Marblehead Arts Association opened its fourth annual “Variations” exhibit on Sunday. A crowd
of more than 400 attendees from across the country wove through the galleries, chatting with one
another as they admired the art-lined walls.
“It’s very rewarding to see everyone enjoying it,” MAA board member and featured artist Alessandra Donovan said. “It’s wonderful, especially the caliber of the other work.”
This year’s exhibit is one of the largest ever at MAA with 190 pieces selected from nearly 800 submissions. Categories for submission included fine art, photography, and 3D, judged by renowned artists Christina Grace Mastrangelo, Lou Jones and Simon Kogan, respectively. Prizes for first and second place were awarded in each category.
The exhibit’s title, “Variations” refers to the sheer variety of work that can be submitted for this show, MAA Executive Director Xhazzie Kindle said. So as to reinforce the idea of “Variations,” curator Paul McMahan intentionally arranged each room to show variations on a theme, such as floral, figurative, and architectural.
MAA Board member Chris Mailler emphasized the immense effort that went into the exhibit, from the physical labor of lugging paintings up flights of stairs, to the meticulous precision of shifting a frame just an inch to the left.
Because every year hosts different jurors who have different preferences, Kindle said that the art on display varies from year to year. This year, the art is “bursting with color,” she said.
Meet the artists
Photographer Tanya Braganti, who grew up in Marblehead and moved back about 10 years ago, is one of the 14 artists featured who live in Marblehead.
“It’s really exciting because Marblehead is my world now. The show is both local and national, and people I grew up with will see it,” Braganti said.
Her black and white photograph on display titled, “Homecoming,” depicts a flock of geese and two small children calmly walking on a North Shore beach with a firework bursting in a perfect circle on the horizon. As in this photograph, she said she likes to find the surreal in ordinary moments.
Marblehead High School senior (and Current photographer and reporter) Greyson Collins showcased his work for the second consecutive year at “Variations.” His photograph “Over the Rainbow,” captures children playing in sprinklers
amid a perfectly-timed rainbow.
Collins took the photo for the Current last July during the town’s summer tradition where the fire department hoses down the Marblehead Community Center parking lot to create sprinklers.
“I love the joy and the emotions captured in that moment,” Collins said.
Lynn artist Ellery Sanchez showcased “The Sentinels Stance,” a photograph featuring a burrowing owl in a direct, spirited charge. Sanchez took the photo in Florida at a burrowing owl colony. When he approached one of the holes, an owl popped out and charged towards him. By dropping onto his belly to snap the shot, Sanchez captured the tiny owl from a perspective that presents the bird as large and domineering.
“It’s a privilege and an honor to be displayed in such a prestigious show. It means a lot to me,” Sanchez said.
Ipswich artist Amanda Skinner showcased “Beneath the Silks: A Study of Bridled Spirits,” which features nine panels depicting horses rendered in acrylic and oil on canvas. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Skinner said her piece serves as an “unromantic” portrayal of the horse racing industry as well as a metaphor for her own experiences of performance and control.
“It feels really awesome to be part of such a collaboration of people,” Skinner said, adding that she hoped to get more involved with the MAA and the North Shore art scene.
Artists from farther away include Taylor McMahon, who traveled all the way from Charlotte, North Carolina, for the opening. McMahon said “Variations” marks the first time her work has been shown in a gallery.
“It’s incredible. If there was a divine moment, this feels like it,” McMahon said.
Her charcoal and graphite piece, titled “The Mother Wound and Failed Fertility,” depicts its subject with a swollen belly, looking towards the bottom corner of the frame. She said the piece was inspired by the isolation and secrecy around motherhood and fertility. The experience of motherhood, she said, is a “private world talked about in hushed rooms,” that one is only invited into upon becoming a mother themselves.
From even farther south, artist Anna Villa traveled from Boca, Florida for the opening. Her oil on canvas painting titled “Coach Casey” is a portrait of her CrossFit coach. As a self-described beginner, Villa said she “did not expect much” when she submitted her painting, only to be so “thrilled” by its acceptance that she immediately booked a ticket to attend the opening.
Salem resident and self-described “art appreciator” Nancy Roney attended the show with two of her friends.
“It’s nice because you’re able to speak to the artists. You don’t know the story behind it until you talk to them,” she said.
The exhibit will remain open until June 13, and all 190 pieces are up for sale.
