MAA announces seven upcoming exhibits

The Marblehead Arts Association is presenting seven exhibits from artist members in the galleries of its historic King Hooper Mansion. 8 Hooper St. These exhibits will run from Aug. 12 to Sept. 24 with an opening reception on Sunday, Aug. 13, from 2-4 p.m.

Here is a sneak peek:

‘Sculptures Inspired by Travel’ by Dan Zampino

Zampino has traveled to numerous countries, often to find inspiration. Zampino has found stories in all the places he has visited. Those stories, he says, can be ancient or modern, mythic or frought with realism.

Zampino says all the stories weave together a unifying vision.

‘Louis’ by Louis and Marjorie Rizzo

The entire process of painting with watercolor has always held the Rizzos spellbound. When colored pigments mingle into kaleidoscopic rivers as they run down the paper creating granulation, color magic happens.

The couple spent their first

30 years working as potters and sculptors. In those days, the slow kiln firing performed the miracle of merging colors with tantalizing visual effects. With watercolor, the same thrill occurs while watching paint and water create wondrous colors on white paper.

‘Coast to Costa’ by Janet Wolahan

In New England, there is a sense of the nearness of the sea. Even inland, when she was a child growing up in Malden, Wolahan always felt the sea’s vital presence, miles away from her, an attractive force as strong as a magnet.

While traveling recently to the western coast of Ireland, Wolahan saw evidence of the same coastal activities, with a tumult of varied greens and surprising, extreme rock formations offshore, giving Ireland’s coast its own dramatic flavor.

‘In the Spirit of Andrew Wyeth’ by Joe Votano Votano has created mostly painterly images reflecting his styles: dry brush was used to create the image, “A Story to Tell,” tempera-like colors in “The Visitor” and watercolors in “Window to the Sea” as examples. Votano was noted for his realistic paintings.

The 20 images in this exhibit are a small segment of those Votano has captured over many years of tracking the Maine coast and places he feels reflect Andrew Wyeth’s emotional and spiritual being.

‘A Layered Life… Finding Meaning in Collage’ by Michele J. Kenna

Working in collage has given Michele a creative respite apart from the grief of losing her life partner, Robert Benedict, in 2022. Losing all sense of time, while in the process of creating a deeply personal collage, greatly helped Michele deal with her grief.

Kenna uses extensive kinds of paper, watercolor and acrylic paint, handwritten mementos from loved ones, old photos, maps, ripped remnants of old paintings. When the collage is completed, a meaning slowly appears. The theme of loss is reflected throughout this exhibit. The recurring image of the circle in each collage adds to the continuity of the series. The circle symbolizes the circle of life, no beginning and no end.

‘The Handmade Photograph’ by Ptaricia Scialo

Scialo’s art focuses on altering photographs using a mixedmedia approach. Her unique prints are film-based and printed by hand in a traditional darkroom lab.

The observation of light is the starting point of Scialo’s photographic works. She is inspired by the way light cast on an object creates shadows and depth, how it highlights, softens or sometimes diffuses, creating an emotional response.

‘Look’ by Shawn Stolarz

The work featured in “Look” highlights Stolarz’s interest in drawing and painting the human figure. He developed this study by portraying well-known figures and icons, such as Kate Moss and Georgia Palmer. Some of the well-known icons inspire him with their traditional beauty, as well as the emotion conveyed with each “look.”

To depict the beauty of the human figure, he has been exploring both realism and surrealism and the blending of the two styles. Stolzarz has also been experimenting with paint application as a way to achieve modern effects, in addition to the use of light, shadow and symbolism.

The MAA galleries are open and free to the public. The above exhibits will run from Aug. 12 to Sept. 24 and will be available for viewing in person from Wednesday to Sunday from noon-to-5 p.m. As with all Marblehead Arts exhibits, the artwork will be available for online viewing in a virtual exhibit located on marbleheadarts.org.

The Marblehead Arts Association is at 8 Hooper St. Hours of Operation: Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m. To arrange a private appointment to view the exhibit, please contact Xhazzie Kindle at xhazzie@marbleheadarts. org.

marbleheadCurrent.org Marblehead Current Wednesday, August 9, 2023 A11 CP_MBHC_20230809_1_A11 FINAL-18 Mon, Aug 7, 2023 3:04:02 PM

tERM

Marblehead Select Board solicits feedback for policy