Archipelago Fine Arts Gallery announces its next exhibit, which brings together mother and daughter Martha and Kaitlyn Miller “In Conversation.” The show engages the viewers with works in a visual dialogue using color and dynamic impact while telling stories of place or self.
Martha Miller began drawing self-portraits at the age of 15. Though portraiture and work from the figure now comprise a significant body of her work, the self-portrait has long been her central method of expression. Miller has a strong reputation for her work in pencil, pastel, charcoal, and mixed media. For more than thirty years her work has appeared in over two-dozen invitational and juried exhibitions. She currently works in her home studio in Woolwich and recently retired from teaching at MECA through their Continuing Studies department.
“In making a portrait, I attempt to reveal something of the psychological and emotional depth of the individual but also something more archetypal — what it means to be human — to have a past, passions and a spirit,” she says. “Using bits of the surrounding room to set a stage, the resulting work is influenced by many layers of stimuli including such factors as mood, conversation, images on the studio wall and music, as well as images from memories and dreams. I use all these scattered and changing sources much like a novelist to pull together a story on the page. My self-portraits are born of this same process, and are part of an on-going spiritual and emotional diary.”
Kaitlyn Miller has lived and worked year-round on Little Cranberry Island since 2008. She received her BFA in ceramics from Maine College of Art in 2007 and has been a studio potter since, working summers at Islesford Pottery. With an enduring love for color and the island, she is most recently enjoying translating the beauty of her surroundings with acrylic paint on canvas.
“I paint in response to that which calls to be seen and appreciated,” she says. “Even a simple birch branch against the sky holds immeasurable beauty. Within the island confines of ocean, rocks and shore, there are limitless opportunities for capturing a new perspective. The island is an intimate place where, even if you step foot for a day, you share a common experience with all who have come before you and everyone yet to arrive. There is beauty in the moment to moment experiences of being here, on this island, in this community. I am called and compelled to capture and share it.”
The exhibit runs through Oct. 29.
To view and browse the online gallery, visit thearchipelago.net/collections/in-conversation.
Archipelago is at 386 Main St., Rockland. Call 207-596-0701 or go to www.thearchipelago.net for more information.
