You begin with the possibilities of the material. –Robert Rauschenberg
The question of how and why an artist uses materials has long been a topic of consideration in art history. Today, many artists are looking to this question and seeking to find a balance between what they use to make work and the concepts behind them. Providing agency to the materials themselves, artists are looking at materials as a means of communication, whether they are expanding on traditional media and narratives or utilizing everyday objects to construct new forms. Exploring these concerns in their work, the artists included in the exhibition, all with ties to Maine, are also considering why they choose to work with certain matter in our current material culture and social climate, and the role that these materials play within it.
Artists in the exhibition include:
Jackie Brown (Bath, ME)
Stephanie Cardon (Cushing, ME + Roslindale, MA)
Lisa Kellner (Deer Isle, ME)
Adam Lampton (South Portland, ME)
Jonathan Mess (Newcastle, ME)
Loretta Park (Brunswick, ME + Jamaica Plain, MA)
Gelah Penn (Hope + Georgetown, ME + Brooklyn, NY)
Ben Potter (Belfast, ME)
Shannon Rankin (Rangeley, ME + Roswell, NM)
Emilie Stark-Menneg (Brunswick, ME)
Aaron T Stephan (Portland, ME)
Ian Trask (Brunswick, ME)
Related Programming
Sunday Salon | Adam Lampton + Ben Potter + Ian Trask | December 3, 2017
Sunday Salon | Heather Lyon | December 10, 2017
Sunday Salon | Stephanie Cardon + Lisa Kellner + Emilie Stark-Menneg + Loretta Park | December 17, 2017
Sunday Salon | Jackie Brown + Jonathan Mess + Aaron T Stephan | February 4, 2018
In The Press
The Ticket: What’s happening this week in the arts world in The Boston Globe by Cate McQuaid, November 23, 2017
A world of material takes over Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Portland Press Herald by Bob Keyes, December 10, 2017
Gelah Penn’s Dynamic in #FollowerFriday Peripheral Vision, March 9, 2018
Exhibition sponsor: 250 Main Hotel | Media Sponsor: Maine Public
Above: Jackie Brown, installation view. Photo © Dave Clough Photography.
