Alison Rector’s “In The Studio”, 50” x 40” oil painting on linen is on view in this lovely group exhibition titled Wish You Were Here.
In the age of social media, we often experience our friends' and family's travel experiences through smiling selfies in beautiful locales, broadcast to an entire network of followers with just a quick click. While those images have their charm - after all, who doesn't like to see their loved ones having a wonderful time -- they lack not only the more interactive appeal of an old fashioned "Wish You Were Here" postcard, but also the warmth, generosity, and sense of intimacy apparent in the sender addressing their wish to us, specifically.
Travel -- whether to far flung lands or in simply driving out of the city to hike a local forest -- is not only exciting but also transformative. We are not merely entertained or engaged; we are changed. That simple, hand-inscribed "Wish You Were Here" invites the recipient on a vicarious journey and also expresses the sender’s earnest desire for a shared experience -- and for you to be similarly impacted.
In curating this show, we selected work that captures that feeling. Whether depicting a busy cafe scene in Rome, the grandeur of the Maine woods or coast, the grit of urban graffiti, or the charm of a small town parade, the images in this exhibition invite you to share the experience of the artist, to be transported to that time and place, and to be similarly affected by the sites that inspired them.
FEATURED ARTISTS:
J. Babb, C. Beneman, M. Blackwell, J. Bye, T. Connolly, G. Drumheller, K. Engman, M. Freedman, P. Frey, K. Galligan, R. Germon, A. Goodwin, T. Hall, M. Hensick, T. Higgins, C. Hood, J. Imber, T. Ingraham, W. Irvine, S. Knock, M. Lawrence, D. Minter, N. Morgan Barnes, J. Mullen, T. Paiement, C. Page, A. Rector, G. Renell, A. Richardson, J. Schneider, K. Smith, B. Stahnke, J. Whalley, N. Welliver