New gallery gives regional art another showplace
FARMINGTON
The NOW Gallery and Studios in downtown Farmington is open, giving students and community members a place to showcase their masterpieces.
Located in the Knowlton-McLeary building on Church Street, the four-room gallery benefited from an $8,000 renovation grant from the Maine Community Foundation and the Western Mountains Alliance.
The gallery will be open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m., with showing artists in the gallery during that time.
On Wednesday, the inaugural day, several student-artists trickled in to check out the five-artist exhibit.
“Oh, it’s fantastic that it’s finally open,” said Sarah Maline, a University of Maine at Farmington art professor, curator of the campus gallery and member of NOW’s advisory board.
“The first show is great because it’s a wonderful blend of community and student artists. We are hoping this gallery will generate more interest in local artists to show their work.”
Over the summer months when the campus gallery is closed, Maline hopes more art-lovers will flock to NOW to browse or to buy. “What we have long missed in this community is a venue for regional art.”
Among the works displayed in what Maline calls the “eclectic” opening show are pencil drawings and handmade paper monoprints by Pamela J. Brown of Wilton; large, acrylic, black-and-white abstract paintings by UMF student Sarah Boss; ink and nail polish paintings by Elizabeth Roberts, a Farmington resident and UMF professor; and work depicting the transition of a woman dealing with a negative body image by Rebecca Benoski, also a UMF student.
Ian B. Ormon of Leeds, another of the five artists featured at NOW, was thrilled to hear several months ago about the prospect of a Farmington community/student gallery. He contacted Maline, and two months later his oil paintings of inland Maine scenes add brilliant color and depth to the white walls of the gallery.
“It appealed to me because it’s away from the coast,” said Ormon of his decision to show his work in the gallery. He added that much of the art sold in coastal galleries too often only depicts the coast. “Inland Maine is a part of the state that’s sometimes neglected in art, and that’s unfortunate.”
Ormon said he is impressed with the space, well lit by overhead track lighting and sunlight streaming through large windows.
“It’s a good space, and I am impressed with what they did with the grant money. It’s a nice venue for presenting my work.”
The NOW Gallery and Studio will host an open house and reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9. The public is invited to attend.
For more information about NOW, phone Sarah Maline at 778-7002.
sdepoy@sunjournal.com
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