Kinney, Island, Muscongus Bay, Maine, found beach and forest materials, watercolor, acrylic medium, 22 x 30' 2009, $1200

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on August 22, 2023 at 3:09pm

 

Curator’s Comments:

(I knew Peter, a vibrant and prolific artist in my community, and was saddened by his passing in 2017.)

Island, Muscongus Bay, Maine came up unexpectedly on the site today.  I recognized Peter’s work immediately, which employs a signature use of soil, twigs, and other natural materials in organic exploratory drawings.  This piece has a distinctive landscape demarcation of sun and shore, and possibly a seabird in the loose gesture in the upper left.  The waves of gravel at the bottom form waves that suggest a rolling tide, and the rough sediment left behind. The granular nature of the deposits along with speckled bits of blue also conjure stains of salt.  I’m struck by the sense of open air that moves between symbolic shapes of the elements of water and earth. There is a depth of space as the central cluster of organic materials appears to be on the edge of a wave or precipice. Perhaps because I knew the artist, I also sense an optimism in the pervasive light.