“What Came Before: The Power of Forgotten Artworks” is on view from Dec. 3 to Jan. 10 at Courthouse Gallery in Ellsworth. A reception was held on Dec. 3.
“What Came Before” offers a rare glimpse into the formative stages of an artist’s creative journey. The exhibition highlights early artworks by a diverse group of contemporary artists, many of whom have been working for five or more decades.
These overlooked artworks have remained out of view, overshadowed by an artist’s own productivity, or later periods of maturity and recognition. Placed together, the collective emerges with a fresh vitality, asking collectors and viewers to reconsider the power of forgotten artworks when they returns into view.
Poised just as the year turns at a moment between reflection and renewal, “What Came Before” creates a dialogue about beginnings and the experimentation that shaped each artist’s practice: tentative gestures, tested boundaries, risks, discoveries, bold departures, and the early sparks that anticipated future directions. During this annual time of reflection, I am reminded of the many legacy artists whose estates we represent or have on consignment. A selection by each legacy artists is hanging in the exhibition.
The gallery has also made available to stream the Artist’s Talk with Alison Rector and guest speaker Carl Little. It is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qHZn-7b4uk.
The Artist Talk was held in conjunction with “SILKSCREENS ON A MAINE FARM,” a solo exhibition of Rector’s collection of silkscreen. She created the prints over a 35-year period as Christmas gifts for family and friends after she and her husband embraced the homesteading life when they moved to Maine in 1990. The exhibition and catalog with an essay by Carl Little are a remarkable record of her back-to-the-land experience.
Courthouse Gallery is at 6 Court St., Ellsworth. For more information, call 207-667-6611 or visit www.courthousegallery.com.
Cove Street is honored to present a virtual exhibition of work by Harold Garde (June 7, 1923 to Oct. 11, 2022), featuring a focused selection of his strappos alongside examples from a career that spanned seven decades and made a significant, if often under-recognized contribution to Post-War American art. All works featured in the virtual […]
“‘Under a Swift Sunrise’ is less about arrival than about the yearning to arrive; to glimpse, if only momentarily, a far green country that exists somewhere between what is remembered and what is imagined.” — Nathaniel Meyer “Under a Swift Sunrise” gathers a series of island paintings that hover between memory and invention, myth and […]
CMCA’s 2025 Biennial will be on view from Oct. 4 through Jan. 11, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1978 and stands as the longest running survey of contemporary art by artists with ties to Maine. This edition features 29 artists selected from a pool of more than 450 applicants by jurors Keith Fox, […]
Deena Ball will lead the workshop Watercolor Meets Wood: Painting on Birch Panels from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 31. In this innovative workshop, students will learn to combine traditional watercolor techniques with modern watercolor grounds on birchwood panels. Begin by applying watercolor grounds to create a richly textured underpainting that serves as the […]
Local Color Gallery is pleased to welcome back guest artist Sandra Huck whose work will be on display from Jan. 21 through Feb. 21 at the gallery in Belfast. Huck will talk about her work, “Conversations with Found Objects,” at this month’s Art Walk reception, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Jan. 23. Huck […]
“What Came Before: The Power of Forgotten Artworks” is on view from Dec. 3 to Jan. 10 at Courthouse Gallery in Ellsworth. A reception was held on Dec. 3. “What Came Before” offers a rare glimpse into the formative stages of an artist’s creative journey. The exhibition highlights early artworks by a diverse group of […]
Dear Friends, we loved sharing our 2025 Season with you. It was filled with wonderful art, engaging conversation and special events. We continued our community outreach with our Annual Student Show in May and the Open Regional Juried Show in July. Our lively Ogunquit Art Association Auction was held, as usual, on the first Saturday […]
Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland will be closed Dec. 24 and 25, as well as Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The group show “Offshore Winter” runs Nov. 7 to Dec. 27, featuring work by Tollef Runquist, Scott Kelley and Anna B. McCoy. Painting, for Tollef Runquist, is an undertaking of appreciation and inquiry, a means […]
George Marshall Store Gallery will host an Open House on Dec. 5, 5-7pm and December 6, 10am-4pm to kick off the holiday season. Join us for festive sips & snacks, lights twinkling, tunes spinning, and original works by more than 30 New England artists (most under $500.) Come to shop or just gather in good […]
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