Ramble to the Sea
Roy Germon
Roy Germon, Ramble to the Sea (Casco Bay from Willard)
June 23 - August 13, 2022
About The Show
When we opened three years ago, the plan was to have artists working in our two studios with each residency culminating in an exhibition of the work that had been made on site. Unfortunately, nine months after we opened, we were in the midst of a global pandemic and the resulting lockdown. Like so many of our other plans, the residency program faced delay, if not outright cancellation.
It is not easy being the first in any endeavor, especially in such uncertain times. Therefore, we will forever be indebted to the incredible Roy Germon for getting our residency program on track to our original vision and producing a masterful body of work for this, our inaugural artist-in-residence show.
As former Portland Press Herald art critic Dan Kany described him, “Germon is a mid-career emerging master of a certain category of Maine landscape painting – those brilliantly though frugally brushed scenes of hardscrabble landscape. His mark-making is extraordinary – bold but intelligently understated and breathlessly succinct. When I make my shortest of short lists of Maine painters to watch, he’s always near the top.” The work in this exhibition exceeds that praise, demonstrating that Germon is no longer a “painter to watch,” but is an artist who has arrived.
“Ramble to the Sea is a search for solace, in nature and in my studio practice. Though these works echo earlier themes, I see this body of work as somewhat different from my paintings prior to 2020. Like me, they feel more raw, clearly a reaction to the many stresses of life during a pandemic. It may be a subtle change to the viewer familiar with my work, but I feel the brush strokes are more charged and the paintings more honest. In looking for a deeper experience in my process and in the landscape itself, the unsettled state of the world filtered through me, resulting in more emotional and authentic works.
I am grateful to Cove Street Arts for an incredible opportunity. The luxury of time and space afforded by this residency allowed me to stretch and experiment. It gave me focus and re-energized me and my work.” - Roy Germon
Preview the exhibition below, and to see more of Roy Germon’s work, click HERE to visit our sister gallery, Greenhut Galleries.
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