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Hilary Kahrl and Eric Leppanen

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July 1- 27, 2014
Opening Reception Friday July 4th, 5-8pm

Hilary Kahrl, Bicycles= Personal Freedom, Love, Susan B. Anthony, stoneware

Hilary Kahrl, Bicycles= Personal Freedom, Love, Susan B. Anthony, stoneware

Hilary Kahrl
BIO

Hilary Kahrl began with painting. It was not until the last semester of her senior year in college in 1999, that she took a class in ceramics. She fell in love. She then sought out ceramics centers everywhere she lived. Her pursuit led her to study at Pottery North West in Seattle, Eagledale Ceramics Center on Bainbridge Island WA, The Hui No’Eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao HI, Portland Pottery Supply in Portland ME and Active Canvas Arts Center in Bangalore India, where she became an artist in residence and a charter member of the Bangalore Potters Guild. Upon moving to Saint George, she had the tremendous good fortune to apprentice with master ceramicist, George Pearlman. That apprenticeship came at a propitious time when Hilary felt certain in a particular artistic vision, and George had the knowledge and the tools to help Hilary’s work move forward. Since working with George, Hilary has worked as a production potter with Arrowsic Island Pottery, and established her own ceramics studio on Islesboro, called Dark Harbor Pottery.

Hilary uses the surfaces of her pots as painting canvases, to tell stories in the round. She hopes to infuse her forms with whimsy and color, and she hopes that when she gives her pieces to her kiln, that a certain magic will happen when fire meets clay, and things move and rearrange a little so that she can stand back and relinquish control, and let the work be a part of the world as well as a part of herself.

Eric Leppanen
BIO

Eric Leppanen, True Grit, reclaimed paint on panel, 36" x 36"

Eric Leppanen, True Grit, reclaimed paint on panel, 36″ x 36″

Leppanen is an artist living and working in Belfast, Maine near friends, family and with his wife Linda and two amazing children Brogan and Zepherin. He was born in 1970 and grew up on the beach in Owls Head, Maine. He attended Suffolk University where he studied business and marketing. Leppanen experimented with art and studied it on his own. Upon graduation he immersed himself in the corporate banking world and spent 16 years in various business and finance roles.

His love and expression of art was put on hold. He was “released” or laid off from the corporate world in 2009. He was given a gift, an afterlife and since leaving that world he found his passion again and continues to paint and create prolifically. Leppanen is now self­employed, running a successful Cleaning & Property Care business aNeatNook by day and creates by night. Leppanen has been sharing his work at galleries, schools, and businesses throughout Maine.

STATEMENT

“Artist giving old paint a new life”

I am a Maine­born artist and consider myself to be an action painter who recycles old paint – giving it a new life and purpose. I create a constellation of different effects with paint. My experimental art is a combination of taking ideas and materials, adding in energy and emotion, and then letting the paint flow. I work to create visually stimulating texture and depth by directing the paint’s interaction with the forces of nature, yet I find that it is a process that requires both precision and serendipity. I hope my work connects with you and inspires thought and emotion. Please “do” touch artwork.

Eric Leppanen, Seismic, old paint on reclaimed panel door, 36" x 78"

Eric Leppanen, Seismic, old paint on reclaimed panel door, 36″ x 78″

The Ambient Sounds of Quantum and Algorithm at Åarhus Gallery

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Saturday June 14th at 7pm
Sliding scale $5-$10
Please join us for an evening of music with the ambient sounds of Quantum and Algorithm on Saturday, June 14th at 7:00pm.

Quantum Algorithm pics-aa

Algorithm, comprised of Tom Luther, Mike Whitehead and Jacob Fricke, is an ambient music trio presenting a luscious combination of jazz improvisation with performance poetry. Their intriguing and unique moods and soundscapes feature both electronic and acoustic media in concert with lively, lyrically dogmatic spoken word. Their first major performance came as part of the “Elegant Enigmas” show of the work of Edward Gorey in Portland Maine in 2012 and have since performed summer and winter solstice concerts to appreciative audiences in Belfast. Thier first album soon to be released is entitled “Underneath Oblivion”.

