FRANKLIN STREET ART SPACE

FRANKLIN STREET ART SPACE
A contemporary art gallery focusing on emerging and established practicing artists whose work demonstrates a willingness to experiment with form, medium, materials, concept and subject matter.

FSAS is a joint effort by Russell Persson and Tammy Ackerman. The gallery opened in October 2007.

Visit our Flickr to see photos of openings and events. Open late for Biddeford's ArtWalk every last Thursday of each month.

RENT OUR GALLERY: looking for a beautiful venue at reasonable rates for your next class/workshop/luncheon/rehearsal dinner? Rent our gallery...contact us for more information.

FSAS welcomes a solo show by Laura Dunn in August. "Laura is one of those artists who is never far away from her work, who is constantly seeking beauty in everyday objects, common and discarded materials...to me, Laura is prolific, never stopping in her endeavor to create. The things she comes up with are sometimes craft-like, sometimes high-art but always thought through with the intention of finding something beautiful within...whether it be a chunk of leftover scrap wood, a piece of metal, shopping bags...Laura finds a way to twist these things into something new." -Tammy Ackerman, FSAS curator

LAURA DUNN : ARTIST STATEMENT

Collection, observation, transformation; my art is a collaboration of these things. It is an ongoing dialogue with my surroundings.

Art is ubiquitous and inseparable from who, what, when, where, and why we are; it is all around us at every turn, not just in the museum or gallery. I find inspiration every moment as I look around my world collecting both physical objects and an internal archive of forms, lines, textures and juxtapositions.

My creative process is ever changing. Given materials and tools I will create but cannot have a preconceived notion of what that object might be, only that (it is my hope) it be visually challenging.

I use primarily found, or reclaimed materials, not only for the ecological implications but to raise them to a higher level of meaning, to give credibility to the mundane. I lean toward immediacy of mark making; removing the ego from the art piece in order to see clearly through to its essence.

I just discovered this quote from Twyla Tharp which says it all:
“Everything that happens in my day is a transaction between the external world and my internal world. Everything is raw material. Everything is relevant. Everything is usable. Everything feeds into my creativity.”

Detail of Laura's wood/wax sculpture

Artist Laura Dunn

Laura grew up in Massachusetts, summering in southern Maine. In 1988 she made it her home, and accepted a position at the Portland Museum of Art. Albeit in the Finance Department - but anything to be near the Art, as She puts it. In 1990 she enrolled at the University of Southern Maine with Art as her major. Then in 1993, In need of radical change of environment, transferred to the University of New Mexico, and in 1996 received her BFA Summa Cum Laude. She lived and worked as a potter in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 5 years from 1993 through 1998 during which time she returned to both Maine, and the Museum of Art in the summer months. From there she moved to Taiwan, Republic of China to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) from 1998 through 2000. While in Taiwan she studied Mandarin, and Chinese Brush Painting.

Upon returning to America she re-settled in Maine and now works both in her studio and at Thatcher Brook Center; a day program for adults with disabilities.

GALLERY SCHEDULE

NOVEMBER : Sara Crall | Observations Of
DECEMBER : Biggest Little Art Show

MUSIC SCHEDULE

NOVEMBER 8: CANCELLED. David Wax Museum with South China 8:30pm.

REVIEWS
PORTLAND PHOENIX: "When ordinary is extraordinary : Gil Corral’s questions and answers in Biddeford" by Ian Paige, September 25, 2008

PORTLAND PHOENIX: "An Informal Formalism," a review of Jared Radding's show by Ian Paige of the Portland Phoenix, 02/20/08.

REVISED REGULAR HOURS:
SATURDAY NOON - 6P AND BY APPOINTMENT

FOR MORE INFO CALL 207 229 3560 OR EMAIL.
41 FRANKLIN STREET • BIDDEFORD ME 04005 • MAP