Jeff Fitzgerald
Isak Dinesen proclaimed that “the cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.” And there is indeed something truly mystical and palliative about the ocean. For those of us who are lucky enough to reside near the sea, its negative ions are virtual cure-alls for every sort of emotional ailment, while its astounding beauty and mercurial nature are what keep us captivated year after year, season after season.
York, Maine artist Jeff Fitzgerald, through his azure and heliotrope waves and craggy, magical landscapes, renders the endless mutability of the sun, the sky, the rancorous water, and shifting land. We’re so thrilled to present his latest and greatest collection of land and seascapes for the month of May - this is his second solo show with us and is not to be missed!
Opening:
5/4/12
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Jennifer Judd-McGee: Reverie
Jennifer Judd-McGee’s second solo show at Nahcotta, REVERIE, will be on display from November 30th through December 31st. REVERIE, in the words of the artist herself, “is about joy and hopefulness and strengthening, about finding that dreamy place where beauty and calm is found in the tiniest unexpected details.”
As she explores the coast of Maine, Judd-McGee chronicles her visual experience with a macro lens, simultaneously softening and focusing the gaze and what is captured. With a collection of this resource material, she’s galvanized to create her work of meticulously cut paper, mixed media, and paper and ink. Much of this colorful, gorgeous REVERIE work is repetitive patterns - rows of leaves, pods, flowers, metal findings, beach stones. And while Judd-McGee adapts to her recently diagnosed chronic illness, her art, in turn, adapts and evolves. “Since making my work feels akin to breathing, I find myself seeking a state of reverie as often as possible”, she explains.
Jennifer Judd-McGee’s work has been shown in galleries across the US, in England and Canada, and included in several books, such as Old School, Jen-11, The Handmade Marketplace, and Creative Inc. She is a regular illustrator for Maine Magazine, and has done illustration for Target, P+B Textiles, I-Pop, The Art Group Modern Twist, Timberland, Georgia Pacific, Land of Nod, and the MTA Arts for Transit Program in New York City. She lives and works in Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Opening:
Friday, December 2, 5-8pm
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Rose Umerlik: Histories
Abstract artist Rose Umerlik’s most recent collection of oil paintings, entitled Histories, is on view at Nahcotta from November 2 until November 27. The opening reception for this exhibition is free and open to the public and will take place at the gallery on Friday, November 4, from 5-8 p.m.
In conjunction with this exhibition, Umerlik is releasing her second artist's book of images and essays. This book, sharing the exhibition’s name of Histories, includes an introduction by New England art critic and curator Shawn Hill, as well as private, intimate journal entries by the artist herself channeling her thought and work processes relating to each piece throughout its creation. The paintings within Nahcotta’s exhibition are selections of the work depicted within the book; additional pieces are shown in the publication.
The quiet and solitude of her month-long stay at the Vermont Studio Center in 2010 inspired a written chronicling of Umerlik’s own work, a journaling process that became an exploratory experience of her artwork and its derivations. Says Umerlik, “Through the writing process, which encouraged self-reflection and honesty, I noticed that I was beginning to unearth the less conscious motivations and sources of inspiration for my work; ideas and feelings that I had not been as keenly in touch with before. I began to see that each painting has a history. These histories trace the forms, lines, colors, and drawings of each painting back to their source, creating a framework of its genesis. My decision to share these stories here came out of a belief that honesty is the deepest essence of any art form.”
In recent years, Umerlik has shown in seven solo exhibitions and innumerable group shows domestically and internationally. In 2009, she published a book of work entitled Intimacy of Forms and received notable reviews in such publications as Art New England. Having exhibited at the Hun Gallery and the Lana Santorelli Gallery, both in New York, as well as the Chi-Lin Lakes Gallery in New Hampshire and the Takt Kunstprojektraum Gallery in Berlin, Umerlik has been showing with Nahcotta since 2006. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Syracuse, she has given several public lectures as part of her involvement with the NH State Council on the Arts and was awarded the Best in Show award from the Hun Gallery.
Opening:
Friday, November 4, 5-8pm
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