Trashy art in Maynard

Work by Mary Mooney, in the show “Out of the Box,’’ at ArtSpace Maynard (Mass.) through April 18.

The gallery says:

“ArtSpace Maynard artists challenged each other to create art from collections of trash and treasure that were boxed and re-distributed to participating artists at random. This challenge has brought artists in this community together to commiserate and encouraged them to step into entirely new territory with their work.’’

Maynard is located on the Assabet River, a tributary of the Concord River. A large part of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge is within the town.[2]

Historic downtown Maynard, above, hosts many shops, restaurants, galleries, a movie theater, and the former Assabet Woolen Mill, which produced wool fabrics from 1846 to 1950, including cloth for Union Army uniforms during the Civil War. Maynard was the headquarters for Digital Equipment Corporation, one of the first big computer companies, from 1957 to 1998.

Kayak and canoe launch dock at Ice House Landing, on the Assabet River, Maynard.

Tradition vs. modernity

From "Tradition and Irreverence: Exploring the American Diaspora,'' Nathan Clark Bentley's show through Feb. 23 at ArtSpace Maynard, in Maynard, Mass. The show looks  at American culture through symbols and language. The gallery says that Bentley's work "is robust with color and purpose. The paintings show the dichotomy between tradition and modernity present in America's urban landscape and try to find the places where the two connect.''

Of course, the images recall the power, offensiveness and sometimes quirky charm of the graffiti that bedevils many cities.

Downtown Maynard. The old mill town turns out to be quite arty and there's some nice countryside in the town, about 20 miles west of Boston. Thoreau wrote about a walk he took there in 1851.