The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Art Gallery presents Letting the Objects Speak: Conversations with Found Objects by Sandra Huck, between Aug. 26 and Oct. 11, 2019. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Gallery Reception on Friday, Sept. 6, from 5-7 p.m., which includes a talk with the artist at 5:30 p.m.; light refreshments will be served. This reception is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk. The Reed Gallery is located on the second floor of the University’s Center for Innovative Learning.
Letting the Objects Speak is grounded in sculpture and focuses on texture. Working in a minimalist manner, Huck presents items she has collected over time, juxtaposing texture and form and using canvas as a support, “much as a pedestal is to a free-standing sculpture.” This current body of work is the result of her exposure to many textures from around the world, in places ranging from Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Assisi, Italy to London, Paris, and spots throughout Maine.
“My goal with these works is to offer a bit of calm and contemplation to our chaotic and uncertain days, as well as creating new dialogues. I have no desire to present a recognizable shape, but rather a sensation, or perhaps evoke an emotion,” Huck said in her artist’s statement.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Huck moved to Maine in 1978. She became a non-traditional art student at UMPI in 1999 and took on the role of Reed Gallery director from 2006-2011. During her tenure, she worked to bring The Print Project, a statewide collaborative effort that involved more than 30 institutions and hundreds of print artisans, to campus. She also applied for and received a major gift from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program of 153 original Andy Warhol photographs for UMPI to add to its permanent collection.
In addition to her education at UMPI, Huck spent a semester focusing on advanced sculpture at Teachers College, Columbia University in 2003. Her work has been shown in two group exhibitions, the Aroostook Visual Arts Coalition in 2002 and Me and Some Friends in 2011, which she also curated. In an effort to bring arts to her community, Huck also organized the event Art in the Park for three years in Caribou as part of its CaribouFest activities. More than 20 artists were juried and participated in this two-day event. Letting the Objects Speak is Huck’s first solo show.
“The Reed Gallery is proud to present this show of recent work by artist Sandra Huck,” Reed Gallery Director Frank Sullivan said. “The show features over 30 pieces of original work constructed of found objects, many of which show the effects of time and the elements, mounted on canvas and arranged and framed compositionally in a way that, while echoing two-dimensional graphic works, emphasize the tactile qualities of the three-dimensional objects. We highly encourage people to come out and see this show.”
All are invited to view Huck’s show between September and October and to come out to the First Friday Art Walk on Sept. 6 and take part in the free reception and artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. In addition, this show will be open during the First Friday Art Walk on Oct. 4 from 5-7 p.m. Please follow gallery happenings on the Reed Gallery Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ReedArtGallery.
The Reed Fine Art Gallery is located on the second floor of UMPI’s Center for Innovative Learning and is open Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday from 2-10 p.m. The gallery is closed Saturdays and University holidays. For more information about this event, please contact Reed Gallery Director Frank Sullivan at frank.sullivan@maine.edu.