Through October 9, Gold/Smith Gallery in Boothbay Harbor will feature new paintings by Tuscan super realist Laura Bianchi. The artist resides in the sleepy Italian village of Vecchiano, near San Giulliano Terme, a famous spa town. The quietness of this place allows the artist the valuable space to concentrate on her precise paintings. Her studio is nestled up against a marble quarry and traffic is almost nonexistent.

Bianchi is a shy person. She goes out in public places only to photograph details of clothing, hairdos and tries very hard not to make any contact with her subjects. Her subjects are just plain folks standing around, a moment of pause or reflection, their reasons for being there are undefined. What is defined is the person looking away from the viewer, to a point that can almost make the viewer’s head spin. Whether her work is tempera, oil, acrylic or pencil, the surface canvas, board, masonite or paper, the effect is a clarity that goes miles beyond reality. Bianchi is a true maestra of her art.

Gold/Smith Gallery is at 41 Commercial St. in Boothbay Harbor, next to the Ebb Tide Restaurant. The gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 633-6252.