It’s said a picture is worth a thousand words. “Painted Poetry,” a July 25 – August 29 exhibit at the Two Villages Art Society in Hopkinton’s Contoocook Village, features paintings by five area artists and poems by selected writers inspired by the colorful works. An opening reception will be held Saturday, July 25, from 12-2 p.m., with refreshments and live music by jazz artist Chris Salemme.
“Painted Poetry” is a collaboration between visual artists Carol Belliveau, Elizabeth Leone Holmes, Heidi Lorenz, Sara Rae and Chris Scott and the invited poets. It is a bright, immersive exhibit where the visual arts and written word intertwine. Featured works blend painting with poetic expression, exploring how color, texture, and verse can echo, amplify and transform each other. As you explore each painting, you can see how images invite poems, and poems in turn bring fresh life to color.
The participating poets are Allan Byam, Lyndsy Belliveau Byam, Sara Byfield,
Shoshona Cote, Grace Mattern, Elizabeth May, Laurie Morrissey, Catherine
O’Brian, Heidi Pauer, Martha Sawyer, Carla Schwartz, Kathleen Shulman, and S.
Stephanie.
Holmes is energized by writers who find the natural world as a basis for their work. She believes that “creating art in the presence of nature is my solace,” and hopes “viewing by others will do the same” for them. Scott uses a variety of materials and media to create her landscapes. Rae paints mostly “alla prima,” completing each work in a single session to capture the fleeting moment, while Belliveau paints the way she sees things inside herself, the memories of the way things made her feel. Both Lorenz and Holmes paint “en plein air,” or outside among the elements, rather than inside a studio, allowing their work to be influenced by the environment around them.
On Saturday, August 15, poets whose works are featured in the exhibit will read aloud among the paintings at a special poetry reading at 4 p.m. at the gallery.
Two Villages Art Society is a non-profit, member-driven art gallery located at 846 Main Street in Hopkinton’s Contoocook Village. Regular gallery hours are 12-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Admission is free.