(Rockland, ME) David Estey is an amazing pictural linguist, creating a complex visual dialogue with this new, intuitive body of work. David arrived at this project very deliberately, and after 40+ years of consistent brush to surface effort. The show will open on the First Friday Art Walk in Rockland on June 1 from 12:00 to 8:00 pm. Improvisations on Yupo runs through July 3rd.

The pieces in this series were painted with acrylic paint—sometimes scratched with graphite—on Yupo. Yupo is a synthetic paper originally manufactured in Japan that holds super sharp edges while allowing for manipulation. It is durable, recyclable, waterproof, and very smooth. David was intrigued when he heard about it, so he bought a few sheets and began working with acrylic on it. He started out painting only in black, painting spontaneously, with total emotional output. He realized he could work the paint with other tools, and wipe it off as well. He fell in love with the freedom this combination afforded him, and started to add color. The result is a large body of work with an enormous amount of depth.

The street level solo exhibit, appropriately titled "Improvisations on Yupo," represents 37 of over 200 pieces completed in the last 14 months. In David's words, "Working in acrylic on Yupo has enabled me to develop extraordinarily fresh, abstract expressions without any preconceived notions. Sometimes narrative references emerge and remain, but they are totally integrated with and subordinate to the aesthetic whole, securely grounded in the elements and principles of good design. The results can be felt viscerally in the heart and soul, with or without a narrative context".

About David Estey
David Estey lives and paints in Maine. He holds degrees from Rhode Island School of Design and George Washington University. He has exhibited and taught art in Maine, the Mid-Atlantic States and North Carolina. His work can be found in public and private collections in much of the US and Canada, as well as Belarus, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Vienna, and undoubtedly many more places. He has had several solo exhibitions in museums and galleries over the past twenty years. Maine Home and Design Magazine named David Estey one of Maine 's most collectible artists.

The upstairs gallery at Carver Hill will feature the work of Adriance DeGroff, Jon Kolkin, Mark Lindsey, America Martin, Dianne Schelble, Diane Bowie Zaitlin and Ted Keller. Work upstairs will rotate weekly throughout the summer. Carver Hill Gallery is located at 338 Main Street in Rockland. For summer gallery hours or more information, please visit www.carverhillgallery.com.