September 21 – December 2, 2023 | A Community Curator exhibition curated by Martha Friend

“A certain blue enters your soul.” (Henri Matisse)

The color blue has existed for millenia, influencing great works of art as well as ordinary, but treasured, household objects. It carries many associations including calm, sadness, royalty, and peace. Even the many different words for the color blue evoke emotions–turquoise, indigo, cerulean, periwinkle, cobalt, aquamarine. It lives in our world all around us in the blue sky and ocean waves.

Martha Friend, local curator and collector of all things blue, fell in love with the color early on in her life. As a result she’s spent years building “Sapphire City,” an art installation outside her home on Highland Avenue in Somerville, which many in the area would recognize as an unofficial community landmark. Her work has garnered media attention and her vision for this exhibition is translated through artworks by local artists, installations of found objects, music, and creative workshops. Friend invites visitors to explore the many different meanings and uses of blue and leave with a newfound appreciation for the color’s history and influence on art and culture.

Could blue be everyone’s favorite color? What does blue mean to you?


Community Curator:
Martha Friend

Participating Artists:

Alexandra Rozenman, Anne Randolph, Bekka Teerlink, Bess Paupeck, Daniel D. Coughlin, Dave Palmquist, Deb Peeples, Emily Falcigno, Gary Duehr, Gina Halstead, Heather Balchunes, Hilary Scott, Iku Oseki, Johanna Schulman, JT (John) Bullitt, Julie Friend-Gray, Karen Molloy, Kerri Kemperman, Laidy Saenz, Laurinda Bedingfield, Marcella Stasa, Martha Friend, Matt Carrano, Michael Robbins, Nathaniel Devarie, Pauline Lim, Rachel Mello, Resa Blatman, Richard Curran, Robin Hazard Ray, Ron Kopreski, Ruth Faris, Sarah Sutro, Sholeh Regna, Soozie (Suzanne) Lubeck, Susan Strauss, Wilhelm Neusser, Zainab Sumu

General Admission: $5; free to Museum members and visitors 12 years of age and under.

Event Admission: varies; Museum members receive discounts where applicable.

For the Museum’s open hours and events check out our event schedule.

Upcoming Programming

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 21, 6pm–8pm | $5 admission fee; free to Museum members and visitors 12 years of age and younger. Tickets can be purchased at the Museum.

Kalliope Reed Quintet Concert: Friday, September 29, 6pm–7:30pm | $10 admission; free to Museum members and visitors 12 years of age and younger. Space is limited, reserve your spot today.

The History of the Color Blue with Richard Newman: Tuesday, October 17, 6pm | $10 admission; free to Museum members and children 12 years of age and under. Space is limited, reserve your spot today.

Cyanotype Workshop with Karen Molloy: Saturday, October 21, 10am–1pm | $25 admission; $20 for Museum members with code. Space is very limited for this event, reserve your spot today.***NOTE: this event has been reschedule to Sunday, October 29.***

Curator Talk with Martha Friend: Saturday, October 21, 5pm - 6pm | $10 admission, free to Museum members and children 12 years of age and older. Space is limited, reserve your spot today.

Glass Art Making Workshop with Martha Friend: Saturday, November 18, 10am–12pm | $25 admission; $20 for Museum members with code. Space is very limited for this event, reserve your spot today.

Closing Reception: Saturday, December 2 | 12pm–3pm | $5 admission fee; free to Museum members and visitors 12 years of age and younger. Tickets can be purchased at the Museum.

About the Community Curator:

Artist Statement: https://www.marthafriend.com/about

Learn more about the Community Curator Program.

Martha Friend: Martha Friend was the third child of 7 siblings and was raised in rural New Hampshire before the family moved to suburban Boston. She has lived in Somerville for most of her adult life and has enjoyed several careers, including school bus driver for the city of Boston, wedding and portrait photographer, social worker, and high school ESL teacher. Since retiring from teaching, she has become a full-time artist, calling herself “a found object and assemblage artist.” She and her husband, Ed Smith, have raised three children and for the last 30 years have lovingly restored the large salmon colored Victorian home on Highland Avenue and Sycamore Street that is now heavily decorated with blue glass sculptures and other assemblage art. She travels the world when possible, lived in Bolivia as a volunteer in 2011 with one of her adult daughters, and hopes to live at least another 20 years in order to actualize some of the artistic ideas taking up space in her brain.

 

Funded by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the City of Somerville.