Exhibition | Awash

IMMERSION, BUOYANCY, PROPULSION

buoy·an·cy 1. the ability or tendency to float in water or air or some other fluid. 2. an optimistic and cheerful disposition.

There is comfort in being supported by the water, in pushing down below the surface and being pulled back up. Water has a weight close to our own, which allows us the sensation of losing gravity, feeling ungrounded. Jennifer Pochinski, Jessica Lee Ives, and Peggi Kroll-Roberts paint swimmers immersed, lending the viewer the reminiscence of gliding through the water.

IMPLIED MOVEMENT

Wind speed can be judged by the type of ripple on the water, as shown on the
Beaufort Wind Force Scale an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land
1-3kts small ripples / 4-6kts small crested wavelets / 7-10kts large wavelets begin to break
11-16kts waves become longer with small white caps / 17-20kts long waves grow larger and many white caps. Possible sea spray

When still, water is a mirror or a window. Looking down into it we can see clearly to the bottom of a clean lake. When looking across the surface we see reflections of what is above. Disturbance of wind, a swimmer, or fish from below create ripples that warp and distort those reflections, sometimes weaving a pattern on the surface. Crisscrossing lines and concentric circles form across the surface. Marc Schepens paints the idea of water through undulating lines and pattern shifts. JT Gibson casts glass in the form of waves, light bounces across the carved form and the translucence of glass show the familiar ripples across the depths of the ocean.

SAILOR STORIES

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” ― William Faulkner

A. Emmanuelle Marpeau's shadowboxes tell stories of the power and strength of the sea. This Robinson Crusoe box is an allegory of life as a shipwreck through the moon's phases. Colin Page's subject sits on Curtis Island, looking off to sailboats in the distance. He captures one of Maine's glorious coastal views and the experience of exploration.

THICKNESS OF AIR

ne·phol·o·gy  the study or contemplation of clouds

What are clouds made of and how do they work? Color and texture suggest the thickness of air, whether sea spray or the mist of falling water. Peter Bogardus uses photogravure to create a tactile experience in black and white. Marc Hanson uses oil to ethereal effect to blur the distinction between sky and sea.

PUSH AND PULL

"Expanding and contracting forces...
the picture plane reacts automatically in the opposite direction to the stimulus received; thus action continues as long as it receives stimulus in the creative process.
Push answers with pull and pull with push.” - Hans Hoffman

Nathaniel Meyer’s battered shores show the power of the sea against even the hardest of stone. The rocky coast of Maine in Nathaniel’s paintings has been shaped by glaciers, rivers, and waves, by the power of water. Tom Curry paints waves whose crashing spray mimics the shapes of the clouds. He paints the dynamic force of water in its different forms.