Four Solo Shows Opening at Caldbeck Gallery

From August 16 to September 16, The Caldbeck Gallery, 12 Elm Street in Rockland, will exhibit the work of 4 artists: Lois Dodd of Cushing ME and New York NY, Bayard Hollins of Islesboro ME and Ojai CA, Janice Kasper of Swanville ME, and Lise Becu of Tenants Harbor ME.  An opening reception for the artists will take place on Wednesday, August 16, from 6-8 pm.

In “Summer Paintings”, Dodd’s oil on masonite and oil on aluminum paintings sing with the light and air of summer in Cushing, Maine.  Mostly painted within the past 3 years, the paintings range in size from 5 x 7 inches to 18 x 20 inches.   In “Open Barn Door with Wheelbarrow” a very red wheelbarrow casts its shadow on the barn’s cedar shakes.  The shadow is that cool color that only the heated light of summer can create.  In one of the smaller paintings, “Frog Road Kill”, a frog’s little body is painted with a care that is both scientific and tender.  Dodd’s work has been shown widely in NYC, where she shows with Alexander Gallery, and throughout the U.S. for more than 60 years; her first exhibit with the Caldbeck was in 1985; this is her 11^th solo show at the gallery.

Hollins’s show, “A Special Place”, features paintings in oil on canvas, as well as in acrylic on paper, measuring in the range of 18 x 20 inches to 72 x 60 inches.  About his work, the artist explains, “many influences go in my work, though the dominant theme tends to be the interaction between classical realism and abstract expressionism.  I work very fast, with large brush strokes, in order to convey the rawness of nature.  I like to leave a painting in a sort of incomplete state.  I believe that an unrefined painting is truer to nature and to my own emotions.  Space is created so that the painting can move, breath, and grow in the viewer’s imagination.  He used to love to go out in his power boat in stormy weather, but gave that up, and now relives those experiences in some of his paintings.   This is the artist’s third solo show with the Caldbeck.

Kasper’s 5 canvases in her show “New Work” are about nature (and human nature).  Measuring in the range of 21 x 31 inches to 24 x 80 inches, each painting tells a story woven together by the artist’s sense of humor and compassion for the animal world.   “My work is concerned with how we view and interact with our fellow creatures. They make our lives richer and we have the power to enrich their lives by protecting their habitats and by seeing the beauty in all living things”, Kasper says. Kasper was the curator of historic sites for the Farnsworth Art Museum for many years.  Her work there included caring for the Lucy Farnsworth Homestead, as well as the Olson House in Cushing.  Her passion and compassion for wildlife plays out in all of her artwork. She has shown widely in Maine and Connecticut, and has been with the Caldbeck since 1985.

“Works in Stone” includes a number of new sculptures by Lise Becu, as well as a number of earlier pieces.  Becu works predominantly in different kinds of granite and Rockland limestone, but also works in alabaster, travertine, and calcite.  Of particular interest to her are found stones – on the beach, or in a wall, or from a slag pile.  “I like to use the natural shape of the stone”, explains the artist.  “I also try to leave some of the stone’s texture that is created by the many years of erosion out in nature.  When I finish a piece, I blend those areas of roughness into the final polished surface.  My imagery usually evolves as I carve, like having a conversation with the stone.  It’s as though the stories appear all by themselves.  I like to describe my work as ‘stylized figurative depictions of everyday life, dreams, and legends’.” Becu has been represented by the Caldbeck since the gallery’s first exhibit in June of 1982.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11-4, and Sunday 1-4.  For more information, please call the gallery at 594 5935, or email at caldbeck@midcoast.com.