Visit Arlington Center for the Arts' Shaira Ali Gallery through March 27, 2024 for their newest exhibition Translucent | Opaque, curated by Marjorie Glick and Vicki Paret. Translucent | Opaque showcases watercolors and gouaches by contemporary artists across the Greater Boston area to reinvigorate conversations around the mediums’ evolutions and applications. These water-based painting techniques date back to antiquity, yet are alive and given new life through the perspectives and approaches of these artists of today. Watercolor, consisting of pigment particles and gum arabic dissolved in water, dries to create a luminous, layered effect due to its transparency. With gouache, watercolor is blended with white fillers to create an opaque paint that dries on surfaces with a matte finish. The somewhat challenging and unpredictable nature of these mediums challenges calculation and promotes spontaneity- qualities that elevate the individual expression of the artists mastering them.

Arlington Center for the Arts has a long history of celebrated watercolor and gouache artists, classes, and teachers that incubate both creativity and community. Translucent | Opaque not only champions the artists already engaged at our art center, but also invites those working in the mediums of gouache and watercolor to join. The works on display demonstrate mastery of the medium, creating balanced compositions with thoughtful application of color theory.