AUGUSTA – Works of several artists from Lewiston are on exhibit in the office of the state Senate this summer. Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, initiated the exhibit to display the talent of the artists.

The paintings, photographs and sculpture offer many styles and media. One is an oil painting, “A la memoire de nos ancetres” (In Memory of Our Ancestors), a 46- by 54-inch work hanging in the president’s office by artist Mercedes Gastonguay.

Gastonguay said the painting is a tribute to Franco-American ancestors who labored to make the Lewiston-Auburn area what it is today.

Two of the exhibitors have studios in Lewiston’s Hill Mill. Painter John A. Stass is showing acrylics, expressing his ideas in modernist styles. Much of his inspiration came from Picasso, Dali, Hartley and Pollack, he said.

The other artist is Ray A. Michaud, whose silica and oil works were inspired by Orthodox and Buddhist iconography and codified symbolism. His immersion in the mill environment influenced the mediums he uses for paintings, Michaud said.

Photographic work by Daniel J. Marquis and Leonard Bartel also is on display. Marquis said his favorite types of photography are nature close-ups and landscape. Bartel said his camera allows him to take more notice of the environment, “seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary and making it visible.”

Other artists participating in the show are photographer Jose Leiva and the artistic team of Susan Broadbent and Richard Dahlquist. Wildlife and wilderness artwork by Dave Footer is on exhibit as well.

The exhibit is on display until Sept. 3. The public is encouraged to see the exhibit in Democratic offices, or Rooms 328 and 320, on the third floor of the State House.

For more information, call 287-1500 or 287-1515.

LA Arts Gallery 5 curator Tammie Grieshaber helped with the exhibition of 34 works by Lewiston artists. The L/A Arts Gallery 5 promotes art in all media, and serves as an educational resource.