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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.

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