ROCKLAND – The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA), 21 Winter St., announces four fall exhibitions opening to the public on Saturday, October 1st and remaining on view through January 8th. The CMCA is hosting a free, public artists’ reception on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., including light refreshments.
The reception will be preceded at 2 p.m. by a discussion with the artists Eneida Sanches and Daniel Minter, moderated by Dr. Henry J Drewal. Learn more at cmcnow.org.
Daniel Minter + Eneida Sanches | “through this to that”
Bruce Brown Gallerj
Daniel Minter and Eneida Sanches’ collaborative, immersive installation “through this to that” explores the artists’ shared cultural histories as citizens of the African diaspora in the United States and Brazil, respectively. The exhibition takes visitors on a sequential journey through a 1,800 square meter installation featuring video projections, painting, sculpture, assemblage, large-scale sculptural environments and interactive works.
Minter and Sanches focus on two interconnected axes – transport and transmission. Transport serves as a metaphor for the displacement of people across place and time, with the exhibition featuring artworks related to ships, railroads and footsteps – mechanisms of movement that convey both involuntary and voluntary stories.
The transmission is an unpacking of the ways these modes of transport have impacted the life experiences of people in the African diaspora. Shared cultural histories are also embodied across distances. Transmission moves between the human and non-human worlds, including communication with plants, rocks, and all things natural.
No matter where they are taken or where they go, people of African descent are everywhere.
“through this to that” is made possible by a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and support from CMCA donors and members. The direct support of the artists and the creation of their works was made possible by the Indigo Arts Alliance.
The exhibition is organized by CMCA Executive Director and Chief Curator Timothy Peterson in partnership with Indigo Arts Alliance Executive Director and Curator Marcia Minter in collaboration with the artists.
“Pointed Crystal” by Ian Trask.
Ian Trask | “mind loops”
Marilyn Moss Rockefeller Lobby + Karen and Rob Brace Hall
For his exhibition, Ian Trask introduces a new series of sculptures and installation works created with materials captured from the local waste stream. Borrowing from the critical role that decomposers (like moss and fungi) play in revitalizing natural ecosystems, Trask’s practice is a holistic system of repurposing man-made debris into remarkable works of art.
Influenced by his education and experience in the sciences, this exhibition presents for the first time a monumental, textile-based wall installation with hanging sculptures. His multi-part artworks rely on suspension and connection, resulting in a complex interplay of logic and abstraction.
Trask has exhibited at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Wassaic Project (New York), Cove Street Arts, Waterville Creates, and the Danforth Gallery at the University of Maine, among others. Trask has been artist-in-residence at Pioneer Works (Brooklyn, NY), Mass MOCA (North Adams, Mass.), Marble House Project (Dorset, Vt.), and most recently the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation (Rockland, Maine). In 2018, he self-published his first artist book, Strange Histories: A Bizarre Collaboration, and has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Portland Press Herald, Brooklyn Magazine, and Christian Century.
The exhibition is organized by CMCA Executive Director and Chief Curator Timothy Peterson in collaboration with the artist.
Mind Loops is made possible by a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and support from CMCA donors and members.
A still from “CALCIUM” by Elijah Ober.
Elijah Ober | “CALCIUM” / “Your Future Ex-Squirrel Boyfriend”
Guy D. Hughes Gallery
Elijah Ober’s solo show brings together two ongoing bodies of work that focus on the lives of two species often considered pests – snails and squirrels. Ober’s compelling work reveals information about the land we live on and the ways we use and relate to ecosystems and resources.
“CALCIUM” presents two digitally animated videos showing snails in search of an important dietary supplement for mussel health: calcium. Inspired by a tiny snail crawling up his leg in his third floor studio, Ober was mesmerized by this little creature’s tenacity. Through imaginary narratives, he explores their translucency and mutability, their hermaphroditic power and their alchemical shell formation.
Your Future Ex Squirrelfriend is a collection of carved styrofoam squirrels. As Ober observed squirrels in his garden, he discovered in them a rich source of intrigue. He noted her overlooked physical grace and school-like demeanor, which would appear and disappear like a hyper-vigilant superorganism. For Ober, these little creatures embody many dichotomies. They are bold and fierce, yet soft and small. They are cute but despised by many. These sculptures depict them in their most confident states: playful, hardworking, caring and mischievous.
Ober is a Maine-based sculptor and animator. He studied art and anthropology at Bowdoin College. He has attended residencies at the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Monson Arts and Gardenship (NJ). His work has recently been shown at the Portland Museum of Art, Cove Street Arts, Elizabeth Moss Galleries and New System Exhibitions and was featured at the CMCA’s 2020 Biennial. Elijah received a Maine Arts Commission Project Grant in 2021.
The exhibition is organized by CMCA Executive Director and Chief Curator Timothy Peterson and Curatorial Associate and Exhibition Manager Rachel Romanski in collaboration with the artist.
CALCIUM / Your Future Ex Squirrelfriend is made possible by a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and support from CMCA donors and members.
The artist received funding from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, to support the creation of these groups of works.
“Mouth-to-Mouth, Set & Setting” by Matthew Brannon from the “Interior” exhibition.
“Inner”
main gallery
In a state known for its great outdoors, this exhibition brings together the work of nine Maine-based and affiliated artists exploring the wide world of interiors. The artworks on display include sculpture, installation, painting, photography, assemblage and printmaking, exploring rural and urban spaces ranging from homes, historic spaces, museums and vehicles.
Whether you can get a close-up look at a countertop; absorbing the intimacy, grandeur, or decline of domestic space; looking into a moving car; or serve as inspiration for the abstraction; The works of these artists underscore the rich discoveries we can make when we turn our attention to interiors.
As we head into fall and winter after two years of the pandemic, it’s invigorating to be reminded that interiors are far larger than places of isolation and shelter and can also inspire imagination, exploration and wonder. Artists represented in the exhibition include Genesis Belanger, Jenny Brillhart, Corinna D’Schoto, Smith Galtney, K. Min, Peter Moriarty, Carrie Schneider, Alec Soth, Gail Spaien and Jay Stern.
This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the generous support of CMCA donors and members.
Interior is curated by Executive Director and Chief Curator Timothy Peterson and Curatorial Associate and Exhibitions Manager Rachel Romanski.
Dedicated to advancing Maine’s contemporary arts through direct collaborations with artists and the public, CMCA creates exceptional exhibitions and educational programs that communicate the transformative power of the art of our time. CMCA fulfills its mission by supporting and exhibiting the work of artists with Maine ties; by providing engaging learning opportunities that open up new possibilities for artists and visitors; and by serving as an essential platform to make art an accessible and vital part of our communities.
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Artist Reception, Wine Tasting at Good Tern on September 30th
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