Exhibits at Maine art galleries are full of tricks and treats | Column

Maine’s Summer Art Scene Winds Down, But New Works Keep the State’s Galleries Thriving

As the summer heat gives way to the crisp air of early October, several Portland‑area galleries are closing their doors on their current shows. Yet the season’s cultural calendar is far from finished: artists from across the state are showcasing new work in Portland, Rockland, Woolwich, and beyond. From a video‑driven revival of Victorian portraiture to a gilded critique of traditional angel imagery, the exhibitions on offer span the spectrum of contemporary Maine art.

82 Parris – “The Darkroom” (Portland)

The artist‑run gallery on 82 Parris St. will host Olivia Maday’s “The Darkroom” until October 24. The installation features two suspended panels made of 270 Victorian cabinet cards—each a photograph of a woman mounted on cardboard. The cards are threaded together in two grids, then hung from the ceiling. Projected onto them, a translucent video of Maday dancing through a scrim is layered with a soundtrack of chimes, wind, and whispered sounds.

Maday’s concept is a “living archive.” She is combing through the cards’ back‑side inscriptions, studio records, and other clues to recover the identities of the women whose faces have been erased to black rectangles. In the shadows cast by the projected images, viewers see either supportive architecture or the bars of a jail cell, underscoring the tension between repression and liberation that the installation explores.

The gallery’s hours are usually Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but Maday is extending the show’s reach by staying to open on Thursday and Friday. Visitors are encouraged to call 248‑974‑5738 before visiting.

Dowling Walsh – “Dominique Ostuni: Would an Angel Apologize for Spilling Champagne?” (Rockland)

At 357 Main St., Dowling Walsh runs Ostuni’s immersive installation through October 31. The 28‑year‑old artist from Bowdoinham draws on a personal family tragedy—her father’s drunken outburst that drove his car through a church door—to re‑frame the Christian notion of angels. Instead of saints, Ostuni’s work casts them as mischievous tricksters, echoing Greek myth.

The display is an elaborate assemblage of gold‑glazed porcelain lamps, chandeliers, figurines, vases, and mirrors, all executed in the meticulous style of Meissen and Nymphenburg. The gilded surfaces contrast with the bold, sometimes “kitsch” texture of the objects, a deliberate nod to how taste is perceived. The gallery walls are scrawled with questions that challenge conventional morality: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most in need of confession of them all?” and a list that asks whether an angel can be a trickster, liar, thief, jester, king, drunk, glutton, collector, late sleeper, nepo‑baby, tastemaker, spender, or simply “the splendor!”

Ostuni’s intent is to provoke reflection on the balance of order and chaos in art, a theme echoed in the philosopher Nietzsche’s “Birth of Tragedy.” The show invites visitors to look beyond the surface of the gilded objects and find humor, wit, and philosophical depth within.

Triangle Gallery – “Interwoven” (Rockland)

Triangle Gallery at 8 Elm St. is presenting a fiber‑arts collection called “Interwoven” until October 31. The show brings together six local artists who work in felt, metal thread, handmade paper, sweetgrass, and quilting.

Judith Daniels creates felt vessels that combine shibori dyeing with tactile textures. Nancy Giesberger and Sarah Haskell focus on embroideries and weavings that explore liminal states, using computer‑modelled jacquard patterns that merge mathematics and intuition. Eric Stark takes the ancient craft of sweetgrass basketry into new territory by weaving onto found objects such as stone. Karen Olson’s paper sculptures, made with linen thread, photographic fragments, and wax, demonstrate how resilience can emerge from the creative process—especially significant for artists living with late‑diagnosed autism. Daphne Taylor’s quilts use stitching as a “drawing” that captures natural motifs like leaves and planets.

The gallery’s wall displays are textured, tactile, and emotionally resonant, inviting viewers to experience the works beyond the visual plane.

Sarah Bouchard Gallery – “Jennifer Brou: Somewhere Still” (Woolwich)

The treehouse‑style gallery in Woolwich hosts Jennifer Brou’s “Somewhere Still” through November 7. Brou’s 33 × 24.5‑inch graphite drawings capture the quiet of Maine’s forests with remarkable realism. While the medium is monochrome, the scale and precision are impressive: the works are as detailed as photographs of snow‑piled trunks, low‑sun horizons, and solitary leaves clinging to branches after winter.

Titles such as “Long Shadows,” “Late Afternoon,” “Winter Sunset,” “April,” and “Midsummer” suggest the specific moments Brou has observed over many hours of study. In “Midsummer,” the artist spent four months refining a single image, illustrating her patience and meticulous attention to light. The gallery’s intimate setting enhances the contemplative experience, making it feel almost like stepping into an alternate reality.

Moss Galleries Portland – “Richard Keen: Downeast with Love” (Portland)

Moss Galleries in Portland keeps the Maine landscape dialogue alive with Richard Keen’s “Downeast with Love,” which runs through December 5. Keen’s signature “Blue Trees” series—paintings that balance abstraction with recognizable forms—continues to evolve. In recent works, such as “Rockweed No. 17,” “Asters and Rocks,” and “Union River Bay,” the artist softens strict geometries and introduces organic fluidity that mirrors the shifting tides of Maine’s coast.

Keen’s earlier paintings have been critiqued for their flatness and bright DayGlo colors, which some argue detach the work from the specific Maine scenery it purports to depict. In this exhibition, he has broadened