BATH – Centre St Arts Gallery, LLC, announces the opening of a new exhibit by gallery members and guest artist David Higgins, at 11 Centre Street, Bath, on Friday, March 30, with a wine and cheese reception from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.  The public is invited to attend and meet the artists.  Admission is free.

Dave Higgins has been a photographer and educator for more than fifty years. Born in Portland, ME, Dave is a lifelong resident of the state of Maine and has lived  and photographed all over the state. He is a tech school graduate in graphic arts and over the years earned a BS in vocational education and a Master of Fine Arts – Visual Arts . Higgins was a graphic arts teacher and taught photography and graphic design for 25 years. In 1999 Higgins was technology teacher of the year in New Hampshire. After retiring from public education, he continued to teach photography and design at local art societies and teacher workshops. Higgins’ work is exhibited and published throughout Maine and New England as well as online. In 2005 he was an artist in residence at Carina House on Monhegan Island.

Photography is his first love, and his work covers a wide spectrum of interests. Although much of his work could be called landscape, Higgins feels it is more about subtle relationships than grand vistas. He places emphasis on line, tone, form and compositional relationships. Minimalism is often a important concept in his work.  Twenty years ago he moved his photography completely into the digital realm which he feels allows him the freedom to simplify and to blur the borders between black and white and color, between photography and other art forms, and especially between the real and the perceived. 

These ideas led him back to painting, a medium he had not used since he was in his twenties.  He soon found that, not only does his photography influence his painting, but also his painting influences his photography.  He says: “In 2012, I had an epiphany of sorts and began combining both photography and painting in the computer. These images often start with a photograph and use digital brushes and various software, filters and/or screens to develop a scene. The resultant works are neither photographs nor paintings but an amalgamation of the two into something new. I now find my options for expressing my vision are truly limitless.”

Higgins’ work will be in the Gallery from March 25 through May 19.  Call 207-442-0300 or go to centrestartsgalleryllc.com for more information. Centre St Arts Gallery, LLC, at 11 Centre Street, Bath, is open Wednesday through Saturday 10:30 to 5:00.