Contact:  Kathryn Jovanelli
               207.581.3370
               kathrynj@maine.edu
               www.zam.umaine.edu
               Additional high resolution digital images available upon request

 

Zillman Art Museum (ZAM) announces Fall Exhibitions
BANGOR – The Zillman Art Museum - University of Maine, located at 40 Harlow Street in Bangor, ME, opened three featured fall exhibitions on September 20.

ZAM is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am - 5 pm and brings modern and contemporary art to the region, presenting approximately 21 original exhibitions each year. Admission to the Zillman Art Museum is free in 2024 thanks to the generosity of Birchbrook. 

 

 

Miami-based artist Moira Holohan’s solo-exhibition at ZAM explores visual language through abstract imagery. “I have found a rhythm in my work that looks to the past and then interweaves the present in a both personal and contemporary context through drawing, printmaking, textile and video.” 

In Dits … and Dahs - - - Holohan is investigating her own graphic communication through pictures she creates in a range of media. In many of these compositions, the artist is responding to the works of Robert Motherwell, who was a leading figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Motherwell’s established vocabulary of primordial ovoid shapes and atavistic lines and dashes is reflected in many of the works featured in this exhibition. Holohan also incorporates Morse code and states, “I see the code as a unique abstract language that could be generated with rhythmic patterns, whether from sound, light, or mark. This language can be compelling when delivering simple, repeatable messages, like SOS, that will grab people’s attention almost immediately and mimic the urgency of Motherwell’s Elegy series.” Interestingly, Samuel Morse, the creator of Morse code, was also a painter.
 
Holohan’s use of color is restrained in this series. She favors black, white, and chroma green, another nod to Motherwell. The mark-making and “brushstrokes”, whether screen-printed or woven, are urgent and energetic. The flipbook animation video, Dit & Dah, complements the body of work by showing the rhythm and vigor that infuses Holohan’s artwork. “In the video work I am repeating a simple movement with my body to resemble dots and dashes. The exploration of using Morse code in this series began in video format. Through a simple synchronous movement of the body that contorts into a dot and a line—a message can be sent.”
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MAJO KELESHIAN: MEDITATIONS, A RETROSPECTIVE

MaJo Keleshian once remarked, “Landscape-related imagery has been a strong influence in my work—elements from nature not of nature. It is the “near” view that most intrigues me.” The works presented in Meditations, A Retrospective highlight nature-inspired abstracts that exude texture and mood. Striking black and white prints demonstrate the artist’s skills in printmaking while other works on paper are more subtle and evocative. Keleshian used a combination of media that she created to evoke the spirit of an internal state. 

The artist’s dedication to Buddhism and its contemplative nature are apparent in her compositions. Keleshian once noted, “I’m looking for ways to suggest a moment in the landscape, to simulate aspects of it.” The artist developed her own distinct process for creating work and described it as, “applying layers of color, adding gestural marks, rubbing away surfaces, working very freely for the initial stage of the process.” Keleshian also worked in encaustic and loved using beeswax, which helped create luminescent artworks that reflect a fleeting moment in time. 

The retrospective approach of this exhibition illustrates the evolution of Keleshian’s comprehensive career. The unifying thread connecting the artist’s varied work is her mark-making, whether tiny scratches or robust brushstrokes. These works capture the impermanence of a moment and display the source of exploration in Keleshian’s creative practice. 
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Kathryn Jovanelli