Five paintings hang on the back wall of the Concord coffee shop Brothers’ Cortado, right above a sitting area complete with two lamps, a couch, an end table, and a chair. The whole corner belongs to Dunbarton artist Joe Square’s newest installation: “We Are Always Saying Goodbye.”

Each of the paintings holds a story, and each story contains a choice. Connected to an iPad with buttons to select different pieces of art, the exhibit takes viewers on a journey, one that alters the lighting beside the paintings based on the story choices the viewer makes.

“The subject matter is that moment of stillness when we experience an ending,” Square said. “And I find twilight in winter to be perfect symbolism. These figures exist in winter and at twilight. It’s that threshold for something ending and something beginning.”

This installation invites viewers to consider the idea of change being inevitable, begging questions such as how we experience change, what we mourn, what we look forward to, and what we accept, Square said. He believes good art tells a story, which is just what he set out to do.

“A mission of my art is to bring some magic into the art experience through technology, so visitors can use their phones to give the subjects in the painting a ‘gift’ to aid them in their moment of change,” he said. “Giving the ‘gifts’ changes the lights in the room for about 30 seconds and then it resets.”

The installation came to Brothers’ Cortado on Feb. 23 and will remain in place for several months. Opened three years ago by brothers Chuck and Ian Nemiccolo, the coffee shop prides itself on providing a home for local art.

“My vision always, since I wanted to open a cafe, was to have a place be an outlet for creativity, artwork,” said Chuck Nemiccolo, who curates the cafe’s art and music. “We want this to be a place where people feel safe and they’re surrounded by art that can reflect that.”

The front room of the business located in Bicentennial Square, aims for a cozy vibe and displays work by James O’Brien and Saad Hindal. The back room takes on a more “eclectic” and “self-expressive” feel, according to Nemiccolo, who started a community art wall that he hopes to grow over time. Square’s installation, also in the back room, includes the five paintings available for purchase. Brothers’ Cortado will begin selling prints of Square’s work.

“That’s my vision, cozy and chaos,” Nemiccolo said. “Back here, I want a little counter-culture, or pop art, something eye-catching or colorful, that doesn't have to fit the mosaic. When I was helping Square put up this art, we collaborated on the placing of these pieces as being almost, to those perfectionists, off-putting.”

Both Nemiccolo and Square hope coffee shop goers will take time to check out the installation and participate in the interactive component. Square wants each person to find their own individual source of connection to his work.

“Change is constant but we only feel it when we’re not ready for it,” he added. “Every day things shift but we don’t breathe only little change, only when it feels like we’ve lost something. We’re always saying goodbye in some way, whether it’s a phase of life, a version of ourselves, or just the way things were. But not every goodbye is sad and really depends on the meaning we ascribe to it.”

For more information on Joe Square’s work, visit oleander-tuna-8szt.squarespace.com. To see “We Are Always Saying Goodbye,” check out Brothers’ Cortado, located at 3-5 Bicentennial Square in Concord.

 

Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com