On Exhibit Now

Coming Soon to Our Galleries

Robert Abele & Mary Moquin

Show Dates
May 24 - June 28, 2024

Opening Reception
Friday, May 24, 5:00-7:00pm

Robert Abele is an American fine artist living and working in the South Coast of Massachusetts. His work captures the essence and beauty of architecture, particularly found in early New England homes. His works in oil also depict the coastal landscape of New England. Gestural & loose, painted alla prima, Robert’s work draws from French and American Impressionism with an affinity to the work of the Ashcan School and an enhanced interest in turn of the century architecture.

(Alla prima is an Italian phrase that means 'at first attempt'. It refers to a wet-on-wet approach whereby wet paint is applied to previous layers of still-wet paint, often in a single sitting.)

Robert studied Art in New York City at the prestigious School of Visual Arts and the Art Students League, receiving his BFA in 1993. His early illustrations appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other print publications. During his time at the School of Visual Arts his art was primarily done on location in charcoal, with touches of oil color added later to the works, giving these paintings a fresh and loose feeling. Robert responds to every location he paints seeking a sense of place, pushing himself to transcend the scene and reminding the viewer to ponder a new way of seeing the ordinary.

Robert received his MFA at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2018 where he studied painting with an emphasis on color theory and advanced studio practice. Since 2019 Robert has been teaching High School Art in Plymouth, grades 7 through 12, and continuing to further his art practice focusing on the beauty of the South Coast of Massachusetts. Robert resides in Dartmouth with his wife Lisa and two children Oliver and Amelia.

Mary Moquin is a professional artist and teacher. She lives on the cape and spends part of the year in a remote dune cottage on the peninsula known as Sandy Neck in Barnstable, MA. The inspiration for her paintings comes from observing time passing as the light and shadows fall across the structures there. The structures have transformed into metaphors for meditation. Her work has won numerous awards and has been included in several regional and national juried shows. Mary holds a BFA in printmaking and an MFA in painting from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Her work is represented in Wellfleet, MA at the Cove Gallery, on Martha’s Vineyard at North Water Gallery in Edgartown , MA, more can be seen at www.marymoquin.com.

Artist Statement
I paint as a means of finding a still space to center myself and regenerate my spirit. Life can be complex and overwhelming at times. For the past several years, I have focused on two motifs - one from nature, the forest, and another man-made, the house - to explore ideas of complexity and stillness. Both of these endure the hostility of the ever-changing environment and provide refuge. The structures I paint serve as metaphors for stillness and being.

During summers, I reside in a remote dune cottage at the tip of Sandy Neck in Barnstable, MA, where I observe the light falling across these simple shapes and marvel at their transformation. They bear witness to time's constant wearing away of any notion of permanence while I watch. Although my paintings often consist of turbulent brush strokes and complex layers of color and texture, they evoke a sense of stability and inner calm.