The New CMCA/Center for Maine Contemporary ArtA Maine Art Game Changer!
Above and Below Images : The new CMCA designed by Toshiko Mori 2016
Recently I had the pleasure to interview the dynamic and visionary Chief Curator/Executive Director, Suzette McAvoy, of CMCA/Center for Maine Contemporary Art. McAvoy is preparing in earnest for a long-anticipated event this week: the opening of the CMCA's new facility** Sunday, June 26th, 2016, designed by architect Toshiko Mori in Rockland, Maine. Under the vision of Ms. McAvoy, the CMCA is expanding its mission to advance contemporary art in Maine and to inspire others to both engage with, and support it.
WHEN: **Opening Sunday, June 26, 2016 1-6 PM
WHERE: Center for Maine Contemporary Art,
21 Winter St., Rockland, ME
MORE INFO: cmcanow.org
WHERE: Center for Maine Contemporary Art,
21 Winter St., Rockland, ME
MORE INFO: cmcanow.org
207-701-5005
When I asked her to name the most exhilarating aspect of the new CMCA, Suzette McAvoy, Chief Curator and Executive Director explained to me, "This striking new facility and world-class architecture by international architect Toshiko Mori gives us the physical space and the creative possibility to elevate our mission at CMCA to a far greater level. Our goal at CMCA has always been to support the high quality and distinctive contemporary artwork being created in Maine by Maine artists and by artists having a connection to Maine. We want to grow our ability to support, sustain, and showcase contemporary art by artists connected to Maine and to share this art with the world." (Image Above: CMCA Director, and Curator, Suzette McAvoy)
I wondered out loud about the history of CMCA, and she continued, "Many well-known names have exhibited here in the past including Louise Nevelson, Alex Katz, Lois Dodd, Neil Welliver and John Walker, some at points in their careers when they were not so well-known. Some of them started their careers here at CMCA. Our new CMCA facility will be a catalyst for us to carry forward Maine's exceptional legacy in American art on a whole new scale."
Above: Image by Rollin Leonard Vernal Pond on exhibit at CMCA starting June 26, 2016 LINK
I asked McAvoy about art education and outreach to the public at the new CMCA. McAvoy, former Farnsworth Museum Chief Curator, answered, "We aim to engage with the public by providing a wide variety of art educational programs for art viewers and creators of all ages including: Art Lab, Leaps of Imagination, and Look Inside. These programs fuel the imagination, stimulate forward thinking and cultivate conversations using contemporary Maine art often as a prompt. In our new facility, CMCA will hold lectures, gallery talks, video screenings, workshops, and special events to create a broader and deeper public awareness, public engagement and commitment to Contemporary Maine Art. We want to make contemporary Maine art alive and palpable for others."
Above: The new CMCA designed by Toshiko Mori 2016
The opening of the new CMCA building will coincide with an indoor/outdoor exhibition of the artist Jonathan Borofsky, a Maine artist who is also an international superstar. Borofsky, who has had a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, lives and works in Ogunquit, Maine but has not shown his art in Maine for over 40 years.
Above: New work by Jonathan Borofsky at CMCA
Art historian Daniel Kany, writing for the Portland Press Herald, stated the new Toshiko Mori-designed building 'is a game changer in terms of leading Maine art spaces, our statewide cultural demographics and the future of Maine's art market." Kany added, "Leading with Jonathan Borofsky for the initial exhibition in the main room is a stroke of brilliance. What convinced Borofsky, in part, to do the show is the fact that his studio is almost the exact same size as the 50-foot-by-52-foot gallery. I saw the installation taking place and we are all in for a treat." LINK
Above: New work by Jonathan Borofsky at CMCA
With a home and studio in Lincolnville, Maine for more than sixty years, Alex Katz, another world-renowned artist, will exhibit his small paintings at CMCA starting this Sunday. Katz "produces small-scale oil paintings at the start of all of his works, regardless of finished size.
Intimate, direct, and fresh, Katz's small paintings reveal his close connection with his subjects and a side of the eminent artist's work that is rarely seen." LINK
Intimate, direct, and fresh, Katz's small paintings reveal his close connection with his subjects and a side of the eminent artist's work that is rarely seen." LINK
Above: Small work by Alex Katz at CMCA
I also spoke to CMCA Board Member Karen Brace, former principal and co-owner of a technology company and a close friend about the new CMCA project in Rockland. Brace is always visibly animated and energized talking about the new CMCA and her participation in this project.
She said, "Though a small organization, we have a big mission to support Maine artists and contemporary art in Maine. With the CMCA's move to Rockland, a growing and vibrant arts community and destination, CMCA will now have an increased exhibition and educational opportunities and will have a projected $35 million economic impact on this area. Because we intentionally do not have a permanent art collection, all of our resources go towards fulfilling our mission through exhibitions, lectures, educational programs at CMCA and in local and island schools (all in rural or low income communities), events, etc."
Brace continued, "This new phase in our evolution is so important to our relevancy in the contemporary art community and to the services that we can provide. For instance, while attendance to our previous location (in an old livery stable!) was approximately 8,000 annually, we anticipate 35,000 - 50,000 visitors annually to the new building. Membership is also rapidly increasing, and our opening exhibits would never have been possible in the previous location. A big jump from the old stable, the new building was designed by Toshiko Mori, award-winning and internationally-known architect."
With so much to experience at the opening of the new CMCA this Sunday, Rockland, Maine looks like the place to be this weekend!
More Info:
Help to Make Possible CMCA's extraordinary new home in Rockland, Maine, by making a donation to the Capital Campaign. I am told all donations large and small are welcome!
Help to Make Possible CMCA's extraordinary new home in Rockland, Maine, by making a donation to the Capital Campaign. I am told all donations large and small are welcome!
Membership at CMCA LINK
(Artist Membership includes a listing in on-line Artist Members Directory with link to Artist's website; Opportunity for Artist's studio to be featured in Open Studio blog; Four additional image submissions to CMCA Biennial Exhibition; 100% tax deductible. $40.00)
