“New England Now: Strange States” is the third exhibition in a series centered on our region as seen, interpreted, remembered and reimagined in the works of 12 artists, whether they be generations-local or new to this place we call home. Carolyn Bauer, who has curated all three shows, reminds us that the 2018 show elaborated on the way we define our land, and the 2021 show focused on the people that signify the character of the New Englander. This show delves deeper into identities — real, imagined, free or constrained, solidified or fluid, assertive or unsure, but always unique.
The Diana and John Colgate Gallery space is transformed into a striking deep-grey expanse that recedes visually and brings to the forefront the works on display. The introductory text for “Strange States” suggests to the visitor that New England has historic literary traditions and figures that resonate with many of us — Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King are noted. From literature to popular culture, the ghostly, the eerie, the macabre has been associated with New England and the visitor is prepped to expect just that from the show.
For this visitor, the exhibit was less about the macabre and more about an exploration of the inner narratives of the mind — the personal contradictions, the disjointed mysteries that gnaw away at the below-surface existence in each of us. That is the conundrum of the examined self.
Maine artist Bianca Beck’s brilliant-colored outsize paper mâché sculptures lead the exhibition. Several of the semi- abstract works are on the lawn, thus even before entering the gallery, the visitor is introduced to these imposing forms that appear to have legs and arms and perhaps an attitude as they take a stance one might see in a living being. The gallery text informs the visitor that the artist is inspired by Plato’s Symposium, more specifically Aristophanes’ speech on love and wholeness. Aristophanes tells of humans at one time being creatures twice their size — double beings with two heads, four limbs, male and female genitalia — cut in two by Zeus then destined to search for their other.
Another Maine artist, Lauren Fensterstock, known for her all-black works comprised of glass, obsidian, onyx, hematite and found objects has on exhibit a large rectangular work that is part reflective surface, like a giant black mirror edged with what seem like hundreds of small shells. For the visitor standing in front of the darkened reflective surface there might be a moment before there is recognition of the self. The experience for some may be similar to viewing a film negative of oneself. The eye sees but the mind has to transpose the image, place it in its opposite spectrum. The artist’s works are characterized by the contrast of black matte surfaces and glittering multifaceted jewel-like glass that at the same time reflect as well as draw in the viewers introspection into this black cosmos.