Waterfall Arts to present Jerri Finch’s ‘Water’s Embrace’

Waterfall Arts in Belfast will present “Water’s Embrace,” an exhibition of work by Jerri Finch, from Sept. 10 to Oct. 10 in the Clifford Gallery.

An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10.

For more than 40 years, Finch has explored water as both subject and experience. “Water’s Embrace” invites viewers to move beyond its visual representation and consider its movement, sensation, atmosphere and transformative power.

Finch’s artistic practice has evolved over decades, moving from appliqué to airbrush and machine quilting and ultimately to oil painting. Throughout those changes, water has remained a constant source of inspiration. Her experiences of salt, wind, fog and immersion inform the way she approaches the subject.

Cold-water immersion has become an especially important part of Finch’s life and creative practice. Floating, swimming and moving with the water have deepened her understanding of it as an immersive force and continue to shape the way she paints.

That sense of immersion extends to Finch’s painting process.

“I work wet on wet,” Finch said. “Meaning, it is on your mark, get set, go. Once I approach my canvas, it is a marathon. I do not paint over dried paint. And I do not stop until I am done.”

Waterfall Arts program director Amy Tingle described the exhibition as an exploration of “the fluidity, energy, and surrender that come from being immersed in something larger than ourselves.”

“There’s a peace and joyfulness Jerri captures in this body of work, a sense of fulfillment that time by and in the ocean offers to us,” Tingle said.

Through the collection, Finch hopes to encourage viewers not simply to look at water but to experience and embrace it in new ways.

Waterfall Arts is at 256 High St., Belfast. Call 207-338-2222 or visit waterfallarts.org for more information.