"The Value of Thought" opens September 1 at Ogunquit Museum of American Art /  by Alison Rector

The Ogunquit Museum displays luminous oil paintings by Alison Rector in an exhibit titled The Value of Thought.  Rector’s work celebrates the beauty and serenity of Maine’s libraries in 18 paintings.   Her work has been praised for the depiction of light with radiant color and quiet beauty.  The show is on view in from September 1 until October 31, 2017.

The Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) was founded by Lost Generation artist Henry Strater and opened in 1953. Closely connected to two of America’s earliest art colonies that directly contributed to the roots of American modernism, OMAA today houses a permanent collection of important paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photographs from the late 1800s to the present and is the only museum in Maine devoted exclusively to the exhibition, preservation, and interpretation of American art. A short walk from Perkins Cove, the museum and its three acres of sculpture gardens overlook Narrow Cove and the Atlantic Ocean. OMAA is open May 1 through October 31, daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.ogunquitmuseum.org.

Rector’s exhibit at the Ogunquit Museum is sponsored by Greenhut Galleries in Portland, Maine.

           

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"The Value of Thought" paintings at Ogunquit Museum of American Art /  by Alison Rector

An exhibit of paintings by Alison Rector will be on view at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) in Ogunquit Maine September 1 to October 31, 2017.

The Value of Thought is the latest in a series of paintings by Rector exploring historic public library buildings.  18 paintings will be on view in the Long Gallery at the museum.

Alison Rector writes "At the Blue Hill Public Library in Blue Hill Maine, there’s a small painting of the library’s interior hanging next to the circulation desk. I painted this picture in 2010 around the time many Maine public libraries celebrated their centenary. The quiet sweep of light falling across the floor into the illuminated room beyond drew me in. I imagined the decades past, the generations of readers in these rooms, relishing the calm of the shared quiet space.

Then I heard a news story by NPR’s Susan Stamberg describing How Andrew Carnegie Turned his Fortune into a Library Legacy. That history piqued my interest in the libraries around me. Maine is home to 20 Carnegie libraries. I set out with my painter’s eye to visit them all. Along the way, library enthusiasts spoke with me about other favorite public library buildings, so I visited them too. I was charmed by the rooms designed for thought and quiet reflection, the stacks of books, the historic art collections. Now if I pass a public library, I usually stop and go inside."

If you'd like to view a catalogue of Rector's library paintings,  click here.

Alison Rector, U.S. State Dept. Arts Envoy in Qatar /  by Alison Rector

In April 2016,  Rector traveled to Doha Qatar through the Arts Envoy Program of the US State Department.  At the invitation of the US Embassy in Doha,  Rector met with artists, art students, diplomats and art program directors for one week.  Approximately 40 students attended Rector's Color Theory and Painting classes at Souq Waqif Arts Center as well as Katara Cultural Village.  Rector also was invited to teach a class of about 20 young girls at the Maymouna Independent Primary School for Girls in Doha.  Highlights included a plein air painting experience outdoors in the desert as well as visiting artist's studios, museums and galleries.

"It was my honor to serve as an Arts Envoy cultural diplomat in Doha",  says Rector.  "I observed life in this modern Gulf country, learning about muslim culture in the Middle East as well as the international population of Doha.   Interacting with artists from many nations who live and work in Qatar was an adventure I'll long remember."

Watch this short video of Rector speaking about her experience:  

https://twitter.com/kataraqatar/status/717042512624541697

 

 

Praise from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art /  by Alison Rector

CMCA's Art to Collect Now auction catalogue 2015 writes:

"In Alison Rector's poetic and quietly ordered interiors, it seems that something is about to happen or something has just occurred.  A flicker of disorder- a closet door ajar- suggests a story:  evidence of lives, of change.  Her work has been included in multiple biennial exhibitions at the Portland Museum of Art and CMCA."