NORWAY — The Lajos Matolcsy Arts Center will hold an opening reception Saturday, Oct. 2, for “Love Letters to an American Gothic,” a solo exhibit of recent paintings by Veronica Cross inspired by the imagery of Maine.

Cross’ earlier work explores ideas of memory, desire and social politics from the perspective of contemporary popular culture in combination with Victorian sensibilities.

The new mixed media works in “Love Letters to an American Gothic” continue this contemplation of time and memory. Her technique of integrating swatches of cut paper onto the painted surface creates a pentimento to express these themes.

The “Love Letters” exhibit sets words to pictures. Quixotic phrases recede and advance from within their familiar landscapes. The intimate scale of the work invites the viewer into the moment.

The exhibit features vignettes of decaying cars reclaimed by raspberry vines, a menagerie of taxidermy lovingly arranged and the sense of a humble place in the natural world. The re-purposed, discarded and venerated objects within these paintings may be understood as portraits.

Cross has photographed Maine landscapes extensively, but has found a more poetic and original approach to her observations through her paintings.

She moved to Maine in 2006 from New York City, where she studied at the School of Visual Arts, the Art Students League and SUNY Empire State College. She currently divides her time between western Maine and Portland.

The reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Lajos Matolcsy Arts Center, based in a former one-room schoolhouse and home to the Western Maine Art Group founded by Matolcsy in 1968.

The exhibit will be up through Oct. 31. Gallery hours are 1 to 3 p.m. on Monday, 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. To preview the show, go to veronicacrossstudio.com.