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Gallery Opening: Friday, February 6 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PMOn view at performances and other public events until March 1, 2026.
FREE to All Ages
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Detritus: A two-woman show constructed from neighborhood trash
works by Kate Gerwig and Jill Dalton
Kate Gerwig and Jill Dalton are two artists living in East Bayside, one of Portland’s most littered neighborhoods. Responding to the refuse in their immediate environment, they find treasures in others’ trash. While their work looks very different, they both use discarded materials to ask questions about our consume-and-dispose culture and its impact on our surroundings. They are both making things that are literally “products of our environment.”
What is the relationship between our throwaway lifestyle and the way we interact with each other? How do we judge each other’s lifestyle choices? Who deserves access to health and safety? Why do we throw anything (people and things) away? And where is “away” anyway?
Both artists’ making process begins with the collection of found materials. They arrange and play with these scavenged items then fasten them into assemblage sculptures. Kate is working with plastics and contemporary packaging awash with bold colors. She employs hand-stitching as her method of assembly. Jill is innately drawn to earth-toned elements of wood and metal that have been weathered, rusted, excavated, or washed up on shore. She employs metalsmithing and woodworking tools and techniques of joining with cold connections and hardware.
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The exhibition opening will also celebrate the book launch of Foundlings, a collaboration that began in 2023 between sculptor Jill Dalton and poet Megan Grumbling, which resulted in twelve sculptures and twelve poems written in response. Many of the works and corresponding poems are included in this exhibit, and copies of the book, designed by Beth Taylor with images of all twelve sculptures and poems, will be available for purchase at Mayo Street Arts. During the February 6 First Friday opening, a brief reading of some Foundlings poems will happen around 6 pm.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
10 Mayo St, Portland, ME, United States, Maine 04101
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