Courthouse Gallery presents “Philip Frey: Unexpected Light,” Geoff Smith: Sculpture

Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth is pleased to present three exhibitions: Philip Frey: Unexpected Light, Geoff Smith Sculpture, and New Work by Jeffery Becton, Ragna Bruno, John Neville. The shows will be on view from June 22–July 16. The exhibitions are free and open to the public.

The solo exhibition Unexpected Light marks the tenth year Philip Frey has been represented by Courthouse Gallery. Owners Karin and Michael are delighted to have worked with Philip these past ten years and look forward to many more. “People are drawn to his vibrant colors and brushwork,” said director Karin Wilkes. Collectors Weslie Janeway and William Janeway, who contributed to the exhibition catalog, said the following about Frey’s work:

“Phil’s work balances between abstraction and recognizable image. Shadow and light, water and land, a command of color across an extraordinary range of shades combine to express the experience of the Downeast coast of Maine and beyond that specificity, the experience of living at the intersection of sky and sea and earth.  His ability to reveal the organic, physical source of the images that inspire him through structured forms is compelling.”

Frey studied painting at the Columbus College of Art and Design, printmaking at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and holds a BFA from Syracuse University. He has received several grants and awards, including the Heliker-LaHotan Foundation Residency in 2012, and his work can be found in private and corporate collections nationwide and abroad. In 2016, Frey’s work will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the University of Maine Museum of Art.

Geoff Smith (1940–2009), who summered on Deer Isle for twenty years, made sculpture non-stop during his forty-year career. He is best known for his large-scale, curvilinear, and abstract sculptures, several of which are included in this show. Smith’s work was exhibited, collected, and commissioned for private collections, public exhibitions, major corporations and art institutions in more than fifteen states across the nation. Smith worked in a variety of media, including steel, stone, wood, fiberglass, clay and bronze. During his long career, he lived and worked in studios in Vermont, Philadelphia, Virginia, Maine, and Kentucky. Smith graduated from the University of Vermont with a Master of Arts degree in 1969.