(Image: "Purple" by Jean Ann Pollard)
(Belfast, ME) The exhibit opens on August 17 with a public reception at 5:00 pm. “When I walked into the Maine Farmland Trust Gallery, I instantly felt at home and knew it was a place where I’d like my paintings to be shown. It wasn’t just another gallery; it was a place visited by people who really care about the land and our planet—which is what I’ve been writing and painting about for years.” Such began the relationship between artist and writer Jean Ann Pollard and the gallery that Maine Farmland Trust operates in downtown Belfast. That relationship culminates this month in a solo exhibit by Jean called “Our Sacred Earth”.
The exhibit features a collection of paintings from Pollard’s Gaia Series, which the artist intended to “awaken people to the glories of, as well as the threats to, Mother Earth.” The series began in 1986 with Gaia #1: Home #1. This large, complex painting presented our planet as seen from space. The earth is surrounded by the sculpting of human inventions, activities, dreams and myths, as well as birds, animals, sea creatures, plants—a myriad of things that make our planet fascinating and unique.
Pollard’s paintings have found their way into international collections at universities, biological research stations, and the like.
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(Image: "Square" by Jean Ann Pollard)
To create her multi-faceted paintings, Pollard uses a variety of media, including acrylic paints, and various substances that allow a certain measure of sculpting that creates a raised effect.
The first image that catches ones eye in one of these paintings is invariably the circular outline of our precious earth. But a closer look reveals spiraling images of incredible detail encircling our globe, which tell their own archetypal stories. One has the distinct impression of journeying through zones of time and space across earth’s mythological or zoological history.
Pollard’s wish is not only to raise awareness about the plight of our planet, but also – through each sale of her art work – to support the efforts of Maine Farmland Trust to support farmers and protect farmland in Maine.
Maine Farmland Trust is a statewide non-profit organization working to keep Maine’s farms farming. Maine Farmland Trust created its gallery to celebrate art in agriculture, and to inspire and inform the public about farming in Maine.
Maine Farmland Trust Gallery is located at 97 Main Street in Belfast, and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, as well as during Belfast Art Walks (1st Fridays 5:30 to 8:00 pm in June and September through December; and every Friday in July and August). For more information, please visit www.mainefarmlandtrustgallery.org or www.mainefarmlandtrust.org.
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