Jacob Fricke is a performance poet and actor, and the author of, This Book of Poems You Found (Illuminated Press, 2010). He is a former poet laureate of Belfast and performs frequently in solo and theatrical settings in the New England region. Mike Whitehead is a first call trumpeter and a frequent sideman with local pickup groups. He’s the leader of the Mike Whitehead Group and is the owner/operator of Kat Trax Recording in Thomaston, Maine. He teaches at the Bay Chamber Schools and his album “Habitat” is available through Band Camp. Tom Luther is a pianist and composer, working in acoustic and electronic media. His jazz album, “Everything Is Blue”, was released in 2012, and his group, the Tom Luther Quintet, has performed at the Free Range Festival, Aarhus Gallery, Ginko Blue, and River Tree Arts. His ambient album, “Environments”, will be released in the first quarter of 2014, and features field recordings of nature sounds in the mid-coast of Maine.

‘Quantum’ is the the new solo project of the ever self-reinventing and rhythmically expanding Jason Dean and is comprised of synths and drum machine as well as live instruments that will lead you to an ambient electronic experience that might even make you move your booty.

There is a sliding scale of $5-$10 with light refreshments available. For more information visit www.aarhusgallery.com or call 338-0001.

Åarhus Gallery Celebrates its Seventh Anniversary

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Åarhus Gallery, June 1st 2007

Åarhus Gallery Celebrates its Seventh Anniversary
June 3-29, 2014
Opening Reception Friday June 6th, 5-8pm

Did you know that 999,999 divided by 7 is exactly 142,857, and that happens to be exactly the number of crackers that have been served at Åarhus openings over the years? Not that the Åarhus partners are fanatical about details or anything, but as sure as there are seven colors of the rainbow, seven systems of mathematical catastrophes and ‘Sweet 7’ is Åarhus’s favorite Sugababes album, the Åarhus Gallery doors have been swinging now for, you guessed it; SEVEN years!

So whether you have to hike the seven hills of Constantinople or sail the seven seas, or just row across from Searsport, come join the Åahusians in celebration of our seventh anniversary, Friday June 6th for an Anniversary show reception, from 5-8 and meet and converse with local artists, art appreciators, and a whole bunch of normal people too! Or just have a cracker or two, or seven if you like.

The show runs from June 3rd through June 29th and features artworks by Åarhus partners: Mark Kelly, Richard Mann, Wesley Reddick and Willy Reddick.

 

Details: Wesley Reddick, Mark Kelly, Richard Mann, Willy Reddick

Details: Wesley Reddick, Mark Kelly, Richard Mann, Willy Reddick

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Tom Luther Quintet

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Tom Luther Quintet

Date: Saturday May 24, 2014
$10 suggested donation

The Tom Luther Quintet returns to Åarhus Gallery on Saturday, May 24th for an evening of vibrant original jazz. TLQ features some of the most accomplished young musicians in Maine as well as seasoned veterans, performing exciting original music that draws from the wellspring of jazz and freely floats in the worlds of rock, ambient, and world music.

“We have a great combination of musicians in this group, who break a wide path through the art,” says pianist and composer Tom Luther. “We build from our jazz training, and expand through our varied experience. The result is music that sits clearly in the genre, but is always looking beyond it, and pushing at the boundaries.”

Luther hopes to fully exploit the eclectic nature and flexibility of his bandmates with several new works he will be premiering at the performance. “I’m culling two pieces from my latest ambient music project, Twelve Moons, and I am bringing a third piece inspired by the music of Senegalese master singer Youssou N’Dour,” comments Luther. Luther treats the challenge of this kind of cross fertilization as an artistic necessity, owing to both the increasing speed at which information travels and the inherently hybrid nature of jazz. “Jazz has always been a mixed language, and in the modern era, masters like Charles Mingus and Herbie Hancock have pushed that idea even further”, says Luther, citing two of his major inspirations.

TLQ features Mike Whitehead on trumpet and flugelhorn, Gideon Forbes on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Tom Luther on piano, Duane Edwards on bass, and Jacob Forbes on drums. The performance will be from 7:00pm until 9:00, and there is a suggested donation of $10 with light refreshments available. For more information call 207-338-0001.

Sky

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Drew Fales, White Rubber-Powered Free Flight Stick and Tissue Plane, balsa, Japanese tissue, music wire, paint, aluminum tubing, plywood, 16" wingspan

Drew Fales, White Rubber-Powered Free Flight Stick and Tissue Plane,
balsa, Japanese tissue, music wire, paint, aluminum tubing, plywood,
16″ wingspan

May 1 – June 1, 2014
Opening Reception Friday May 2nd, 5-8pm

The dawning sky has a way of leading us into our mood for the day… and the night sky beckons us to wonder.

