Our Dreams are Divination Exhibition Graphic

The Sidle House in Freeport re-opens with a reception from 4-8 pm on Friday, September 18.

“Our Dreams are a Form of Divination” is an ongoing inquiry in alternative ways to be in communion with the world around us. Composed of our thoughts, teachings, memories, and emotions – this exhibition invites audiences to consider how dreams untether our sense of reality and invite us to consider the alternatives. Dreams as a manifestation of how another world might be possible, such as was introduced by Dr. Martin Luther King in his 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech at the March on Washington in which he states, “…even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” In talking about paving a road toward racial equity amongst the American people, we can approach dreams through the surrealist nonsensical lens remixing of time, space and place, as depicted by Salvador Dali, playing with our perception of what is real and what is not. Considering divination as a practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means, dreaming is an opportunity the artists in this exhibition expand to the fullest capacity to envision something beyond ourselves. This exhibition welcomes Ashley Page as guest curator, with featured artists Raquel P. Miller, Kelly McConnell, Shey Rivera, Mark Anthony Brown Jr., Aina Sullivan, Aquarius Funk, and Nicolas (Nico) DePamphilis.

 

CUADRA

Presente de la Presencia Alejandra Cuadra intricately knots, weaves, and braids her history across timelines through a fusion of clay, wood, steel, video, and discovered items – piecing together elements once buried, now reemerging like seeds beginning to bloom. Moving amongst “the quiet and the loud, the light and the dark, the joy and the pain,” Cuadra transplants this duality into the soul, allowing subconscious thought to find a language it may not yet have words for. Her practice is prompted by the sensation of feeling neither from here nor there – reaching toward her Peruvian ancestry as a way to recenter and discover liberation beyond the barriers put forth by means beyond her control. Cuadra holds a BFA from the Maine College of Art and Design and has attended residencies at Yale Norfolk School of Art, Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, Monson Arts, Twenty Summers, Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Indigo Arts Alliance, and Eliot School. She pursues her creative work and resides on the unceded territories of the Massachusett and Pawtucket peoples.

XIQUES

Shifting Spaces presents a selection of recent (2025 – 2026) paintings by Kevin Xiques that grapple with the state of the world, the pull of gravity, and the search for safe space amid uncertainty. Working as a vessel for translation between what is seen and what is felt, Xiques builds compositions that hold community and flow in tension with the abyss – inviting viewers into his ongoing meditation on presence and instability. Now based in Queens, New York, Xiques has exhibited with Dowling Walsh Gallery, SOIL Gallery, Cove Street Arts, and Katzman Contemporary Projects. He is the recipient of the David C. Driskell Fellowship at Indigo Arts Alliance and a SPACE Gallery Studio Grant, his work has been seen in Art New England, Maine Magazine, and the Portland Press Herald.

Still on view: ‘Alex Bruehl: Mended’ in the hayloft space; and outdoor sculpture on the grounds, featuring artists David Allen, Evan Haynes, Charlie Nordstrom, Sharon Townshend, and Melita Westerlund.

Fall Gallery Hours: September 18 – October 31, Thurs.-Sat. from 3-6 pm, and by appointment. Contact: Maddy Vertenten, Sidle House Gallery, 20 Bartol Island Rd., Freeport, Maine
Email: maddy@sidlehouse.com Phone/Text: 512.771.1149