Samantha Fields, Scrambler (in motion)

Back in 1927, Hermann Hesse in Steppenwolf likened the hidden layers of the human personality to an onion: “made up of a hundred integuments, a texture made up of many threads.” “Reveal,” which opens at the New Art Center in Newton September 11, shows five artists who use the idea and/or the physical process of building up and then peeling back multiple layers to draw viewers into their work. Curated by participating artist Kathy A. Halamka, whose real and imaginary pictures of her descendants are revealed through layers of photocopy transfers and charcoal on birch plywood, the show also includes Erica Daborn’s drawings on found book pages, Samantha Fields installations that pull up the rug on domestic objects and spaces, C.J. Lori’s multi-dimensional paintings, and Judith Stone’s multimedia cityscapes.

Born in Boston in 1905, artist Loïs Mailou Jones created works inspired by American, African-American, Caribbean, African, and European designs and themes over her long and prolific career (she died in 1998, age 92), from still lifes and street scenes made in Paris in the 1930s to Haitian portraits and abstracted African-based images. Jones worked in media ranging from textile design to book illustration, and she was an influential teacher of painting and design from 1930 to 1977 at Howard University. “Loïs Mailou Jones: The Early Works, Paintings and Patterns 1927–1937” opens at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts September 15, with textile designs and studies that she created following her graduation from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1927.

Our subjective experience of landscape, whether seen through the window of a speeding train or while trekking through snow, is the focus of Sharon Harper’s photography and video. The landscape, examined — or evoked — in terms of sound, text, and sculpture, has also informed work by artist Helen Mirra. These two artists, both newly appointed professors in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard, share the bill in “Sharon Harper and Helen Mirra” which opens September 11 at the Carpenter Center.

Thanks to the efforts of artist/curator/gallery director Sand T, the arts scene in Malden has flourished in recent years. On September 9, the First Parish in Malden, in collaboration with Sand T, is opening a new exhibition space within the church, the Gallery at Elm Street. The inaugural exhibition, “MALDEN Contemporary,” features work by 22 Malden artists including Pamela Pritzker, YoungSuk Suh, and Hilary Tolan.

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 “Reveal” at New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newtonville | September 11–October 29 | 617.964.3424 | “LoÏs Mailou Jones” at School of the Museum of Fine Arts, 230 the Fenway, Boston | September 15–October 14 | 617.369.3718 | “Sharon Harper and Helen Mirra” at Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, 24 Quincy St, Cambridge | September 11–October 13 | 617.495.3251  | “MALDEN Contemporary” at Gallery at Elm Street, 2 Elm St, Malden | September 9–November 12 | 781.322.047

On the Web
New Art Center: //www.newartcenter.org
School of the Museum of Fine Arts: //www.smfa.edu
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts: //www.ves.fas.harvard.edu
Gallery at Elm Street: //www.malden.ma.uua.org