Bowersock Gallery "Boundaries in Fantasy"

Event: June 16 through July 5; Opening reception June 16, 7 to 10 p.m.
Where: Bowersock Gallery, 373 Commercial Street, Provincetown, Mass
Contact: Steve Bowersock 1-508-487-4994

Patricia Kaufman and Erin McFarland

It's story telling time at the Bowersock Gallery, with "Boundaries in Fantasy" an exhibition by painters Patricia Kaufman and Erin McFarland. Works by the New Hampshire Seacoast artists will be featured at the Bowersock, June 16 through July 5, with an opening reception held June 16, from 7 to 10 p.m.

"The paintings by these women are quite different from one another, but they are both story tellers. One will waltz you through a world of human relations, the other on a moving trip in Peru," says owner, painter Steve Bowersock. "Not only will they take you to different places, but do so with very distinct, individual hands."

Kaufman, long known for her figurative works, had stopped painting them for a number of years to explore brilliantly colored landscapes. But a recent trip to Peru with Beyond Adventures, a charitable group that collects educational material, then hikes the goods up the side of a mountain jungle, moved Kaufman back to people and storytelling. This year's work features a magical, ethereal take on her trek on the back of a donkey into Peruvian wilderness. The oils capture the intense feelings of the experience and the sprit of the place, its people and animals.

"Patricia says she can only paint what she knows, what she feels. She's always been known for grasping and capturing the soul, or light of her subject. This exhibit is a perfect marriage of her experience and style," says Bowersock. "These works are simply moving, at times breathtaking."

McFarland's explorations are inward; relations, or a moment's thought played out in highly stylized, sensual figures. Her people fascinate as they demonstrate either the marriage of beings, or the disturbing sense of alone. Working with pastel, she creates strong, oil like colors, with a soft edge.

"Erin's characters can bare their teeth, and bite down hard; having the effect of a blazing fire you can't look away from. Conversely she'll create others that are a soft place, somewhere to linger and be soothed," says Bowersock. "Either way, the images will haunt you."

"These two women share a second common denominator. They'll tell you about a place, or a feeling, and make you feel a part of the experience," says Bowersock. "You listen, believe, and want to be a part of it."

The Bowersock Gallery will also exhibit the work of its stable and guest artists in its salon studio. The Gallery represents over a dozen artists from the New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts historically art-rich seacoast areas. Work offered includes oils, watercolor, collage, multi-media, and blown glass.