Tom Frick
The Massachusetts review editor for Art New England, he began reviewing shows for the prestigious Art in America about a year ago. Since then, he has gained a reputation as Boston's brightest reviewer and something of a cut following among artists and museum curators. (Honorable mention to Nancy Stapen, whose reviews in the Herald have raised the profile of the local arts scene.)
Graham Gund's Private Collection at the Gund Gallery, in the West Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Francesca Woodman's Photographic Works at the Wellesley College Art Museum
An astonishingly mature and profound exploration of female identity from a young artist who committed suicide at the age of 22.
Lisa Rigby Photography
Every wedding has its own unique story. And Lisa Rigby, with backgrounds in professional writing and art history, knows just how to tell it. Her work has a cinematic quality that transcends traditional documentary-style photography, capturing expressions full of emotion and maximizing the scenery, whether it's your parents' lush backyard or the Museum of Fine Arts at 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve. lisarigbyphotography.com.
"More Than Minimalism: Feminism and Abstraction in the '70s"
Edited by curator Susan Stoops, the catalog for this fascinating show at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University is lucid and informative, with essays and quotes from scholars and women artists.
Taylor Davis
There's a good reason Museum School grad and MassArt prof Taylor Davis captured the ICA's Artist Prize: her minimalist plywood installations deconstruct spaces and myriad truths with beautiful simplicity.
Boston Frame
Greg Mencoff custom mills every frame in his South End studio. The low rent keeps prices down, much to the happiness of local artists, sculptors (who love Mencoff's expertise in Plexiglas and wood construction), interior designers, and the Museum of Fine Arts. 450 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA .
Fuller Craft Museum
Don't let the name fool you: This Brockton institution isn't a musty warehouse of old quilts and wooden shoes. It's instead a showcase for contemporary handmade objets d'art, a place where sublime ceramics made at East Cambridge's Clay Dragon Studios sit beside burnished-aluminum mobiles inspired by the myth of Icarus. Later this year, the museum will unveil an intricate, kaleidoscopic survey of enamel art from the 1920s to the present day, and, most eye-catching of all, artist Stan Munro's massive replicas of such architectural wonders as the Taj Mahal and the White House—rendered entirely in toothpicks. 455 Oak St., Brockton, MA 02301, fullercraft.org.
Gift at the Gardner
Unveiled as part of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's new wing in January, this shop's jewelry, housewares, books, and children's items are crafted by artists from all over the world. Plans are also in the works to sell prints of artworks. 280 Fenway, Boston, MA 2115, gardnermuseum.org.
The Boston Children's Museum
Why choose a theme for your child's birthday party when she can have it all? Bashes at the Boston Children's Museum come with daylong admission, so guests can have a ball in the art studio, the land of the dinosaurs, and everywhere in between. 308 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210, bostonchildrensmuseum.org.
House of Blues
Live gospel music in a mini-museum of folk art, and a Southern-style buffet that includes eggs, fried catfish, breakfast meats, biscuits, fruit salad, and bread pudding. It's a revival meeting cum dining experience that simultaneously satisfies body and soul. 96 Winthrop St., Cambridge, MA .
Peabody Essex Museum
Even if the proceeds didn't benefit Asian-art mecca the Peabody Essex Museum, we'd still spend like drunken Qing-dynasty mandarins here. There are all-occasion gifts like Mariposa salad bowls alongside Far East-inspired finds both reverent (addictively collectible netsukes) and less so (pop-art trays printed with a bespectacled Pu Yi). Each new exhibit brings fresh goodies: Look for quirky jewelry and clothing to arrive this fall with 'Rare Bird of Fashion,' showcasing style icon Iris Apfel. 161 Essex St., Salem, MA 1970, pem.org.
Merrimack Valley Textile Museum and Museum of Our National Heritage
Two sleepers. 800 Massachusetts Ave., North Andover and 33 Marrett Rd., Lexington, MA .
Museum of Science
After a major sprucing up, the Museum of Science is hosting innovative, hands-on exhibits. Strong on computers. Science Park, Boston, MA .
The Frame Gallery
Who better to create a home for your beloved artwork than the team that’s framed masterpieces for the MFA and the Gardner Museum? For almost four decades, the Frame Gallery has been putting paintings, photographs, and even sports memorabilia in everything from shadow boxes to custom gold-leafed masterpieces that are works of art in their own right. Plus, they can give that antique Victorian frame passed down through your family for generations a little TLC, too. 357 Boylston St., Brookline, MA 02445, theframegalleryboston.com.