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.
Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland is featuring “IDK,” an exhibition of paintings by Tollef Runquist that explores the intersection of personal reflection, archetypes, fantasy and play. Runquist’s paintings combine images and symbols drawn from lived experience, emotional landscapes and cultural influences, creating an intuitive dialogue between imagery and meaning. “My work explores a space where […]
Meetinghouse Arts in Freeport is presenting a full schedule of fall exhibitions and performances, including a members show, a collaborative exhibition by longtime artist friends Tim Sample and Linda Rowell-Kelley and several concerts. The gallery’s fall members exhibition, “Nature’s Palette: Art Inspired by the Season,” will remain on view through Oct. 18. Featuring paintings, drawings, […]
Local Color Gallery in Belfast will feature printmaker, collage artist and sculptor Jeff Wahlstrom from Oct. 19 to Nov. 22. An Art Walk reception will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23, with an artist talk at 5 p.m. Based in Bangor, Wahlstrom creates block prints and watercolor collages inspired by the natural […]
Women Eco Artists Dialog (WEAD), based in Berkeley, California, is accepting submissions for its 2027 members exhibition, “Prototyping Futures of Making: Water, Data, and Living Systems.” The exhibition will explore the relationships among water, data, ecological systems and emerging technologies, asking how artists can engage with living systems as sites of collaboration, construction and consequence. […]
Triangle Gallery in Rockland is presenting three exhibitions through Oct. 31, including an extended solo exhibition by Carter Wentworth, a group fiber arts show and a fall exhibition of work by gallery artists. Wentworth’s “Sound of Rain Crossing the Lake” will remain on view in the upstairs gallery through the end of October. “Interwoven,” a […]
Waterfall Arts in Belfast will present “Found in Translation,” a mixed-media exhibition featuring Maine artists Deborah Jellison, JoAnne Houlsen and John LeBlanc, from Oct. 23 to Nov. 28. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23. The exhibition brings together three artist friends whose work explores familiar Maine landscapes, objects […]
Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth is presenting “Form Meets Surface,” an exhibition highlighting porcelain ceramics by potter Mark Bell and collaborative works created with painter William Irvine. The artists, both established in their respective fields, have worked together since 2015 to create porcelain vases and plates that combine Bell’s ceramic forms with Irvine’s painted […]
Barn Gallery in Ogunquit concluded its 2026 exhibition season Oct. 12, but the venue will continue to welcome visitors for two performances in the 19th annual Elizabeth Dunaway Burnham Piano Festival. Pianist, composer and vocalist Zahili Zamora will return to Ogunquit with her Afro Cuban Jazz Trio for a performance from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. […]
The Brunswick Guild Fine Craft Show will return to the historic Fort Andross Mill in Brunswick on Oct. 24 and 25, celebrating its 10th season with work by 40 juried Maine craft artists. Presented by Shop Maine Craft, the indoor show will feature basketry, ceramics, decorative and wearable fiber art, furniture, glass, jewelry, mixed media, […]
Receive news and information about Maine artists and events delivered right to your inbox.