NEW SHOW

Wild Beauty 

new paintings by Martha Wakefield

Gallery 53

53 Rocky Neck Ave., Gloucester, MA

Opens Wednesday 8/12 - Tuesday 9/1, 2015

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 15,  6-8 pm

Wild Beauty is the title of my upcoming Summer Artist Series show at Gallery 53 on Rocky Neck in Gloucester. The show opens on Wednesday, August 12 and closes on Tuesday, September 1.   Join me and enjoy libations and light refreshments at the artist reception on Saturday, August 15 from 6-8 pm.

"Nature is a constant teacher because it is ever changing: the tide flowing, the clouds passing over the sun, the wind shifting the branches," says Wakefield. "The wildness of the place speaks to me.  I strive to capture the importance of this world, mysterious, ancient yet reborn constantly."

Nature challenges Wakefield to interpret its energy. Working with the tools of a graphic language she constructs a personal portrayal, instead of a literal depiction, of her emotional connection to this wild beauty.  She paints the impression that remains a memory for her.

Born in Maine, Wakefield studied fashion design at the University of Vermont and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.  After a successful career in New York City’s fashion industry, she moved to the Boston area and continued to consult to the fashion world. This business provided opportunities to return to her avocation in art before becoming fully committed to painting in 2007.

 

Wakefield has studied with Wolf Kahn, Jon Imber and Skip Lawrence.  Each of these artists have inspired her color perception and composition.  She also cites the Bay Area Figurative painters as important influencers especially Richard Diebenkorn for his abstraction of the landscape and luminous surfaces, Elmer Bischoff for his sophisticated palette and Nathan Oliveira for his emotional imagery and mark-making.

 

Wakefield is represented by Powers Gallery of Acton, Massachusetts. Her paintings have been featured in Wild Apples: A Journal of Nature, Art and Inquiry; on the book cover of Shadow and Light, A Literary Anthology on Memory; and The Palette Magazine. She is a signature member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters, The Rhode Island Watercolor Society and is a juried member of the Cambridge Art Association of Massachusetts. A staff writer for The Palette Magazine she writes about technique and professional artists.  She also teaches art workshops in the Boston area.  Wakefield’s paintings have won many awards and are in private and corporate collections in United States and Canada. She is a member of the Rocky Neck Art Colony and a past member of Gallery 53 (formerly the Rocky Neck Gallery).

Gallery 53 on Rocky Neck is a juried co-operative gallery located in a historic 19th century building, which features an original and distinctive collection of fine arts by Rocky Neck Art Colony members. Previously known as the Rocky Neck Gallery, the collective showcases work by invited New England artists in seven Summer Artist Series shows throughout the season. Gallery 53 is open daily from 10 AM -  6 PM from May 22 until October 13. See rockyneckartcolony.org for a full schedule of gallery events. 

The Rocky Neck Art Colony, a 501(C)3 non-profit organization, nurtures excellence in the arts through exhibitions, workshops, residencies and vibrant cultural events for its members and the public.  Today Rocky Neck continues to attract artists and art lovers to a thriving creative community. For up-to-date information, visits www.rockyneckartcolony.org