Julie K. Gray, “Waiting Room,” mixed media installation

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland will open the 20th edition of its statewide CMCA Biennial Exhibition on November 3, 2018, with an opening reception from 5 to 7pm. The Biennial will remain on view through March 3, 2019. This year’s Biennial is sponsored by The First National Bank and features the work of 43 artists from 33 Maine communities. The exhibiting artists were selected from a pool of 659 individual submissions by jurors Kate Green, Guest Director of Marfa Contemporary, Marfa, Texas, and Robin K. Williams, Ford Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, Michigan.

CMCA Director Suzette McAvoy states, “This year’s Biennial is a really lively snapshot of art making in Maine today, showcasing a wide variety of work in all mediums including strong examples of painting, sculpture, photography, textiles, installations, and video work. There is truly something for everyone in the show and I think visitors will be impressed by the quality and diversity of the work.”

Eleanor Kipping, “Strange Fruit,” installation and performance

In the jurors’ statement, Kate Green writes, “The over 600 submissions to the CMCA Biennial evidenced the breadth of contemporary practices flourishing across the state, while also reflecting elements that make Maine unique: the sea, the wilderness, craft. Having spent part of every summer of my life in Maine, I feel privileged to have gotten to know the strength of its artists through this jurying process.”

The CMCA Biennial Exhibition typically takes place in the fall of even numbered years. The concept of an open juried competition at CMCA dates back to 1978, when then director Ben Goldsmith presented the first Juried Exhibition. It was the only continuing statewide juried exhibition until the Portland Museum of Art introduced its first Biennial in 1998.

Adam Ekberg, “Lawn Chair Catapult,” archival pigment print

Artists included in the 2018 CMCA Biennial Exhibition are: Freedom Baird, Tenants Harbor and Cambridge, MA; Tad Beck, Vinalhaven; Mattina Blue, Belfast; Amy Stacey Curtis, Lyman; Alicia Eggert, Portland and Denton, TX; Adam Ekberg, Rome and Flemington, NJ; Donna Festa, Bangor; Alan Fishman, Belfast; Thomas Flanagan, Yarmouth; Carolina González Valencia​, Lewiston; Julie K. Gray, Saco; Sarah Haskell, York; Willoughby Lucas Hastings, Cranberry Isles and Brighton, MA; Dylan Hausthor, Peaks Island; Ethan Hayes-Chute, Freeport and Berlin, Germany; Anna Hepler, Eastport and Greenfield, MA; Hilary Irons, Portland; Samantha Jones, Blue Hill; Eleanor Kipping, Orono; Seth Koen, South Bristol and Easthampton, MA; Baxter Koziol, Portland; Siglinde Langholz, Orono and Puebla, Mexico; Alex Lukas, West Bath and Pittsburgh, PA; LumenARRT!, Durham; Shanna Merola, Bangor and Hamtramck, MI;  K. Min, Friendship; Elaine K. Ng, Rockland; Ashley Normal, York; Isabelle O’Donnell, Portland; Julie Poitras Santos, Portland; Jesse Potts , Farmington; Probably Joel, Portland and Hong Kong, China; Alison Rector, Monroe and South Portland; Becky Jane Rosen, Brunswick and New York, NY; Rachel Sieben, South Portland; Gina Siepel, Portland and Greenfield, MA; Anneli Skaar and Sal Taylor Kydd, Camden and Rockport; Suzy Spence, Brooklin and Brooklyn, NY; Tectonic Industries, Portland; TUG Collective, New Sharon; Kathy Weinberg, Morrill; Michael Winkler, Bridgton and Millerton, NY; Erin Woodbrey, Sebago Lake and Orleans, MA.

For additional information about the CMCA 2018 Biennial Exhibition and related programs, visit cmcanow.org.