The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Art Gallery will present People & Places: Figurative and Landscape Art from the University Collections between Dec. 3, 2021 and Feb. 18, 2022. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Opening Reception on Friday, Dec. 3, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. This reception is being held in conjunction with the Presque Isle First Friday Art Walk. The Reed Gallery is located on the second floor of the University’s Center for Innovative Learning.
To ensure everyone’s safety, anyone entering campus buildings is required to wear a face covering and either be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID test within 72 hours.
The human figure and the landscape have long been the inspiration for visual artists in all styles and media. Being products of nature and characterized by seemingly infinite variety and complexity, both subjects offer artists a multitude of technical challenges, as well as myriad possibilities for personal expression and narrative. Whether through objective realism or more personal, subjective abstraction, visual artists have depicted people and places as a way to tell us stories and to show us something about ourselves and the world in which we live, Reed Art Gallery Director Frank Sullivan explained.
“The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s art collection contains a wealth of beautiful and important works of art by a diverse group of important artists from Maine and around the world,” Sullivan said. “The exhibition features over 40 paintings, drawings, prints, and multimedia works representative of a variety of artistic styles ranging from academic realism to abstract expressionism. I am excited to see these wonderful pieces displayed together and to share this part of our collection with the community. They afford a unique and edifying opportunity to demonstrate how different artists can approach similar subjects and yet produce an incredibly varied range of artistic expressions.”
Artists whose work is included in the exhibit include Frederick Lynch, Bernard Langlais, Edwin Gambel, Natasha Mayers, Ellen Gutekunst, Madelein Gekiere, Howard Rackcliff, Ann Getzinger, Eric Hopkins, Margaret Leonard, and many more.
All are invited to view People & Places: Figurative and Landscape Art from the University Collections between December and February, and to come out to the First Friday Art Walk on Dec. 3 and take part in the free reception (5:30-7:30 p.m.) and brief gallery talk by Reed Art Gallery Director Frank Sullivan (6 p.m.). In addition, this show will be open during the First Friday Art Walk on Feb. 4 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The Reed Art Gallery is located on the upper floor of the Center for Innovative Learning in the heart of the UMPI campus at 181 Main St. in Presque Isle. Regular gallery hours during the academic year are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sundays from 2 to 8 p.m. The Reed Art Gallery is closed on Saturdays and holidays. Anyone visiting UMPI buildings and grounds will need to follow University health and safety protocols while on campus.
For more information, contact Gallery Director Frank Sullivan at frank.sullivan@maine.edu or 207-694-1920.
