LEWISTON – The Atrium Art Gallery at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College is presenting “TOTEM,” an exhibition of sculpture by Steve Lindsay.

It begins Thursday, Nov. 4, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition’s title, “TOTEM,” refers to one of the sculptures in the exhibition, a life-size man with a woman sitting on his shoulders. Carved from pine, the sculpture is 8 feet tall.

Other pieces in the exhibition share the same presence. The figures, some full-size and others on a smaller scale, stand powerfully with arms to their sides, heads slightly bowed.

Lindsay’s work has been described as having a “realness that allows them to stand for humankind.” Besides his figures, he will also exhibit a carved 6-foot-long fish and a selection of his woodcut prints.

A resident of Tenants Harbor, Lindsay moved to Maine more than 25 years ago. Before that, he studied wood sculpture with wood carver Pierre Bourgault and Herman Raby at the Ecole de Sculpture sur Bois in St. Jean-Port Joli, Quebec. He has also worked as an apprentice cabinetmaker in New York.

Lindsay is best known for his direct carvings made from locally available wood and stone. His work is representational, ranging from small delicate carvings to larger than life-size figures hewn from massive logs. Exhibition credits include the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport and the Caldbeck Gallery and Farnsworth Museum, both in Rockland. He has done numerous large commissioned pieces, both private and public, including five Maine Percent for Art commissions.

The exhibit continues through Dec. 17. Gallery hours are Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. FMI: call 753-6500 or go online to usm.maine.edu/lac/art/lindsay.

Both the opening reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public.