That astral dome which lies so silent above us as we stand on the surface of the earth, holds the heavens and presents to the world a universe of celestial bodies. And the colors of the light those shimmering globes do so humbly fling across the galaxies, our poor utilitarian human eyes cannot see, other than narrow bands of the rainbow, a pallid sampling in contrast to the entirety of the extraterrestrial splendor the sky does otherwise avail to us, the unwitting observers.

No wonder we want to fly a kite, or an airplane, or peer centuries into the past sparkles of stars. And is it a wonder that we name a bird capable of effortless ascent to the upper atmosphere, a vulture, as if in jealous contempt?

Of all the thousand things, the sky, it would appear, is our limit…

Kevin Johnson, Daydream Interrupted, photograph

Kevin Johnson, Daydream Interrupted, photograph

Rachael Eastman Silence 2 oil on canvas over box panel 12" x36"

Rachael Eastman
Silence 2
oil on canvas over box
panel
12″ x36″

Featured artists include: Susan Amons, Marcie Jan Bronstein, Kenny Cole, Rachael Eastman, Drew Fales, Sarah Faragher, J.T. Gibson, Ralph Hassenpflug, Kevin Johnson, Mark Kelly, Freddy LaFage, Richard Mann, Cathy Melio, Wesley Reddick, Willy Reddick, Liv Kristin Robinson, Johan Selmer-Larson, James Strickland.

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Media Artist Walter Ungerer

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Saturday April 26, 2014 at 7:30pm

Please join us for an evening of experimental film with Camden filmmaker Walter Ungerer Saturday April 26 at 7:30pm, with a Q&A after the show. Admission is sliding scale $5-$10 with light refreshments.

Walter Ungerer was born in 1935 in Harlem, New York. He is a longtime filmmaker with an international reputation. Beginning with the underground film scene of NYC in the early 1960s, Walter continues with
his experimental short films, videos and features to this day.

With fifty years of filmmaking, video, computer, and media experience, Walter Ungerers’ works have been well received at festivals and competitions throughout the world, to name a few: the Florence International Film Festival, the Tours International Film Festival, France, the Athens International Film Festival (Best Feature Film) and the Atlantic Film and Video Festival, NS, Canada (Critics’ Choice Award). He has been honored with special exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City and the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam as well as several other impressive venues. He has also received among other grants and awards, an American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker grant and a National Endowment for the Arts Media grant.

Walter’s methods have changed somewhat since his early years of filmmaking. At the end of the twentieth century he made the transition to computer editing systems and dslr cameras. Nonetheless, he still relies on an intuitive approach to decision making with a predilection for the themes of nature, earth, the unknown and unknowable.

Ungerer_Monarda2

Paper

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David Estey, Scrutiny, acrylic & graphite on Yupo, 24" x 18"

April 3rd-27th, 2014
Opening Reception: Friday April 4th, 5-8pm

Please join us for a show entitled ‘Paper’, which runs from April 3rd through April 27th with an opening reception Friday April 4th, 5-8pm.

Paper…. plentiful, prosaic, powerful. Our ‘Paper’ show, plain and simply is… artworks that speak of paper. This would include but is not limited to: works on paper, works about paper or works made of paper.

Curiously, the earliest use of paper we know of is the wrapping paper for a delicate bronze mirror from about 180 B.C. unearthed in China. But paper as we know it, didn’t become used by the common person until after the1840’s when mass produced wood pulp paper, the steam powered printing press, the fountain pen and the mighty pencil came on line all at about the same time. This perfect storm of technological advances caused ground shaking shifts in the 19th century economy and societies of the world’s industrial nations. Why? Because paper is pretty stupendous stuff. It enabled (and still does enable) the common people to express their ideas for the world to reflect upon. Not the least of which are the quiet revelations of a child upon seeing a family likeness in their scibbles on a piece of newsprint, the quick sketch of a problem solved on the back of an envelope, or the poetry in the stark simplicity of a paper cut.

So tear on down to Åarhus and un-wrap your mind around… Paper. It just might give you something to draw from.

Featured artists include; Daniel Anselmi, Constance Cossette, Maryjean Crowe, David Estey, Mark Kelly, Bennett Konesni, Karen MacDonald, Richard Mann, Leslie Miller, Ben Potter, Abbie Read, Wesley Reddick, Willy Reddick, Dyan Ross and Kari Van Tine.

