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Seasonal Scenes: The Beauty of Rural Maine
May 8, 2015 – September 10, 2015
$1 – $3
"Watson Pond", by Matt Russ.
The L.C. Bates Museum is proud to announce its new exhibition Seasonal Scenes: The Beauty of Rural Maine, opening on May 8, 2015. The exhibition will run through September 10, 2015.
The show, the result of a collaborative effort between the L.C. Bates Museum staff and two Colby College students, Sophia Ozburn and Leah Bilodeau under the supervision of Professor Véronique Plesch, aims to explore the beauty of Maine’s seasons and the many ways artists have responded to it. The exhibit comprises a variety of works, among which are the oil landscapes of Lois Dodd and Matt Russ and photographs by Shoshannah White.
The exhibition gives visitors a broad perspective of how artists view and portray nature. According to Matt Russ, “Direct observation is the key to my work. As a landscape painter, this means working outdoors in all seasons and in any weather.”
Other works in the show mirror Russ’s mentality by depicting the variety of weather associated with each season and emphasizing their continual transition. Kristin Malin highlights this ever-changing quality of the seasons in her artwork, stating, “The immediacy of painting from nature, its elements changing with time, is an effort to capture the dynamics of fleeting moments.”
A number of the artists depict nature in a highly abstract way. Rachel Eastman is among these artists and claims, “My aim is to elude the literal to render nature as felt, walked through, breathed in, and condensed.”
While a majority of the artists depict untouched scenes of nature, painter Lois Dodd chooses to explore the harmonious relationship between nature and human development. This combination of diverse media with varying artistic approaches creates a well-rounded and enrapturing show.
The museum is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 4:30 PM; Sunday, 1 PM to 4:30 PM; and at other times by appointment or by chance. Admission costs $3 for adults and $1 for children. This exhibition is made possible through support from the Maine Community Foundation Arts Expansion Fund.