The Union of Maine Visual Artists will present “Dreaming at Dawn,” an exhibition inspired by daybreak in Maine, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30 at Bangor Public Library.
The exhibition features 68 pieces by 51 artists from across the state, with work installed in the library’s Cyr, Stairwell and Lecture Hall galleries. Interpretations of the theme range from naturalistic depictions of the rising sun to abstract imaginings of the sleeping mind.
A Meet the Artists reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 6 in the Lecture Hall Gallery. Admission is free and refreshments will be available.
Exhibition coordinators Shanna Compton and Sally Stanton encouraged contributors to push the thematic boundaries of “Dreaming at Dawn.” Artists responded with a range of media, including painting, printmaking, assemblage, photography, collage, sculpture and textile. Some pieces depict naturalistic scenes of morning’s first light as it trickles through shaded woodlands or curtained windows. Others use abstract shapes and colors to represent the illumination that comes to dreamers in the depths of sleep.
“One widely held belief is that the dreams we experience near dawn are those saturated with our truest creativity, our most deeply imagined, and those most likely to become reality,” Compton said. “What visions will we awaken? What possibilities will we dream?”
The show’s juror is Peter Walls, an exhibiting studio artist for 29 years who specializes in shaped panel paintings and murals. From his home in midcoast Maine, Walls collaborates on public and private projects throughout New England. His work can regularly be seen at Blue Raven Gallery in Rockland.
“The exhibition’s title was inspiring for me on many levels, but first and foremost is the fact that I create my own work in the predawn hours every day after waking,” Walls said. “The shift from the dreamworld to creating is a sacred time for me and my work, and I could easily imagine that many of these artists share that experience, whether they create in the predawn hours or not.”
Featured artists are NC Barto, Barbara Bemis Adams, Mark Barnette, Deb Bergman, Dyan Berk, Jennifer Fairchild Brown, Pam Cabanas, Cheryl Cayer, Shanna Compton, Alan Crichton, Caroline de Mauriac, Janelle Delicata, Shelley Dell, Kelly Bennett Desrosiers, Randy Fein, Martha Ferguson, Gene Frey, Tracy Ginn, Judith Greene-Janse, Arlene Jurewicz-Leighton, June Kellogg, Camille Kouyoumdjian, David Lewis, Robert Lockwood, Bridget McAlonan, Cynthia Motian McGuirl, Bruce McMillan, Ave Melnick, James Q Merrow, Renata Moise, Janice L Moore, Leslie Moore, Lisa Mossel, Wendy Newbold Patterson, Heather Newton Brown, Anne-Marie Nolin, MaryEllen Ostherr, Brandy Raymond, Daryne Rockett, Anne Scheer, Kathryn Shagas, Scott Shulman, Sally Stanton, Susan Szwed, Joanne Tarlin, Ann Tracy, Tim Van Hook, Peter Walls, Jean Wiecha, Sandy Willcox and Andrew Young.
Summer gallery hours at Bangor Public Library are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The library is closed on weekends. The schedule will change after Labor Day, Sept. 7, to include Saturday gallery hours.
Bangor Public Library is at 145 Harlow St., Bangor. The Union of Maine Visual Artists, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit organization that promotes and advocates for the visual arts, artists and arts supporters. Learn more at www.theumva.org.
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