Art Exhibit: “Edge of the Land, Edge of the Water”

The York Public Library exhibit “Edge of the Land, Edge of the Water” is now on view until October 29. The exhibit features three New England Artists with very different styles, all representing their views of the landscape.

Stephen Harby, an architect who lives in York in the summer, is an expert watercolorist. His representational paintings include many of views of York and other Maine sites as well as views of sites in Italy, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.  His fresh execution delivers a sense of spontaneity while the white of the watercolor paper suffuses the scenes with light.

Toby Gordon lives and paints in Kittery Point, Maine. She studied painting and drawing at the University of New Hampshire and has taken workshops with artists Tom Glover, Wendy Turner, and many others. Her paintings employ the palette knife and create impressions of landscapes pared down to their essence and sometimes to abstraction. Her beautiful colors create a calm and reflective space.

Brett Gamache’s landscapes often include people in recreational or work settings. In his studio in Ipswich, MA, he composes very colorful canvases, sometimes executed with heavy oil paint.  He simplifies the forms of his subjects yet conveys a realistic sense of light, action, and place.

On a different note, the glass showcases at the front of the Library contain a series of delightful small sculptures of animals by Jeff and Carol Tollefson. Their experience making thrown clay vessels led them to hand-built work and then to sculpting their interpretations of animals—both natural such as monkeys, and fanciful such as dragons–in that same clay.  These fired clay creatures would be a perfect accent for a home library shelf!