an artist is often a difficult balance between earning a living wage and creating art. Pietragalla said, “I kept my head and hands in my classical training.” The artist graduated from the Swain School of Design in 1972 with a degree in fine art and attended the Massachusetts College of the Arts. He also taught photography during this period. Pietragalla has had a studio at the Hatch in New Bedford since 2001.
Coggeshall’s life also required a balancing act between providing for his family and painting. The paintings that are part of this exhibit are all still-life, oil-on-canvas creations. They invite the viewer to wonder how the images related to his life or to theirs. Chairs of warm wood, possibly just sat upon, or a tablecloth recently found in a hidden drawer and unfolded just moments ago intrigue the mind and the eye. The folds in the cloth are a master’s work. There are muted tones and bursts of color that bounce off the surface with excitement.
Of Coggeshall, Pietragalla said, “From the beginning I wanted Craig to be part of this show. I knew him from Swain.”
Coggeshall’s themes of common inanimate objects such as wooden stools, tablecloths, bowls, vessels, and at least one surprising hula loop seem to mirror the tangible pieces of art created by Pietragalla and Engley, resting peacefully in the forefront of each grouping.
Coggeshall studied at Swain, earning his degree with top honors in 1971. A resident of West Wareham, the artist has exhibited in a number of galleries throughout the Southcoast over the years, as well as the Duxbury Art Museum, Sherburne Gallery on Nantucket, and Donovan Gallery in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Coggeshall’s wife Kathy explained that at an early age her husband was expressing himself through art.
“Craig is memory-challenged,” Kathy explained. There is hope that once established in their new residence, a spark will reignite creative desire in the artist once again. In the meantime, it is imperative that art lovers take the opportunity to see Coggeshall’s paintings and rejoice in the experience of having done so.
Engley’s pots are nothing short of little miracles. The process of taking clay, nay mud, and creating pieces that hold something as essential as food is nearly as ancient as mankind itself. What we find in the pots and bowls currently on display is the result of the “dance of the flame.”
A wood-fired kiln is used to create Engley’s pieces. He explained the days-long process by which teams must stoke the fire as it reaches its zenith around 2,400 degrees. He credits the laborious yet precise firing to the internationally renowned ceramicist Chris Gustin, who lives and works in Dartmouth. Gustin’s kiln is used by artists throughout the area who desire an authentically fired work of art versus commercial item.
Engley said that the kiln has three chambers into which, with great care, as many as 1,000 pieces may be placed. The chambers are fired in sequence until the correct temperature is achieved. “It’s important for the glaze and the clay to mature at the right temperature.” Working in this centuries-old firing method known as “anagama” in Japanese, gives the finished works a tonality and texture not otherwise achieved with electric or gas kilns, he said.
“Once everything is loaded the firing begins,” Engley said. “Wood is put in the firebox by as many as 20 people over eight-hour shifts around the clock.” Whereas other firing methods can be a solo operation, a wood-fired kiln is a community effort. Up to seven cords of wood may be consumed. Once the firing begins Engley stated, “You have to trust the kiln, the dance of the flame.”
In preparation for the firing, artists have to plan their pottery production. They must create enough pots to fill their share of the kiln, thus timing becomes part of the process.
In this exhibit, for the first time, Engley is exhibiting clay bridges beside his tea bowls. He said that over the winter he thought about ways to use clay by stretching the material, making sculptural works, “…getting out of the strict functionality of utilitarian pieces.”
Engley said he appreciated being part of the show because “…people can spend their time with pieces in a contemplative setting.”
Becoming a potter was not a straight road from college to the studio for Engley. Born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, he graduated from Cape Cod Community College, later earning a degree in political science from Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Engley has sold cameras, shingled roofs, delivered oil, been a reporter, and worked in a bakery, proving again that artists more often than not need to find employment beyond what their artistic talents can provide. After 30 years as a wire-service editor, Engley joined the Alexandria, Virginia-based The Art League’s clay program. The rest is history. Since 2015, he has lived and worked in Pocasset.
To learn more about the exhibit VESSELS and when you may visit the only Tri-Town art show planned this season, visit marionartcenter.org. Beauty awaits.
By Marilou Newell