Wiscasset Art Walk is pleased to feature two local artists, George Mason of Damariscotta Mills and Leonard Meiselman of Wiscasset, who will present recent work in a two-person exhibit, Unspoken . . .from Nature to Abstraction, at Midcoast Conservancy, 36 Water St., Wiscasset Village. During the Wiscasset Art Walk on August 25th, 5-8pm, meet the artists, enjoy wine and tidbits, and hear about their inspirations. Both artists will speak about their art from 6 to 6:15pm and again at 7 to 7:15pm during the Art Walk.
Artist George Mason uses plaster, clay, burlap, pigment, casein paint, and encaustic in his work. “Light, shadow, texture and relief, and the primacy of gravity continue to capture my attention,” the artist says about his work. Mason has deep ties to the mid-coast community as a founding board member of Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and was the 2015 artist-in-residence for the Georges River Land Trust. He has taught in Maine and the US, but also in Jerusalem, Indonesia, and India. He’s been a recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts awards, and has exhibited extensively throughout coastal Maine and elsewhere.
Painter Leonard Meiselman maintains a studio in NYC, but his heart, along with his art, is in mid-coast Maine, and, especially, on the island of Monhegan. His recent exhibit, A Protest Artist on Monhegan, at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick this past winter, documented the tortured demise of the Monhegan trees, which he’s come to know and love after almost 60 years of visiting and painting. “Artists bear witness,” he says, “and while we are creating, we hope we are creating an awareness of a situation or cause.” In addition to Maine, Meiselman has exhibited in New York, London, and elsewhere.
Art of a different sort enlivens the Village as Luminarium Dance Co., based in Boston, makes a repeat appearance during the Wiscasset Art Walk on August 25. Luminarium is an award-winning contemporary dance company hailed for its original use of lighting, art, projection, video, film, and music. In June, the dance company was the opener for the largest TED talk in history with a live audience of 2,600 at the Boston Opera House. In July, the group performed ‘300 Years’, an original piece to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA. In Wiscasset, the dance company has ‘jammed’ with gallery musicians and danced with visitors on the pier. Shops, sidewalks, hand railings, and, sometimes, people become props as the dancers improvise their way through the Village.
Visit the Wiscasset Art Walk on Thursday, August 25, 5-8pm to enjoy these exceptional artists who join the many excellent galleries and unique Village shops that welcome visitors through their OPEN DOORS.
Wiscasset Art Walk is held on the last Thursday of the summer months with August 25 and September 29 remaining this season, from 5-8pm. Participant sites are marked with colorful streamers and touring maps are available at all participants throughout the Village. Major Sponsors for Wiscasset Art Walk 2016 are Ames True Value, Big Barn Coffee, Carleton Real Estate, Carriage House Gardens, First National Bank, and Fogg Art Restoration. Additional sponsors are the Carl M.P. Larrabee Agency, Cod Cove Inn, French & Co. Antiques, and Red’s Eats. For more information about the Wiscasset Art Walk, please visit www.wiscassetartwalk.org or contact event coordinators Lucia Droby at [email protected] or Violet Brandwein at 917-327-1449.
