THREE MONTHS TO GO until the end of our 2022 Exhibition Season. You still have time to see “Surroundings,” the four-person show interpreting what our Maine artists see in the world around them. The paintings of Liz Hoag, Justine Lasdin-Springer, and Paige Taylor are complemented by the sculptures of Lin Lisberger. “Surroundings” is available for viewing during regular gallery hours, Wednesday – Saturday from 11am – 4pm, until it closes on Saturday, August 13th, to make way for our fifth exhibition.

 

“COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION” features SEVEN, an artists’ collective. Its members, Emily Blaschke, Jenny Campbell, Alicia Sampson Ethridge, Celeste June Henriquez, Doreen Nardone, Brenda Overstrom, Donald M. Peterson, and their mentor Michel Droge, explore the perceptions that abstraction affords them. The title COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION gives a nod to the Jungian creative unconscious that informs abstract interpretations. An opening reception on Saturday, August 20th, from 4pm – 7 pm during Wiscasset’s Schoonerfest weekend features refreshments and music by the Simons and Goodwin duo. The exhibit will run during regular gallery hours through September 17th.

 

TALK THE WALK on Thursday, August 25th, when SEVEN presents an Artist Talk at 4pm at the Gallery just prior to Wiscasset’s Art Walk. Kick-off your Art Walk evening with MAG’s first “Perspectives and Prosecco” presentation by our featured artists. You may gain new insights on what does, or does not, go on in the mind and messaging of an abstract painter. 

 

WATCH FOR ART NEW ENGLAND review of COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION by Carl Little in the September/October issue.

 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for our season’s final exhibit when Maine Art Gallery members strut their stuff for Made in Maine, our annual members show, with an opening reception Saturday, September 24th, from 4pm – 7pm, accompanied by guitar soloist Lisa Redfern. There will be an encore reception during Wiscasset Art Walk on Thursday, September 29th. This show runs during regular gallery hours, Wed to Sat, 11am to 4pm, through October 22nd.

 

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THOSE WERE THE WEEKS THAT WERE. May, June, and July saw MAG’s first three exhibits, Spindleworks, Juried Members Show, and Paint Wiscasset display scores of Maine art. Spindleworks artists exhibited the special talents of its uniquely-abled creators in all forms of media. The energized opening struck a vibe that lasted through the following weeks of the show.

 

MARK COATES ORGANIZED AND SAM CADY evaluated entries in our revived annual Juried Members Show. More than 50 Maine Art Gallery members demonstrated once again that talented Maine artists continue to find voice and vision in our state.

 

PAINT WISCASSET, organized by MAG’s own Celia Ludwig, included three days of outdoor activity by 23 talented painters whose abilities to capture shadow, light, and color around the Prettiest Village in Maine. We are in awe of the way they deftly meld impression and dexterity to express their artistry with immediacy and individuality.

 

Roberta Goschke’s Storybook Corner, the People’s Choice winner, was also cited as our juror’s top selection. Mark Coates pointed out the ways in which she mastered those elusive whites that often characterize Wiscasset architecture. Anthony Watkins and Michael Vermette received special mention for their ability to bring vibrancy to classic Maine views with distinctly different approaches.

 

MANY THANKS TO SEASON SPONSORS Sherri Dunbar of Tim Dunham Realty, Les Fossel Restoration Resources, and the Maine Arts Commission, whose support assures us that we can weather the challenges of mounting our full Season.

 

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MAG SPONSORED CLASSES SOLD OUT. Each of our five sponsored art classes have been fully booked. Many thanks to the excellent programming and instruction of our teaching artists: Diane Dubreuil, Deborah Chapin, Deena Ball, Karen Jelenfy, and Olga Merrill. A shout-out also goes to our Classes Season Sponsor, Cromwell Coastal Properties, and the Maine Arts Commission for their support.

 

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APRIL’S BIG DIG around the Old Academy Building, the gallery's home since 1958, nearly scuttled season opening plans, but the professional efforts of contractor, Justin Leeman and Son, of Palermo, ME, brought the project in on time. Furthermore, it saved the 1807 building’s foundation from additional water damage and set up MAG’s new 20-year lease with the town for future renovation and improvements literally from the ground up! MAG sends a big THANK YOU to the Davis Foundation for their generous grant of $15,000 for the undertaking, which was further funded by your donations to MAG’s annual appeal. Wiscasset Public Works has also been a steadfast supporter of gallery improvements.

 

WISCASSET SELECT BOARD APPROVAL of a new 20-year lease of the Old Academy Building to MAG on May 3rd concluded an almost yearlong effort by the town and the MAG board to assure the gallery a dedicated residency which will preserve this early 19th century school as a 21st century venue for artistic expression and education.

 

RECENT ADDITIONS to the MAG Board of Trustees are John Sawyer and Maria Jimena Guzman. John is a former Colby College art history and philosophy major who has returned to Wiscasset to pursue his art after a career as a controller at several manufacturing companies in South Carolina and Georgia. Maria, a professional architect whose graduate studies focused on film and architectural design, was raised in Bogota, Colombia. She practiced architecture in New York City before moving to Bath, ME, in 2020.