Opening reception for a major exhibition of Barbara Prey paintings of Maine at the Wendell Gilley Museum on July 8.

Barbara Ernst Prey: Earth, Sea, Sky celebrates the artist’s long engagement with the landscape and people of Maine, where she has been painting for more than forty years. The exhibition is on view at the Wendell Gilley Museum at 4 Herrick Rd in Southwest Harbor, Maine from June 30 through October 14, 2018. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Sunday, July 8 from 5:30 – 7:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.

 The Gilley will be filled with color, as Prey’s stunning watercolor and oil paintings of Maine grace the walls. Works include paintings of Mount Desert Island, some exhibited for the first time. The show is a unique opportunity to explore the work of a leading contemporary artist, known for pushing the traditional boundaries of the watercolor medium.

 “We are thrilled to have the chance to exhibit Barbara Prey’s Maine paintings alongside the carvings of Wendell Gilley” says museum Director Sean Charette. “It is a celebration of art and nature - from the stunning vista of mountain, ocean and sky in Prey’s paintings Acadia and Looking Toward Mt Desert II, to the mastery of proportion and personality that Wendell Gilley brought to his bird carving through knife and brushstroke.”

 An important figure in 21 century contemporary art, Barbara Prey’s work is critically acclaimed and widely collected. Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the White House (one of two living female artists), the Brooklyn Museum and many other public and private collections internationally. She has completed numerous commissions, including for the White House Christmas Card, and NASA, and in 2017 created the largest known watercolor painting at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). Prey serves as the sole visual artist on the U.S. President-appointed National Council on the Arts and has a distinguished background in the arts that includes degrees from Williams College and Harvard University. She maintains studios in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine.

 The Wendell Gilley Museum celebrates the life and work of Wendell Gilley, a pioneer in the field of decorative bird carving who delighted in helping others make connections with nature and creativity. The Museum sustains his legacy by making Wendell Gilley’s work accessible, by providing rich creative programs for all ages, and by hosting annual exhibitions that celebrate people, nature and art. A portion of proceeds from sales of Barbara Prey’s exhibition will help support the Wendell Gilley Museum’s work.

For further information, please contact Sean Charette at: sean@wendellgilleymuseum.org or 207 244 7555

 Media images are available for download at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ad2tz325kqr4kcp/AADUbiCHgEtZ_L1KcY6yv3BYa?dl=0

 Credit lines:

1. Looking Toward Mt. Desert II, 2018, Watercolor, 30” x 40”
2. Island Finds, 2012, Watercolor, 21’ x 29”
3. Acadia, 2017, Watercolor, 29” x 40”
4. Lifelines, 2018, Watercolor, 28” x 40”

Release: immediate release; Contact: Sean Charette, sean@wendellgilleymuseum.org, 207-244-7555