Click here to read the review by Britta Konau in The Free Press.

Maryjean Viano Crowe, Beauty and Terror, cut paper on plexiglass, 30" x 44"

Maryjean Viano Crowe, Beauty and Terror, cut paper on plexiglass, 30″ x 44″

The Gawler Sisters and Bennett Konesni in Concert

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Saturday March 8, 2014
7:30pm
Tickets; sliding scale $8- $16 at the door.

Gawler Sisters4

Åarhus Gallery is very excited to host a concert of the fun-loving, locally grown, folk-singing Gawler Sisters, the day after Valentine’s Day – Saturday February 15th at 7:30pm. They will be joined by the talented philharmonic farmer himself – singer songwriter Bennett Konesni, in what promises to be an evening of wonderful music and beautiful harmonies. Molly Gawler plays the fiddle and is a dancer who has toured internationally with Pilobolus Dance Theater as the lead in the production, Shadowland. Elsie Gawler incorporates the cello into folk music with a range of chops, backup rhythms and innovative chord structures. She is also an avid painter, spinner, knitter and potter. Edith Gawler fills out the Gawler ensemble with rich, low vocal harmonies and skilled musicianship on banjo and fiddle. She is also a designer and farmer along with her husband Bennett. As a duo based in Belfast, she and Bennett teach worksong workshops that seek to put the ‘culture’ back in agriculture.

The group’s songbook is an extensive collection of traditional and original tunes in the Scots-Irish, Franco-American and Scandinavian traditions. These folk-blues, gutsy worksongs, and amusing odes to everyday life are complemented by angelic three-part-harmony, infectious spirit, and sparkling musicianship. This trio plus one, generously share their heartfelt, grassroots sense of community and will leave you smiling and feeling part of the family. And a lovely family it is.

Come feel the love! Tickets at the door are sliding scale, $8-$16 with light refreshments. Cds will be available to purchase.

Website – www.gawlerfamily.com
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6th Annual “44N 69W: Radius Belfast” 2014

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6th Annual “44N 69W: Radius Belfast” 2014
showcases local artists and supports food pantries
March 6th – 30th, 2014
Opening Reception Friday March 7th, 5-8 pm

Please join us for an opening reception Friday March 7th, 5-8pm for the kick-off of the sixth annual, ’44N 69W: Radius Belfast’ Show. An all encompassing exhibition celebrating the local creative energies of Maine residents from children to centenarians, amateurs to bigwigs, living within a thirty mile radius of Belfast. The show runs from March 6th through March 30th and will be packed with work from potters, painters, welders, woodcarvers, mobile makers, sculptors and knitters. Artworks celebrating and illuminating this vast creative community will be on view and for sale with a charitable percentage of sales and entry fees going to food banks within a thirty-mile radius of Belfast. Last year a record 300 pieces of art were exhibited floor to ceiling to the delight of hundreds of visitors, friends and loved ones with consequent sales enabling donations to be made to some of the 40 soup kitchens and food pantries within the thirty mile radius of Belfast under the auspices of the Good Shepherd Food Bank.

Radius Show 2014

Radius Show 2014

Call for Art: 6th Annual “44N 69W: Radius Belfast”

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radius-2010Åarhus Gallery in Belfast, announces a call for art for our all-encompassing 6th Annual show entitled “44N 69W: Radius Belfast“. The exhibition celebrates and illuminates this vast creative community and runs March 6th – 30th, 2014, with an Opening Reception on Friday March 7th, 5-8 pm. This call is open to all residents of any age or training, from children to bigwigs, living within a 30 mile radius of Belfast, Maine who make art or craft. Artworks must have been created within the last two years but there are no specifications regarding the content of the works. Works in all media are welcomed, will be for sale and should be ready to hang. Up to three entries per person, with a maximum size of 30”each (including frame), all works will be shown at our discretion. There is a $10 entry fee per piece, 3 for $20; children 12 and under $5 per piece. Drop off is at Åarhus Gallery, 50 Main Street, Belfast during open hours 11-5:30pm, Thursday February 27th through Sunday March 2nd. Sorry, no mail entries will be accepted.

Artists will receive 50% commision for the sale of their work. Åarhus Gallery will donate a portion of all proceeds to local Food Banks within a 30 mile radius of Belfast. Unsold work must be picked up April 3rd through April 6th.