Sense of Place

Exhibition Dates: April 3 to 26, 2026

Location: 460C Harrison Ave, 2C, SOWA, Boston 

ORGANIZATION: Claudia Fiks

Juror: Page Roehrig. Executive Director of the Copley Society of Art, Adjunct Instructor for Merrimack College

Sense of Place brings together a curated group of artists whose works explore the layered relationship between environment, memory, and identity. Presented as part of the lead-up to Newton Open Studios, this exhibition offers a compelling glimpse into the diverse creative voices shaping our community today.

We do not experience place as geography alone. We live inside it—through light that shifts across a room, the rhythm of daily routines, the architecture that frames our movement, and the human interactions that give spaces meaning. Over time, these elements accumulate, forming emotional landscapes that stay with us long after we’ve left a location behind.

The works in this exhibition reflect on that quiet but powerful accumulation. Some evoke familiar streets, interiors, or landscapes, while others move into abstraction, memory, and imagined spaces. Together, they ask us to consider how place is formed not only by where we are, but by how we experience, remember, and carry it.

Featuring a wide range of media—including painting, photography, sculpture, textile, digital, and mixed media—Sense of Place highlights the richness and diversity of contemporary artistic practice within our community. Each piece offers a distinct perspective, yet collectively they create a shared dialogue about belonging, perception, and the subtle ways environments shape who we become.

As part of a broader community-building initiative, this exhibition serves as both a gathering point and a catalyst. It brings artists and audiences together while building momentum toward Newton Open Studios in May—an event that celebrates the vital role artists play in helping us see our surroundings with greater attention, sensitivity, and awareness.

In engaging with these works, we are invited to slow down, to notice more closely, and perhaps to recognize fragments of our own stories reflected back to us

Participating Artists:

Abby Fenn, Alexander Morris, Andrew Comeau, Barbara Johnson, Betsy Waisberg, Charlie Smith, Chelsea Revele, Conor Plunket, Cristy Walsh, Elizabeth Atlas, Elizabeth Ricketson, Garrow Throop, Greg Sandford, Joe Marchesi, Julie Peck , Monique Fuchs, Patti Kelly, Richard Wollman, Rick Hornik, Robin Okun, Tamara Safford, Virgina Fitzerald, Monica Hamilton, Tracy Bull, Katalina Barrera, Dina Doyle, Alissa Williams.