Nice event tonight! Art Opening for two different exhibitions: Minimalism and the PEM Inspirational exhibit, Friday April 12, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Salem Arts Association Galleries at 159 Derby Street, in beautiful downtown Salem, Massachusetts. The reception is free and open to public. Music! Refreshments! Fun! And lots and lots of art.

This is Salem Arts Association’s 18th annual Peabody Essex Museum Inspirational Exhibition. Our Time on Earth an amazing exhibit at the PEM is “Part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative, this traveling exhibition from the Barbican Centre in London celebrates the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency.”https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/our-time-on-earth  I was truly excited by this exhibit and plan to go back! I was delighted that my painting, Mother Earth, was juried in to this show.

Mother Earth is an acrylic painting on stretched canvas, 24″ x 30″ framed. The background is mottled metallic paints that change with the light. My father was born in Ireland; the spirals on the Earth’s oceans, the knots of the tree’s roots, and the circle of protecting trees were inspired by my interest in Celtic style art. The ancient Irish worshiped trees. It is meant to remind us to think of all the creatures of the Earth being intertwined.

In the words of the Salem Arts call for artists, Minimalism is a form of abstract art that came about in the 1950’s in the US and spread worldwide. Minimalism was best described as art with no subtext or, “What you see is what you get.”  Salem Arts Association invited our artist members to present the essence of their expression, to strip down their creative process to concepts that represent a world of simplicity where less is more, and to explore and play with the idea that art doesn’t necessarily have to represent a deep thought or evoke emotion – sometimes, it can just… be.

My painting that was juried into the Minimalism exhibit is titled Evacuation Day (acrylic, 24″ x 20″). I painted it one cold, forbidding March 17 — Evacuation Day! A far cry from the color and joy of a St. Patrick’s Day parade. But this is how New England looks in March, and it has its own stark, minimalist beauty. It is was the view from my kitchen window and as I stood at my easel painting it, I was attracted to the tessellating shapes and angles set against the lacy bare trees and their dramatic shadows.

Salem Arts Association is located at 159 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970. We are open every Saturday and Sunday from noon until 6:00 p.m. While you are there to view our art exhibitions, don’t forget to visit our Gallery Shop where you will find all manner of exquisite hand-made creations by our members: jewelry, paintings, textiles, prints, woodworking, pottery, etc.

Contact us: info@SalemArts.org

#SalemArts

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