New Exhibits at UMaine Museum of Art
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO AND BANGOR — The University of Maine Museum of Art will debut an exhibition of the works of Melville McLean and George Lloyd, along with wood engravings from the museum’s permanent collection, on May 16. The exhibition will continue through July 5. The following describes the works that will be displayed.
MELVILLE MCLEAN Northeast by Southwest
The exhibition features Melville McLean’s (Newburgh, Me.) 40 x 50 inch photographs which focus on landscape images from Maine and northeastern Canada and will include, for the first time, images from the desert southwest. McLean states: “My work is intuitively inspired. I select a view because of my physical reaction to the environment, what I think Cezanne meant by his “petite sensation“. Then, I compose a landscape photograph to make a work of art based on that response.
“In my work, the landscape composition and the photography meet in the viewfinder. In a 4 x 5 view camera this is a 4 x 5 inch piece of glass (the same size as the film), etched with a grid, called the ground glass. On the ground glass, I can see the landscape composition as the unity of two kinds of space. There is the imaginary space of four-dimensional forms in their objective physical relationships: the space of gravity and passing time; and there is the geometric frame space, which organizes the imaginary space into a two-dimensional whole-part relationship of shapes in patterns, proportions and symmetry.
“These spaces are combined in the familiar landscape composition developed in Western European painting between 1600 and 1900. In that tradition, I compose deep imaginary spaces that could be walked or flown through or over or into; middle spaces that can be seen into but that could not be entered physically; and shallow spaces that create continuous overall fields of similar forms, more to be looked over than into. I want the composition to appear as an aesthetically complete and internally coherent presentation of the nature it represents, while implying the larger environment, which is its next scale of context.”
Maine Portfolio, a recently published portfolio of five prints, will also be exhibited along side the large works. A fully illustrated catalog from his recent exhibition at the Alexandre Gallery will be available.
GEORGE LLOYD The Transition Years 1982 – 1984
George Lloyd (Portland, Me.) will present a series of small works and sketchbooks completed in the early 1980s. The works combine saturated hues with subtle representations of common objects and environments.
The artist describes this period of work: “I left San Francisco in June of 1982. ‘The Transition Years’ refer to the two years’ time immediately following, when I moved around, rather fitfully, from one location to another in the Northeast, before I eventually settled in Portland, Maine.
“The fast-paced character of the artistic work which I accomplished – much of it on paper and in sketchbooks – directly reflects my then peripatetic condition. The ‘transition’ might also refer to a more fundamental change – from the tightly controlled, geometric style of my early ’80’s’ period in San Francisco, to a different manner of working which was looser, more atmospheric and painterly.
“The eight very productive months which I spent in Bangor in 1983 were my longest stretch in one place. At that point, I was 37 years old, and living with my parents in their small house in Brewer, as well as working in a studio space which I rented in Bangor, over a bagel shop on Central Street.
“I also managed to work intensively – mostly on paper – during my teaching stints, both at Wesleyan – summer 1982, and at Cornell – fall 1982 and summer 1984. At Cornell, I discovered a book on the drawings of Francesco Guardi – the 18th century Venetian painter who has remained an inspiration to me ever since. Almost 20 years later, I continue to bend in the direction of the painterly tradition of Venice.”
WOOD ENGRAVINGS From the Collection
The exhibition will present 14 wood engravings from the museum’s permanent collection. The wood engraving process is one that typically yields works of a delicate nature, often moving gracefully from one tone to another. Works in the exhibition draw from the vast holdings of American and European prints which are the focus of the museum’s collection. The works present an overview of the wood engraving process during the 20 century, from Rockwell Kent’s 1928 image, Flame to Siri Beckman’s 1998 Approaching Storm.
Museum of Art
Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 9 am – 6 pm. Sunday 11 am – 5 pm.
Admission:
$3.00 per person. No charge for Museum Members and UMaine students with Maine Card
Directions:
From the North
I-95, Exit 48/ Broadway
Turn left on Broadway, proceed 1.2 mi
At 4th light – turn right on State St.
Turn right on Harlow St.
From the South
I-95, Exit 48/Broadway
Turn left on Broadway, proceed 1.1 mi
At 3rd light – turn right on State St.
Turn right on Harlow St.
Merge to the left and turn left into Norumbega Hall parking lot.
For additional information, call 561-3350.