The Center for Maine Contemporary Art recently announced that 35 artists have been selected to have their works featured in the 2023 CMCA Biennial exhibition, which will be installed across all 5,500 square feet of the museum’s galleries. The exhibition will be on view from Jan. 28 to May 7, 2023. The CMCA Biennial is the longest-running statewide juried exhibition in Maine and highlights the latest developments in contemporary art by Maine-based and connected artists.
The 35 artists (including two collaboratives) were selected from a total applicant pool of 423 artists by this year’s distinguished jurors — Misa Jeffereis, assistant curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and Sarah Montross, senior curator at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln. It is notable that the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is a fellow non-collecting museum of contemporary art.
THE CMCA 2023 BIENNIAL ARTISTS:
Rachel Adams (Portland)
Nick Benfy (New York City, N.Y.)
Philip Brou (South Portland)
Shane Charles (Bangor)
Shaina Gates (Kittery)
Elysse Grams (Portland)
Dylan Hausthor (Waterville)
Alanna Hernandez (Union)
Rebecca Hutchinson (Rochester, Mass.)
Jenny Ibsen (Portland)
Michael Kolster (Brunswick)
Jared Lank (Portland
Nathan Luce (Rockland)
Alex Lukas (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Heather Lyon (Blue Hill)
Dafna Maimon and Ethan Hayes-Chute (Berlin, Germany)
Haley MacKeil (Providence, R.I.)
Mananda McPherson and Gigi Obrecht (Freeport)
Geoffrey Masland (Yarmouth)
Travis Morehead (Evanston, Ill.)
Madeleine Morlet (Rockport)
Pamela Moulton (North Bridgton)
Elaine NG (Hope)
Anna Queen (Rockland)
José Santiago Pérez (Chicago, Ill.)
James Ransome (Rhinebeck, N.Y.)
Mariah Reading (Bangor)
Lynn Richardson (Swanzey, N.H.)
Brian Smith (Portland)
Juliette Walker (Farmingdale)
Holden Willard (Portland)
Erin Woodbrey (South Orleans)
Evelyn Wong (Portland)
These artists underscore the broad network of talented artists who call Maine home or who have significant ties to a specific Maine community but currently reside elsewhere, ranging from California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Germany.
The museum-wide exhibition will showcase an exceptional variety of artworks created over the past two years that will span all artist media, including installation-based and commissioned artworks. The final selection of artworks and the curation of the 2023 CMCA Biennial will be overseen by CMCA’s curatorial team: executive director and chief curator Timothy Peterson and curatorial associate and exhibitions manager Rachel Romanski.
“CMCA’s Biennial continues to offer a rare, sweeping view into developments at the forefront of contemporary art, through the works of artists who are locally rooted and globally connected,” Peterson says.
CMCA’s juried Biennial dates back to 1978, making the 2023 CMCA Biennial the organization’s 23rd Biennial to-date. New this year, preference was given to artists who have not exhibited at CMCA over the past two years.
The opening reception for the 2023 CMCA Biennial will take place from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at CMCA, 21 Winter St., Rockland. For more information, go to https://cmcanow.org.
Join award-winning painter Terri Brooks for “Figures in Pastels,” a workshop designed for experienced pastel artists. Working from a live, costumed model, participants will refine their ability to capture the human form using layered pastel techniques. The class will focus on essential life-drawing skills, using light and shadow to define facial structure and form through […]
The Deer Isle Artists Association announces the March Artist-in-Residence Program on March 4 with artist David McBeth. McBeth is a potter, working primarily with porcelain that is high-fired and ready for the dining table. Additionally, he is a knitter, whose preferred material is wool yarn. A true renaissance man, lately McBeth is also a writer, […]
Established in 2010, The Maine Museum of Photographic Arts is the only museum in Maine dedicated exclusively to photography. Dear Friends of the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, What a transformative year 2024 has been for MMPA. As we reflect on the past twelve months, we’re struck by the extraordinary level of artistry, scholarship and […]
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) presents its winter season with the unveiling of two new thought-provoking exhibitions and held an opening reception on Feb. 1. New exhibitions that opened Feb. 1: “The Sun, Trying to Disappear” is a show that speaks of entanglement. The images in this exhibition flutter between icons and mistrusted […]
Crescendo is about reaching new heights, riding the waves of life, climbing peaks, looking up to the zenith, witnessing the culmination of a project, peering over the crest, feeling the surge of emotions. 2025 is a 9 year in numerology, marked by a crescendo of power and experience, acclimation and completion, and new beginnings. Artists […]
Joseph Fiore (1925-2008) was a widely respected artist and active member of the Maine Art Gallery during the 1960s and ‘70s. In celebration of the 100th year of his birth, the gallery is partnering with Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) on an exclusive and overdue major retrospective, “Fiore at 100: Maine Observed.” The show runs June […]
The Midcoast Downeast Chapter of the Union of Maine Visual Artists, in collaboration with Waterfall Arts and Dark Sky Maine presented “Dark Skies: Artwork Honoring Dark Nights in Maine,” which ran from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28 at Waterfall Arts in Belfast. Not only did the exhibit gather a sizable crowd of over 280 people […]
In March the Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery will host its first abstract contemporary artist as its featured artist of the month. Jeanne Maguire, a Maine-based abstract artist, will be the First Friday artist on March 7. Maguire’s show is titled “Feminine Archetypes” and her work is vibrant and expressive, capturing the emotion […]
Youth Art Month is right around the corner. Show your support and celebrate the young artists in this year’s youth show, “Healing Through Color,” on view March 6 to 9. Students from all instructional levels will be featured in the show, which emphasizes the importance of visual arts, creative expression, and access to the arts […]
Receive news and information about Maine artists and events delivered right to your inbox.
