SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2026
York Public Library is pleased to announce Collage Connections, an exhibition of collage art by two collage artists, Linda Payne-Sylvester and Susan Victoria Fried, on display from September 2 through October 30, 2026, in the Library’s Upper Level.
The exhibit showcases the visual and thematic connections between these two artists’ works through color, spontaneity, and whimsy. Music plays a role in their art as expressed in movement, rhythm, and descriptive titles. Fashion, another shared theme, shows up with nods to Pop Art. Each artist draws on her personal experience by incorporating snippets of text from childhood recollections or cherished memories.
While attending the Boston Museum School Linda Payne-Sylvester’s attraction to the printing process led her to switch from painting to printmaking. After school, her path took her to a career in the commercial printing and publishing fields, then to photography and graphic design. She took workshops at Maine Photography Workshops (now Maine Media Workshops) and a workshop with Ansel Adams in Yosemite, CA. As an editorial photographer she received national awards for magazine cover photography including from New York’s Art Director’s Club; her work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, the New York Times, and Art in America Magazine. Her fine art photography has been purchased by major Boston companies.
Payne-Sylvester moved to York, Maine in 2000 where she has exhibited locally through the York and Kittery Art Associations and the Ogunquit Barn Gallery. Her recent
collage work has evolved from her earlier photography of still life floral imagery with its focus on reflections and shadow patterns.
“For many years I did fine art photography of still life floral imagery focusing on reflections and shadow patterns but my original interest in painting called to me. I wanted to express more spontaneity and abstraction than what I was able to do in photography. I was led to mixed media collage which incorporates painting, drawing, and photography, with paper collage using my earlier photography and art prints as source material to cut up. Color is a primary element in my work. My professional experience of having worked with pressmen in the printing and publishing fields taught me the art and skill of color correction and enhancement which I employ and enjoy when printing my work. My subject matter is close to home—I’m an avid gardener. Rather than portraying floral still life and garden scenes realistically, I see them as abstracted compositions filled with unexpected humor. I am inspired by the Cubism of Georges Braque and the airy playfulness of Kandinsky.”
Wit, whimsy, and a sense of romance are the themes Susan Victoria Fried aims to portray in her coloristic multi-media collages and paintings. Having practiced corporate law and served as a chief officer in a large international law firm for decades, she was happy to put that aside and let loose her creative side. While not formally trained as an artist, Fried’s eye, her appreciation for art, and personal aesthetic developed over a lifetime of looking at art around the world and reading voraciously about artists’ lives and their bodies of work. She has taken classes with Brett Gamache, Gail Sauter, Tom Glover and Dustan Knight and her work has been shown in group shows in several local galleries. She has had solo shows in Boston and in London.
“The joy of juxtaposing unexpected color combinations with patterns and textures into fantastical arrangements and stories drives me to create. Paper, paint, found objects and fabric feature in most of my pieces. I use items found in haberdashery shops in NYC, Paris, London, and hardware stores in Tokyo. I create my own papers by embedding images, sometimes of my own artwork, onto rice paper and use everything from years of collecting antique book pages, magazines, paper napkins, and wallpaper. The Scottish Colourists and Les Fauves are my inspirations.”
The public is invited to meet the artists at an opening reception on Tuesday, September 8 from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is free.
The exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours.
