Lubec’s Crow Town Gallery’s first show of the 2017 season features three artists with distinctly unique visions of The Bay of Fundy and its surrounds; Shanna Wheelock, Kathrin Hilten, and Richard Van Buren. The show runs from June 29th to July 16th, with the opening reception at 7:00 pm on July 6th.
Shanna Wheelock, a Maine native, came to Lubec sixteen years ago when the last factory of a once-bustling industry had just ceased operation. Factory ruins and the local environment became the central inspiration for her current body of work. Her creation process involves translation of images from photographic and written documentation into wax, clay, and ink.
Kathrin Hilten is a New York and Maine based artist who works exclusively in the medium of drawing. A summer resident of Lubec for over 30 years, she has used the same landscape view from her Maine studio as the basis of a 13 year continuing project to study the energies of ocean, sky, forest and land. The drawings primarily work in series and explore the spatial shifts and rhythm changes of line.
Richard Van Buren has exhibited in galleries and museums from New York to Los Angeles. An active contributor to the New York City art community, he moved to Perry in 2001. His sculpture is made from clear casting resin, pigments, and mixed media. Dry pigment is suspended in resin to get color and transparency. Van Buren’s work is greatly influenced by the land and sea scape of the Bay of Fundy.
In his own words. “The sky, the land, the sea are clear and powerful forces that play a part in my work. I do not try to illustrate them, but I know the power they have on me. The sculpture for instance, has some of the light and color that I have experienced early in the morning along the water’s edge. At this time of day, the Bay and shore are in rapid visual transition, subtle and highly energized. The sculpture expresses change and shifting color due to the movement of light. Nothing is static. My sculpture has to do with sensibilities. Fragility, intimacy, and complex delicate color can be important aspects in a successful sculpture.”
—Bonnie Beard