Special Events 2024
October 6, 3pm – Art Talk; Kosti Ruohomaa: A LIFE Behind the Lens
Kosti Ruohomaa of Rockland, Maine, was a noted photographer for LIFE Magazine during the mid 20th century. As part of the Nocturne exhibit, the gallery is happy to include some of the photos taken during his Maine assignments for the magazine.
The talk and a slideshow will be given by Kevin Johnson, photo archivist for the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine.
The Ruohomaa Collection has come home to Maine as the newest addition to the photography holdings of the Penobscot Marine Museum. The collection was recently donated to the PMM by Black Star of New York, Ruohomaa’s photography agency, and consists of thousands of medium and large format negatives, 35 mm negatives and slides, as well as contact sheets and vintage prints.
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During the age of the photo magazine, Kosti was a rock star in the photography world. His photographs graced the cover of Life Magazine
Kosti Ruohomaa. Image courtesy of Penobscot Marine Museum, copyright Black Star Publishing Co. Fryeburg Fair Fireworks pictured.
numerous times. Other major magazines such as Look, National Geographic, and Downeast used his photos regularly. He moved to Dodge Mountain in Rockland at the age of 13, where his family had a blueberry farm. He discovered his love for photography in the 1930s while working as a cartoonist for Disney. During the 1940s and 50s, his career blossomed. While he photographed around the world, Maine was his favorite subject, both the people and land. He died prematurely in 1961 at the age of 47.
Kosti was a storyteller with a camera. He captured the spirit and culture of Maine through its people and landscape like few other photographers have ever done. Howard Chapnick, who headed the Black Star photo agency for which Ruohomaa shot many of his images, once said, “The word [‘artist’] is thrown around with gay abandon in photography: ‘This picture looks like a Rembrandt, this one like a Renoir.’ Kosti’s photographs do not have to be compared to the work of painters. A Ruohomaa picture looks like a Ruohomaa!”
The collection is now part of the archives of the Penobscot Marine Museum and is currently being digitized and cataloged. PMM has more than 500,0000 thousand images from their various collections that can be viewed on the museum's website in their online database.
June 27 – Artwalk & Art Talk: The Printmaking Experience
Open to public
Thursday, June 27, 6:30pm
During the Wiscasset Artwalk, which runs 4pm to 8pm, four Maine artists will describe their approach to the printmaking arts and what drew them to the medium to complement our exhibit, Drawn to Maine: Contmeporary Drawing & Printmaking.
Artists, their residing town, and media:
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Joel LeVasseur of Damariscotta works in gelatin
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Sherrie York of Bristol works in wood and lino cuts
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Judith Long, Brunswick, works in various mediums including etching, drypoint, monotypes, wood and linoleum block and silkscreen
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Kathleen W. Buchanan, collagrapher.
Jonathan Alderferan
All will discuss their inspiration, purpose and methods and our natural world that serve as their inspiration. Talk will be moderated by gallery board member and artist Debra Arter.
Past Events
May 18: Celebrated Mildred Burrage’s Birthday
With Day-Long Sweets and an Art Talk Titled "My Mother the Artist."
Open to public
The daughters of two of the featured artists in our Generations: The Legacy of Mentors show recounted their experiences growing up with accomplished artists as parents. Introduced and moderated by gallery board member Sarah Fisher, Linda Burley reflected on her mother, Lina Burley, who was vice president of the Maine Art Gallery in the 1960’s. Lisa Jahn-Clough, Elena Jahn’s daughter, also shared her reminiscences.
Elena Jahn, was a Monhegan artist, co-founder of the Women Artists of Monhegan Island, and author of “50 years: Growing up Artist on Monhegan,” recounting experiences with preeminent Maine artists of the time. Gallery board member and noted Burrage scholar, Martha Frink, gave insightful and topical remarks of Gallery founder Mildred Burrage's mentorship of so many, including Martha herself. The talk was fascinating and inspiring; and the refreshments, in the form of art palettes created by Wiscasset resident and Friend of the Maine Art Gallery, Jan Flowers, were delightful.
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All Maine Art Gallery YouTube videos, such as the recordings of this talk, can be found here. You can preview the intro below.
June 1: We Celebrated the Art of Joseph Fiore
Open to public
Saturday, June 1, 4pm
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Two former Damariscotta gallerists, both of whom exhibited Fiore’s work, Yvette Torres (former owner of Yvette Torres Fine Art, which was known for featuring the work of the Black Mountain College artists, one of whom was Fiore) and Geoffrey Robinson, former owner of the River Gallery and a personal friend of Fiore, conversed with MAG board member Kay Liss about their reminiscences of this important 20th century artist. We had an additional unexpected celebration in receiving a bequest from the Morris Farm of Fiore’s work Stone Beast, just in time for the talk. Fiore is included as a Maine Art Gallery founding artist mentor shown in Generations: The Legacy of Mentors alongside Maine leading watercolorist, David Dewey, who studied with Fiore at the Philadelphia College of Art and eventually followed him to Maine. Dewey also served as the Juror for the exhibition’s Juried Member Artists Show on the Gallery’s first floor.
Left to right: Yvette Torres, former Damariscotta Gallery owner of same name, Geoffrey Robinson, former River Gallery owner, and gallery board member and moderator Kay Liss stand in front of “Stone Beast” by Joseph Fiore. Photo: Bob Bond