Fall River Makes!
Director's Notes:
Smokestack Studios is a collective of artists who work in Fall River’s historic Metacomet Mill. Situated above the Quequechan River, Metacomet Mill, built in 1847, is Fall River’s oldest standing textile mill. The studio was established in 2007 and has housed numerous artists, artisans, filmmakers, photographers, and woodworkers over the years who work in a variety of materials and styles.
Smokestack is also a collaborative space with individual studios that open onto shared working and communal spaces such as a wood-shop, metal-shop, spray booth, and kitchen. The building houses a beautiful exhibition space, and this is where I first saw some of the work its inhabitants produce.
Clockwise from Upper Left:
Gabe Richardson, Art in the Age of Environmental Uncertainty, Hand printed laser cut woodblock on Agawami Mulberry paper, mounted on Hahnemüle Copperplate, 10 1/4” x 11” 3/4”
Christine Kim, Covid Suit, DETAIL, Mixed media
Wu Hanyen, Work in Use Movement Tools
Wes Sanders, Golden Hour 1, Acrylic on raw denim, pine, LEDs 27” x 16” x 3.5”
Clockwise from Upper Left:
David Richardson, Table Top, Various woods
Ayumi Kodama, Artifact Lamp, Sand-cast glass, copper
Mark Bokelman, Tool Chest, Cherry, BioShield Oil Finish
Tyler Inman, DETAIL, Raptor Armature (with and without fossil), Steel, paint
Joyce Kutty, Vessels, Beaten copper
The exhibition’s title, Fall River Makes!, is an ode to the legacy of Fall River as a manufacturing city. It is still a city of mills, and many have been converted into housing, light manufacturing, and commercial businesses. Smokestack is an example of the wonderful potential that resides in the city, and its transformation into a dynamic arts community is integral to the renewed commitment by Fall River to reimagine itself as a beacon for the arts.
That’s why Smokestack is so important. It is a cornerstone of the arts sector and is significant to the cultural and historical revitalization of downtown Fall River.
—Kathleen Hancock
Isabel Mattia, Still from the 2018 video Lost Poem: Burning, Porcelain, paper, glass, graphite,
sharpie, ink, and copper
