Rockingham Times

The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth issued the following announcement on March 25.

DISCLAIMER: The following content wasn't created by, but is being shared by the Chamber Collaborative on behalf of a member.

An opening reception and award ceremony is planned for Friday, April 1

 

PORTSMOUTH – The theme of the New Hampshire Art Association’s 36th annual Omer T. Lassonde juried exhibition is “Ritual.”

 

NHAA members and non-members were invited to interpret this theme in one to three pieces in all mediums by online submissions. Of 269 entries, 67 were chosen by juror Patrick McCay, Chair of the Visual Arts at the New England College, which recently merged with the New Hampshire Institute of Art.

 

The chosen pieces will be on display and for sale at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery from March 30 through April 24 and online at nhartassociation.org from Wednesday, March 30, through Sunday May 1.

 

The accepted artists were asked to give a brief description of how they interpreted this theme that will be with their work.

 

“We are thrilled to show the work of so many talented regional artists,” said NHAA Gallery Manager Amanda Kidd Schall. “I thank all of the artists who submitted work to this exhibition and created such a strong collection for Patrick to choose from."

Now residing in New Hampshire, McCay completed undergraduate and graduate work in fine art at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland, U.K. He also holds a second Master of Fine Arts degree from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana.

McCay has participated numerous solo and group exhibitions. He is the recipient of multiple grants and awards including the Andrew Carnegie Trust Award, a Scottish Arts Council traveling scholarship and the David Carghil Award.

Each year the NHAA hosts a juried exhibition in honor of Omer T. Lassonde, who as Administrator of the WPA Federal Arts Project in his native New Hampshire, helped found the New Hampshire Art Association in 1940 to exhibit and further the work of contemporary artists throughout the state.

Lassonde was a modernist painting known for his spirited landscapes and expressive use of bold color. Originally expecting to become a portraitist, one of his subjects, N.H. Governor John G. Winant, suggested he go to the South Pacific like Paul Gauguin to paint.

Indeed, Lassonde is most famous for the year he spent painting the landscape and native life of West Samoa in 1930.

In 1947, the then editor of The Washington Post claimed that Lassonde had “done more than any man living to put New Hampshire on the map artistically.”

Omer T. Lassonde Memorial Prizes of $1,000, $750 and $500 are awarded to the top three submissions. Honorable mentions will also be selected. The exhibit is generously sponsored by the Lassonde family through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

An opening reception and award ceremony is planned for Friday, April 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, 136 State Street, Portsmouth, NH.

GO & DO

‘Ritual’ - 36th annual Omer T. Lassonde juried exhibition

Where: Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, 136 State Street, Portsmouth NH, and online at www.nhartassociation.org.

When: March 30 through May 1. Opening reception and awards ceremony at the gallery on April 1, from 5 to 8 p.m.Gallery hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m.

Original source can be found here.