Join us for the Opening Reception of Bitter/Sweet at 49 Oak on Friday, October 23, from 5:30-7:00 pm.
Bittersweetness is not a compromise between two feelings but a third, distinct condition, one that refuses its subject the comfort of knowing they are experiencing either pain or pleasure alone. It is a pleasure hollowed out with a sense of loss. It is the flowing tide between the soul's desire and the physical body's harsh reality. To dwell in the bittersweet is to accept that some experiences may never grace one's life again. The bitterness seeps in like a ghost of the past and reminds us we live in the absence of our desires. The works gathered here were produced by eighteen third-year Maine College of Art & Design students working across painting, sculpture, and photography. Each artist explores the topic Bitter/Sweet as a way of translating this distinct and personal feeling into a physical work. This theme visually connects these students as well as viewers to this common existential experience.
Artists: Lucien Beauchemin, Grey Bond-Warner, Renée Caisse, Taylor Cookson, Evelyn Grace Cymerman, Clio Evans, Aselin Fream, Eddie Gottmann-Hanrahan, June Herrick, Kaya Dylan Jurczak, Dulcinea Lacey, Bridget Lincoln, Jac M Ordway, Abby J Poreda, Aydan Rodriguez, Ollie Sharry, Grayson Shettler, Nathaniel Shaw Walker