Portland, ME: PhoPa Gallery’s upcoming exhibition “Beneath the Surface” featuring works on paper by significant Down East artists Avy Claire (Blue Hill), Anne-Claude Cotty (Stonington), and Nancy Manter (formerly of Seal Cove) will be on display from April 16–May 31. A free public reception for the artists will be held at 132 Washington Avenue on Thursday, April 17 from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition will end with an artist talk on Saturday, May 31 at 2 p.m.

Although each artist works independently and in several artistic mediums, their primarily abstract images come together to offer a rich visual dialogue for the viewer’s experience. Avy Claire compiles elements such as photography and text to juxtapose dissonant ideas of logic and disorder. Similarly, Anne-Claude Cotty presents pinhole wintery landscape photographs that melt into poetic abstraction. Nancy Manter uses charcoal, gesso, ink, and conte crayon in her sizable drawings that explore geological elements of Northern Wyoming. Capturing two opposing yet dependent environments above and below ground, Manter’s drawings are at times disjointed and contiguous as other times.

Avy Claire most recently exhibited at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, ME and has been included in the Portland Museum of Art Biennial. Anne-Claude Cotty has exhibited at the University of Maine Museum of Art, Colby College Art Museum, and Portland Museum of Art. Nancy Manter’s work is in the permanent collections of The British Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Boston Public Library. Manter most recently exhibited at Marietta College in Ohio, and the Kentler International Drawing Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Where: PhoPa Gallery, 132 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101

When: April 16–May 31, 2014

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 17, 5-7 p.m.

Artist Talk: Saturday, May 31, 2 p.m.

Gallery Hours: Wednesday–Saturday 12-5 p.m., and by appointment

Charge: Free to the Public

About PhoPa Gallery: PhoPa Gallery is a collaboration among photographer Jon Edwards, independent curator Bruce Brown, and Maine Media Workshops + College. PhoPa maintains a focus on Maine related works and emerging artists, and divides its schedule between showcasing works by MMW+C students, alumni, and faculty and exhibitions organized by Bruce Brown and Jon Edwards. A percentage of all sales at PhoPa Gallery are donated to MMW+C, a 501c3 non-profit educational organization.