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Abstract Photography

 Abstract Photograpy

A nine-artist exhibit presented by the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA) featuring: Jim Kelly, Ann Tracy, John Ripton, Dave Wade, Mark Barnette, CE Morse, Lesley MacVane, Greg Mason Burns, and Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest. Curated by Greg Mason Burns.

For this exhibit, abstract photography is defined as digitally or otherwise manipulated such that the subject is obscured enough to not be considered realist or documentary photography, for example. Photography outside the “realist” or “object” world, so to speak.

To learn more about the UMVA and to join, please visit out website at TheUMVA.org. If you would like to purchase a piece from this exhibit, please contact the artist first. Alternatively, you can email Greg Mason Burns at gmburns@gregmasonburns.com and he will inform the artist of your interest.

Mark Barnette

Website
Instagram
Photography is my preferred method for skirting despair. Beauty without sentimentality is a primary goal of all my work.

Humans probably do not deserve to survive whatever combination of events will end the Anthropocene. But I believe a record of how the world looked as we approached those events is important. It’s also important that among the record-keepers are people who have sincerely loved the world and who recognize the horrific violence done to it. 

 

John Cove - Inkjet Print on Cotton Rag - 12 x 15.25 - Unframed - $150

 

Crescent Beach - Inkjet Print on Cotton Rag - 12 x 15.25 - unframed - $150


Ferry Beach - Inkjet Print and Oil Crayon on Cotton Rag - 18 x 11.5 - Unframed -  $200

 

Crescent Beach #2 - Inkjet Print on Cotton Rag - 12 x 15.25 - unframed - $150

Greg Mason Burns

This series of work uses art techniques and re-purposes them into other art techniques in order to re-direct the original message. As a part of my Reception Theory project, this series is meant to show how simply one message can be re-purposed to mean something different.

If an oil painting elicits a specific feeling or emotion, then it stands to reason that a photo will also elicit a specific feeling or emotion. However, it has been noted that certain types of art elicited specific behaviors when compared to other types of art. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the oil painting and the photo elicit different responses, even if the subject matter is the same.

 

 

 

Manipulation #4 - Photography on Archival Paper - 2020 - 21" x 31" - Framed - $690 - Unframed - $175

Manipulation #5 Self-Portrait - Photography on Archival Paper - 2020 - 21" x 31" - Framed - $690 - Unframed - $175

Blur #4 - Photography on Archival Paper - 2020 - 21" x 28" - Framed - $670 - Unframed - $175

Manipulation #3 - Photography on Archival Paper - 2020 - 21" x 31" - Framed - $690 - Unframed - $175

Jim Kelly

My pieces are essentially mixed media that explore the edges and intersections of painting and photography. The abstract images reflect my interest in combining the two mediums-photographic information with the immediacy and intensity of paint. The recorded surface of the photo is infused with color and form that creates tensions and visual uncertainties between the various elements and layers of the photograph. 

Technically I create inkjet prints on uncoated Stonehenge paper (50x38). I intentionally leave borders within the overall print that I then utilize as a paintable space that extends and expands both the literal and metaphoric dimensions of the photograph. This process generates fluctuating surfaces and multiple points of view. 

 

 

Pressure Drop - Mixed Media -38 x 50 -2019 -Unframed - $650

Not Easy - Mixed Media -50 x 38 - 2020 -Unframed - $650

Ghosting Kelso - Mixed Media - 38 x 50 - 2020 -Unframed - $650

Spot On - Mixed Media - 50 x 38 -2020 -Unframed - $650

Lesley MacVane

The photographs I have submitted for this show are from my series, “My Isolation Has Wrapped My Home In A Cloud Of Memories”.


Being alone for much of 2020, I have turned to the time spent in my house for comfort and to re-engage with my past. I have not spent so much time in my house, mostly alone, ever!


Everything in my house has personal meaning, nothing is just randomly there. Each piece of furniture, picture, book, knickknack, has a connection to a memory. The whole has become a collage to my personal history. It has become my womb during this time of isolation.


My photographs are an attempt to capture some of the emotions that these memories provoke. These remembrances bring forth feelings of melancholy, joy, warmth, and sadness. They are a memoir of a life.


 I feel fortunate to have been able to wrap myself in this cloud of sentiment and embrace it.


Memories 1 - Photo on Archival Paper - 8 x 11 - 2020 - $200

Memories 3 - Photo on Archival Paper - 11 x 8 - 2020 - $200

 

Memories 2 - Photo on Archival Paper - 8 x 11 - 2020 - $200

Memories 4 - Photo on Archival Paper - 11 x 8 - 2020 - $200

John Ripton

I've always considered abstract art evocative of deeper states of emotion and perception. Being generally non-figurative, or at least more abstract than figurative, it challenges viewers to move beyond concrete reality. Abstract art may be dismissed as cold and intellectual, perhaps because it does not reflect preconceived notions of beauty and life. Colors and shapes, lines and planes conjure experiences more akin to spirits and feelings than to the norms of conventional aesthetic values.

