Maine Art Gallery

Our Maine: Photography with a sense of place

Wed, 10/13/2021 - 8:00am

Story Location:
15 Warren Street
Wiscasset, ME 04578
United States

    The beauty of Maine is captured by four photographers at the Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset. In this, the final show of the season, which runs through Saturday, Oct. 16, the visitor is presented with exquisite images by Terry Hire, Olga Merrill, Jim Nickelson, and Lisa Mossel Vietze that are often abstractions of familiar scenes and objects.

    “This show is very much grounded in Maine,” says its curator Elizabeth Campbell. “The images represent their experiences and how they observe the world around them…they encourage you to slow down, look a little closer.. see the things that are not immediately visible in our hectic lives.”

    Terry Hire who passed away in early 2020 uses camera and digital tools to create a bold and graphic distillation of colors and texture.

    Olga Merrill’s photographs each tell a story. She has two types of images in the show, some are impressionistic in style and others are more modernistic abstractions. She starts with a concept or vision and works meticulously — sometimes for months — to produce the final image.

    Jim Nickelson, a former aerospace engineer, finds inspiration in the sky. His “Pyrotechnic” series, for example, uses the light and motion of fireworks to echo the geometry of nature.

    Lisa Mossel Vietze, who curated an earlier “Our Maine” show for Archipelago Gallery in Rockland, often works with a macro lens to create a softness and dreamlike quality that one might find in a painting. She wants the viewer to see something that they might not have looked at so closely.

    The Maine Art Gallery is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and preservation of painting, sculpture and graphic arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, and educational programs for children and adults. More information can be found at www.maineartgallerywiscasset.org and on Facebook at Maine Art Gallery Wiscasset.

    The gallery is located at 15 Warren Street, Wiscasset, just a two-minute drive or an eight-minute walk from downtown Wiscasset. Taking Route 1 from the north, turn right onto Federal Street (Route 218) then left onto Warren Street. Taking Route 1 from the south, turn left onto Federal Street, then left onto Warren Street. Free on-street parking.