Category: Contemporary Dog Art

If you live near Boston, please come to an exhibition I’m in called “Beasts of Burden.”   It’s curated by one of my all-time favorite dog artists, Jane O’Hara, and it explores our complex relationship with animals.  The opening reception is Thursday, March 13, 2014, 5:30 – 8 pm at the Harvard Allston Educational Portal in Allston, MA.  It’s free and everyone is welcome.

Jane is a passionate animal rights advocate and vegan, and I’m so honored to be included in this thoughtful, exuberant, and sensitive multimedia event that celebrates our pampered pets while shedding light on the commodification of animals in today’s society.

I won’t be there in person, but my dox-ZEN series, exploring grief and impermanence, and my video “Dogs in Art,” a three minute tribute to 5,000 years of canine art, will be on display.  There will also be several presentations throughout the run (listed below), culminating with the Harvard ARTS FIRST Festival, an annual event showcasing student and faculty creativity at Harvard. This year, Margaret Atwood is being awarded the Harvard Arts Medal.  Click here for tickets to attend the ceremony that includes a discussion with the acclaimed author, poet, and environmental activist moderated by John Lithgow.

Information:

“Beasts of Burden”
March 13 – May, 5, 2014

Harvard Allston Educational Portal
175 North Harvard St.
Allston, MA 02134
Regular hours: Monday – Thursday 3 – 7:00pm

Special Events:

Thursday, March 13,  5:30 – 8pm:  Opening Reception

Tuesday, March 18, 6:00pm:  Almitra Stanley moderates a panel discussion with the artists

Saturday, April 12, 2:30 – 4:30 pm: Mercy for Animals and Great Dog Rescue New England will give presentations.  Dogs will be available for adoption (you were warned!).

Thursday, May 1 – Sunday, May 4: Harvard ARTS FIRST Festival

Visit the “Beasts of Burden” website for more information.

Email me if you have any questions.

As always, I would love to hear from you.

Moira McLaughlin

I finished my pen and ink paintings of my twelve dox-ZENs. As I've mentioned, the images, painted on the pages of a Zen Buddhist book, are an exploration of the Buddhist concept that the mind is an endless series of three processes: craving, acting, and discontentment. And, they're a meditation on imperfection and impermanence.

The series will be part of the group show curated by Jane O'Hara called "Beasts of Burden" at the Harvard Allston Educational Portal in Allston, Massachusetts, March 13 – May 5, 2014. The multimedia exhibition includes 13 artists interpreting our complex relationship with animals and is presented by the the New Arts Center and Unbound Visual Arts.

My video "Dogs in Art," a three minute tribute to 5,000 years of canine muses, will also be on view.

This week, the framing, mounting, photographing, and shipping commences. 

Breathe…

"Beasts of Burden" press release.

"Beasts of Burden" official website.

Las Laguna Gallery in Laguna Beach, California invites artists to submit dog-themed works for their upcoming show "Man's Best Friend," opening March 7, 2014.

All local, national, and international artists, professional and amateur, in multiple art mediums will be considered: photography, fabric, mixed media, paintings and drawings including, oil, acrylic, ink, graphite, pastels, etc.

Sorry, no jewelry or sculpture.

Deadline for entry: February 15, 2014.
Entry fee: $35

For more information visit Las Laguna Gallery, where dogs are always welcome.

I am working on a series of twelve dox-ZEN Sumi-e ink paintings, meditations on the Buddhist belief that the mind is an endless chain of three processes: craving, acting, and discontentment.

The paintings are also an exercise in detachment and handling imperfection, and are going to be part of a group show curated by Jane O’Hara in Boston this March entitled “Beasts of Burden.”  In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about this multimedia exhibition that looks at our complex relationship with animals.

In the meantime visit my dox-ZEN Pinterest board to see my vision for the series.

UK artist, Will Topley, painted his pets, Whippets Tara and Millie, atop the Christmas Special driven by Anna, his loquacious African Grey Parrot.

May your day be festive and bright.

Merry Christmas.

Thank you, Will.

Happy Breakfast by Sandra Williams is one of several dog-themed art works included in the exhibition “Animal Fairy Tales, Fables, Fact or Fiction” now on view at Las Laguna Gallery in Laguna Beach, California.

The wiry black-and-white dog, the distinguished Chihuahua, the graphic shadows, the bacon…all of it makes me happy.

Visit Sandra Williams to see more.

“Animal Fairy Tales, Fables, Fact or Fiction” closes this weekend. View it here.

I meant to tell you about The Dog & The Crow, Ray Richardson's show with Guy Denning at Ben Oakley Gallery in London before it closed this weekend. Sorry.

Visit Ben Oakley Gallery to see more, especially if you love English Bull Terriers.