If you are interested in this work, you may contact me directly at this email address: jartphotos@gmail.com. I will promptly return your inquiry. Please feel free to ask for other examples of my “abstract” photographic images.

 

 
Untitled 4 - Photography on Archival Paper - 12 x 18 - 2020 - Framed - $225 - Unframed - $125

Untitled 3 - Photography on Archival Paper - 12 x 18 - 2016 - Framed - $225 - Unframed - $125
Untitled 1 - Photography on Archival Paper - 12 x 18 - 2020 - Framed - $225 - Unframed - $125

Untitled 2 - Photography on Archival Paper - 12 x 18 - 2017 - Framed - $225 - Unframed - $125

Ann Tracy

Ann Tracy (°1951, Waltham MA, United States) is an artist who works in a variety of media including installation, digital art, photography, painting, encaustics, video and theatre (actor, director, playwright).  She is a native New Englander who grew up in Fryeburg and Cape Neddick before her family moved south to Massachusetts and then west to Colorado in 1969.  After decades of living in Colorado, Wisconsin and California, Tracy calls Falmouth, Maine home with her husband, two dogs and cat.  She is a member of the Union of Maine Artists, Professional Women Photographers, Monotype Guild of New England, ands the Digital Arts Guild.  Tracy's studio is located within Open Concepts Studios in Portland Maine. 
 
Her  fine art has been exhibited from Japan to Maui to New York City to Spain and Budapest, Hungary.  She was a 2014, 2015 and 2016 finalist in the Julia Margaret Cameron Photography Competitions.


 

The Magic of Science - Limited Edition Archival Paper - 16 x 20 -2021 - $200

Joy of Primary Color - Limited Edition Archival Paper - 20 x 16 - 2020 - $175

Mathscape Fantasy - Limited Edition Archival Paper- 16 x 20 - 2021 - $175

Dancing in the Dark - Limited Edition Archival Paper - 16 x 20 - 2015 - $150

Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest


A Pownal Maine resident for over 30 years, Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest is a fine arts photographer. He studied photography at the Portland School of Art and at the Maine Photographic Workshops.
The majority of his work can be classified at Street/Documentary photography and Portrait photography. His work has been publicized in many magazines and books. He has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. In 2009 he co-authored the book:"New Mainers, Portraits of our Immigrant Neighbors", published by Tilbury House Publishers.
In these "Abstract" photographs he reduces realistic compositions into basic essentials of line, form and color, sometimes supplementing and overlaying them with random line and shapes.

 
Abstract 3 - Inkjet Print -22 x 28 - 2020 - $750

Abstract 4 - Inkjet Print -22 x 28 - 2020 - $750
Abstract 2 - Inkjet Print -22 x 28 - 2020 - $750

Abstract 1 - Inkjet Print -22 x 28 - 2020 - $750

Dave Wade

Taking and making photographs is always an exploration for me, either first on contact or later in interpretation. 
Abstractions always offered a little more escape and play…Two (the vertical and more structural) ) of my abstractions are old school, made in camera as double exposures and then realized in Photoshop.. The other two (more landscape than architecture)were shot in nature and then digitally modified and reinterpreted in Photoshop. No live animals were used in these experiments, and I had fun…

 

 
Tokyo - Pigment Print - 9 x 12 - $300


Pigment Print - 11 x 10 - 2019 - $300
Floor Plan - Pigment Print - 11 x 13 - $350

Cold Dip - Pigment Print - 20x16 - 2017 - $500

CE Morse

I am a photographer inspired by color, texture, patterns, composition and patina.  Growing up a classic car enthusiast, I spent a lot of time in vintage salvage yards where I discovered incredible visual elements that inspired me the same way as did the great abstract painters; it changed my perspective; I traded in my toolbox for a camera. 

I now hunt for this wild art; created by man, embellished by chance and patinated by nature.

 

Lancaster #13 - Archival Pigment on Paper - 23 x 15 (paper size 24 x 16) - Print only: $550.00

Jonesport #596 - Archival Pigment on Paper - 23 x 15 (paper size 24 x 16) - Print only: $550.00

 

Waterville #138 - Archival Pigment on Paper - 23 x 15 (paper size 24 x 16) -  Print only: $550.00

Jonesport #626 - Archival Pigment on Paper - 23 x 15 (paper size 24 x 16) - Print only: $550.00

 

 

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Location: 516 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101, USA

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