COYOTE FOR ALL SEASONS
The “Coyotes For All Seasons” exhibit featuring the work of thirteen women and two men artists from across Maine will be on view in the LA Arts Gallery from April 24 through June 16, 2023.
This exhibit explores the question of how we discover our deep and abiding connections with those with whom we share our planet in this domesticated and urbanized world. For artists Evelyn Dunphy, Elizabeth Starr, Gwen Sylvester, Susan Westly Wren, Susan Roux, Laurie Burhoe, Mary Zachary Lang, Janice Kasper, Paula Pitman Brown, Amy Peters Wood, Carole Drinan Whelan, Rebekah Raye, Chris Magnuson, Leslie Moore, and Michael Branca the answer is focused on the private life of the Coyote.
Through their captivating work, created with watercolors, acrylic, colored pencils, and more, viewers will follow the Coyote’s life experiences, wondering and imagining how much theirs is like ours, and gain a better understanding of why our Native Peoples revered and delighted in sharing land with America’s native wild dog. The exhibit is co-curated by Carnivore Conservation Biologist, Geri Vistein and Artist, Activist, Educator, Evelyn Dunphy.
Coyote for All Seasons Proposed Scope
“Our Question ~ In our domesticated and urbanized world, how do we discover our deep and abiding connections with the intelligent Life with whom we are privileged to share our planet?
One answer to this question can be found in the Vision of the Coyote for All Seasons Exhibition. The science we have come to know and the art we create can in concert touch our whole human person: our thinking brain and even more deeply our intuitive and feeling heart, where our true humanity lies.
So we are seeking out the private lives of America’s Native Wild Dog ~ Coyote, present here with us but so little known or understood by our culture. Yes! Leave it up to an artist to find the way to their private world and then express their secrets in the creative expressions of their art.
Month by month visitors will follow Coyote’s Life …wondering and imagining how so like ours is theirs, and yet so beyond our own life experiences or imaginings.
May all of you who come to join us, leave with some understanding of why our Native Peoples on this continent revered and delighted in sharing this land with Coyote.”
GERI VISTEIN
Carnivore Conservation Biologist
Geri Vistein is a Conservation Biologist whose focus is carnivores and their vital role in maintaining the biodiversity of our planet. Her work centers on educating our Maine community about carnivores, their ecology, their complex cultures and history, and how we can coexist with them. She achieves this by presenting various programs on carnivores and us to diverse audiences all over the state of Maine, working closely with our farmers who wish to learn coexisting skills, by creating outreach projects with artists, musicians, and puppeteers, offering experiential programs for our children, giving support to educators of our children, and collaborating with diverse community and agency organizations.
She is the Founder of Coyote Center for Carnivore Ecology and Coexistence whose Mission is to share with community members the science we know of our returning carnivores and the skills to live well with them. Visit her two educational websites:
www.FarmingwithCarnivoresNetwork.com
EVELYN DUNPHY
Artist, Activist, Educator
Evelyn Dunphy considered herself an artist since childhood. After designing and sewing intricate hand appliqued wall hangings that were exhibited in galleries in New York and Connecticut, including a commission for the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, she resigned from her job with a biomedical research firm to become a full time artist.
Her paintings have been exhibited and given awards in national and international exhibitions including the American Watercolor Society, the
National Watercolor Society, Adirondack Exhibition of American Watercolors, the Royal Watercolour Society, London, and the Society of Canadian Painters in Watercolour, among many others.
Supporting children’s hunger programs is one of Dunphy’s passions. She regularly holds art events where a percentage of sales is donated to the local Backpack program, which sends food home with children on Friday afternoon so that they have something in the house to tide them over the weekend.
Dunphy is recognized in Maine for her paintings of Mount Katahdin and being
the first visiting artist in the history of Baxter State Park, a 200,000+ acre wilderness sanctuary. She is the first artist to receive the National Resource Council of Maine’s People’s Choice Award for her contribution to conservation in the state.
See her paintings on her website: https://www.evelyndunphy.com/
Located at 168 Lisbon Street in Lewiston, the LA Arts Gallery presents exhibitions throughout the year that reflect and honor the Twin Cities community. Exhibited artists generally have ties to LA or to Maine.
With each show, LA Arts aims to bring individuals and groups together to strengthen our community through shared experiences and deeper cultural understanding.
Gallery Hours
Interim Gallery Hours
TUE thru THU
9:30AM – 2:30PM
& by appointment: gerald.walsh@laarts.org
If you’re interested in volunteering at the Gallery or want to learn more about the space and upcoming exhibitions, please send us a message using the form below.