A series of new seascapes by Anna Maria Island artist Maro Lorimer will be presented at the Sarasota Orchestra’s Harmony Gallery, January 4 through 29, 2016. The public is invited to meet the artist at a reception on Wednesday, January 6, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
“This is the perfect gallery in which to present these ten large paintings, most of which have never been shown before,” the artist observes. “The musical form of a theme and variations applies well to this exhibit. My theme is the sea, which is presented slightly differently in each of the related pieces.
“Harmony Gallery’s series of uniform individual exhibit walls creates a rhythm, which relates to both music and painting—and to waves,” she adds. “It is exciting to be able to present a group of water-inspired pieces in such a complementary setting. Music, art and the sea come together in this show.”
The artist’s connection to the water began in her childhood on eastern Long Island, where she spent summer days sailing her small boat across the bay to a pristine barrier island. After graduating from Brown University, she lived in Vail, Colorado, for many years, where she realized that, despite the beauty of the surrounding wilderness, she felt more at home on the water. For this reason, she gave up skiing for windsurfing, traveling to do it whenever possible, in locations ranging from Rocky Mountain lakes to the Columbia River Gorge, to the beaches of Texas, Hawaii and New Zealand.
Memories of all the coastlines and conditions she experienced now influence her paintings as do the ever-changing water vistas of Florida’s west coast, where she has lived for 16 years. But she is not painting water views; she is painting sensations. “Although my paintings are not pure abstracts, they are created through abstraction, as I focus on isolating particular experiences that are easier to find on the water than elsewhere: solitude, simplicity, space, distance. There is a serenity that comes from these sensations, and this is what I try to capture,” she says.
Lorimer’s paintings have been shown for several years at Art Uptown Gallery on Main Street in Sarasota. Her large seascapes are featured in a growing number of private collections in downtown Sarasota and in the nearby keys.
Harmony Gallery is located in the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, behind Art Center Sarasota, at 709 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 and during concerts. Phone 953-4252 for more information.