CAMDEN — Page Gallery presents “Coastline: Series and Progressions,” an exhibition of new work from Siri Beckman, Tom Curry, and Simon van der Ven. The show features three artists whose work explores imagery and variations over time of beauty found along the water’s edge.
The exhibition will open with a public reception during the Camden Art Walk on Thursday, August 15, from 5 – 7 p.m., and will be on display through September 13. Lincolnville artist Simon van der Ven will present an artist talk about his work on Sunday, September 8, at 1 p.m.
Siri Beckman uses the intricacy of wood engraving to create atmosphere, light, movement, and intimacy. Beckman has consistently returned to the medium as a way to share her love of nature, whether on the coast of Maine or in her residencies at national parks across the country. Through delicate line quality and evocative scenes, Beckman explores how far the humble line can go, showing just how expressive and atmospheric a black and white line can be.
Tom Curry’s impasto layered paint application and vibrant colors are a signature to the way he sees and feels his way through life as a painter of Maine. The small island of Chatto is a principal subject of more than sixty of his paintings. Curry returns to the familiar scene as he captures the modest island in all expressions of light, season, time of day, and in doing so, illustrates the nuances of perception and comes closer to authentically describing a place.
Whether in his ceramic or painted work, Lincolnville artist Simon van der Ven works thematically, diving deep into the forms and ideas of his practice. In his mixed media Wrack Line series, van der Ven collects and imprints cast off objects and pieces of wreckage from the intertidal zone. Mirroring the push and pull time and tide take on those treasures left behind, van der Ven’s methods add and subtract, sand down and build up, to reveal the painting underneath.
The opening reception for Coastline: Series and Progressions coincides with Camden’s Art Walk on Thursday, August 15 from 5-7 pm, when Bay View Street will be closed to vehicles and there will be live music, a food truck by @brothershucker, crafting with Miss Amy from the Camden Public Library, and galleries and shops open late.
Page Gallery, established in 2018, presents a year-round program of exhibitions and community engagement in downtown Camden, Maine. The gallery exhibits a wide variety of paintings, drawings, and sculptures by leading and emerging contemporary artists. Located at 23 Bay View Street in Camden, Page Gallery is open from 10-5 Monday through Saturday and 12-4 on Sunday. For more information visit: thepagegallery.com.
