Artscope
November/December 2026
By Laura Shabott· Thursday, November 5th, 2026
Barbara Cohen, Summer's End: Series, RED, 2026, oil on sailcloth on board, 10" x 10". Photo courtesy of the artist.
We are here with the vibrant and talented Nika Feldman, artist and manager of a new gallery with a historic name: Tillies Art & Provisions at 512 Commercial Street in Provincetown.
“Barbara Cohen, one of Tillies' two curators, had invited me to exhibit in the first show,” Feldman said, explaining how she found the position. “I really resonated with a gallery of artists supporting artists.”
Feldman also resonated with owner Thomas Biggert, who remembered that “I had met Nika and thought she had the right personality, the right background and the right look (for the gallery). She's an upbeat person and I really appreciate that.”512 Commercial Street, now owned and lovingly preserved by Biggert, noted, “I always thought it was a gem in the rough. The first floor had horrible, heavy red drapes hanging forever and it looked deserted. Hidden inside was this beautiful space built in 1850 as a store, with a two-bedroom apartment above where the proprietor would've lived.
“The generous huge windows are what drew me. Other than a little paint, this is what it looked like in 1850. We didn't do anything to those floors, and they have seen 175 years' worth of traffic, and that's special too,” Biggert said.
David Dunlap, author of “Building Provincetown,” wrote, “The original Tillies Store [was] run by Matilda ‘Tillie’ Jason and husband John ‘Johnny’ Jason, a neighborhood institution in the East End in the decades after World War II.”
Biggert added, “It was a store two doors down but it's such a great name and I love the nod to nostalgia, to history. It's a friendly name so that's what we want here, to have a community-based space focused around art and specifically in this neighborhood, the Upper East End.”
Artist and curator Cohen has been a part of Tillies Art & Provisions since the beginning. “Thom and I have been friends for a long time. He brought me to see the inside of the building and asked me if I wanted to have a show and would I help him,” said Cohen, who responded, “Thom, I will do whatever you need.”
“So, I created the idea of a 17-person show,” Cohen explained. “Realizing I couldn't do it myself, I asked Donna Pomponio to team up with the curation and installation. I also added Parker and Honky Tonk Seance to play at the opening. It was a great feeling.”
Reed Clapp, Donna Pomponio with pup Vinny, Nika Feldman, Elspeth Slayter, Barbara Cohen, and Thomas Biggert with dog Ryder at Tillies Art and Provisions. Photograph courtesy of Sail Loft Art Collective.
Pomponio, now the second curator at Tillies, recalled, “I got an intriguing call one night from Barbara, inviting me to work together curating a new art gallery Thom was creating on the upper east end of town.
“The idea was to bring a bohemian flavor back to the gallery scene with entertainment, readings and eventually a café. I had been curating and hanging quite a number of shows for friends and different art groups I belonged to, in addition to having had three consecutive shows of my own, so it seemed a no brainer.”
As this article was being written, Tillies fourth exhibition, a melding of all things Provincetown, featured a 130-member community called the Sail Loft Art Collective. The anagram, SLAC, is an oxymoron for this turbo-charged collective fostering camaraderie, support and networking for women and non-binary artists on Outer Cape Cod.
Elspeth Slayter, facilitator of SLAC said, “We reimagined the historic 1916 Sail Loft Club — originally formed when women were excluded from local men's art groups. SLAC honors that legacy by centering historically underrepresented gender identities.
“By cultivating an inclusive space, the Collective actively challenges gender disparities and celebrates the vital contributions of diverse voices within the region's artistic tapestry.”
The SLAC opening was legendary, with 70 artworks on view, and a new all woman band, Honky Tonk Seance debuting to a crowd of 300 people as part of Provincetown's Friday Night Gallery Stroll.
Cohen will have her own solo exhibition, “Summer's End: RED,” beginning with a reception on Friday, November 20 from 6-8 p.m. and remaining on view through Thanksgiving Week at Tillies. In collaboration with her curator, Susie Nielsen of Farm Projects. Alongside a stunning body of Cohen's work curated by Nielsen will be a communal Thanksgiving dinner with a turkey and fixings from Liz Lovati's Angel Foods and potluck goodies joined by music by Ken Field and Sue Goldberg.
The color Red is front and center in its passionate chroma in these oil on sailcloth abstracted works that show Cohen's mastery of color in her “Summer's End: RED” series.
The work vibrates like the last days of summer, when we know the heat is fleeting but want to believe the long warm days will last forever.
A second series, “Showing Up,” shows Cohen's fearless use of the brush breaking all the rules of constraint. These works are alive, with the breath of this artist infused into the paintings.
Biggert was married to longtime husband Chris Pula who passed away a year and a half ago. “He would've loved this,” Biggert said. “Chris really, really supported me. He loved the preservation aspect of what I did; would've been here every day working in the gallery talking to people. Chris was one of those people who talked to everyone.”
A robust late fall and early winter schedule puts Tillies Art and Provisions firmly on the Provincetown Gallery scene. We expect great things to come and wish them every success.
Tillies Art & Provisions is currently open Thursday and Friday from 4-8 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, from noon-5 p.m.; opening receptions are held on Friday from 6-8 p.m. For more information, visit tillies512.com.
