Rose opens new shows

The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University has struggled to get exhibitions up ever since the university administration threatened to close the museum and sell off its collection. The plug was pulled on two shows organized by the museum under its new, post-Michael Rush administration, led by Roy Dawes. The artists featured in the first show - Eric Fischl, April Gornik and Bill Viola - pulled out when their demand to have a written guarantee from the university that it would not sell the Rose's art was not met. Pop artist James Rosenquist stepped up as a replacement, only to pull out later. He said he was preoccupied with more pressing concerns after a fire destroyed much of his studio. The Rose has scrambled to put together alternative exhibitions, and tonight they open two shows drawn from the permanent collection. The first, "Waterways," will explore the theme of water in works by John Marin, Milton Avery, Fairfield Porter, Alfredo Jaar, Annette Lemieux and Sally Mann. The centerpiece will be a video by the seemingly ubiquitous William Kentridge, called "Tide Table" (a Kentridge show has just opened at MassArt's Bakalar Gallery). The second show, "Regarding Painting" will take a look at the different things artists do with paint. Neither sounds fantastically compelling on paper, but any signs of life at the Rose Art Museum are heartening.