Skip to main content

Alight on the Rocky Shores Opens in October at UMVA Gallery


 

Portland Maine - Three artists, Judith Greene-Janse, Joanne Tarlin, and Ann Tracy, who have lived across the US and now are relocated to coastal towns in Maine, exhibit paintings and mixed media artwork in "Alight on the Rocky Shores: This is not an exhibition of lighthouses".  The exhibit opens Friday, October 6th with an artists’ reception from 5 to 8 pm at the UMVA Gallery, inside the Portland Media Center, 516 Congress St., Portland, Maine and continue on Fridays (4 to 8 pm) and Saturdays (1 to 4 pm) until October 28, 2023.  An artists’ talk is set for Saturday, Oct 21st at 2 pm.

Kayak under Cliff by Judith Greene-Janse 22 x 16"

Greene-Janse, Tarlin and Tracy have lived along both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans prior to alighting on the Maine’s rocky shores. These artists find sublime qualities in its elements that speak to them personally and universally.  Like a lighthouse providing a safe beacon in the fog, the coast of Maine attracted their attention and guided their creativity to create “landscapes” that encapsulate moments of their lives. When writing about his painting, The Human Condition, a painting of a painting of a landscape in front of a window of the same landscape, the Belgian artist René Magritte wrote:

“… we sometimes remember a past event as being in the present. Time and space lose meaning and our daily experience becomes paramount. This is how we see the world. We see it outside ourselves, and at the same time we only have a representation of it in ourselves.”

Bait, Fish by Joanne Tarlin 36 x 24"


The artists have collaborated to create a mixed media painting (24 x 52”) specifically for this exhibition that intertwines their creative styles and portrays their respective visions of the world. With this project, they hope to portray a beacon of hope and joy anchored in the reality that we have but a short amount of time on this rock.  The collaborative painting will be auctioned off as a silent auction item, with bidders being encouraged to stop by the Portland Media Center all month to check on their bids.  Whomever has the highest bid on October 28th will win the painting.   A portion of the proceeds will benefit UMVA.

Ghost of Prouts Neck by Ann Tracy 20 x 16"


UMVA, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization that promotes and advocates for the visual arts, artists, and all arts supporters.  As artist advocates, the UMVA initiated and saw enacted into state law the Maine Percent for Art Program (requiring a percentage of funds for state buildings to include art) and the Artist's Estate Tax Law (allowing art work to be used to pay artists estate taxes).  

Other programs and projects supported by UMVA include: The Maine Arts Journal, an online, quarterly publication The Journal features essays by and about artists, interviews, UMVA member submissions, poetry, UMVA updates about its current projects, local chapters, and more; ARRT! Artists' Rapid Response Team, a collaboration of artists & progressive groups making art to create positive change; Lumen ARRT!!, a group creating large-scale video projections in public spaces to give a visual voice to progressive non-profits; and the New England Emmy Award-nominated Maine Masters Project, a video series of 19 compelling profiles of some of Maine’s most distinguished and often less recognized artists. There are currently two chapters: Portland and Midcoast.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Balance/Imbalance

  “In Balance/Imbalance” July 3rd to July 29th Reception Friday July 7th 4-8 ‘In Balance/Imbalance at the UMVA Portland Gallery inside the Portland Media Center at 516 Congress Street is a collaboration between the Maine Arts Journal and the Union of Maine Visual Artists Portland Gallery.  Over thirty UMVA artists works will be displayed. The artists have interpreted the theme in multiple mediums. All the works are accompanied by text explaining their interpretation. All of the works displayed will be in the Summer edition of the Maine Arts Journal where the concept of how we see our world as “In Balance and “Imbalanced” is furthered explored. Hours The Portland Media Center 10-5 Monday-Thursday Gallery hours with artist docents are scheduled: Friday 4-8 Saturday 1-4 Sunday 2-5* these hours are by chance due to PMC filming schedule
Post a Comment
Read more

Love/Rage: Goddess

A virtual show at the UMVA Gallery Co-curated by Ann Tracy and Christine Sullivan This show, originally scheduled for May of 2020, was cancelled on the brink of the pandemic. All of the submissions were in, and we were making plans for the First Friday Reception, always a treat but even more so in warm spring weather! Social upheaval was front and center in 2020. In many circumstances, the clashes already inherent in our culture were amped up to devastation. We were forcibly reminded that the economic fallout of the pandemic is disproportionately endured by women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ . BUT, the Goddess always rises, and we looked at the 2021 vision of the show with new eyes. In response, we modified our original call for submissions, and invited artists to show us the Goddess “however you perceive her.”   We are beyond thrilled by the response – this show displays an amazing range of gifts and perspectives from artists in many media. For a glimpse of their thoughts, I i
Post a Comment
Read more

Sheltered in Place - a Pandemic Art Show

The Covid pandemic reshapes our lives. It continues to strip down our existence, separating us from loved ones and exposing weaknesses in our system of governance and our political leadership. It demonstrates the devastating impact of the nation's grave social injustices. Systemic racism and socioeconomic disparity put oppressed peoples at greater risk for Covid-19. Then, on May 25, as many of us bunkered inside our homes, we witnessed the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd. This videotaped tragedy and the eruption of Black Lives Matter protests across the nation revealed the depth and breadth of racism in America. It is a contagion every bit as present and virulent as the coronavirus. In the face of both existential challenges – pandemic and racism – we can only recover through radical social change. The images and words of UMVA artists in this online exhibition surface from the isolation and compression of life in the pandemic. The works express personal and universa
Post a Comment
Read more