There was something quite unexpected in Wellfleet on Friday evening, Feb. 9: a full parking lot. People chatted, keys in hands, heading to their cars outside the public library. This is a common sight in summer, when car windows are rolled down and the sun is blazing, but not in February.
The opening reception for the eighth annual Wellfleet Artist Exhibit was, just like the recent days of sun, a much-needed respite from the dark — and a large crowd came out for the show.
In a room filled with light and warmth that seemed to emanate from the artworks themselves, people snacked and sipped, mingled and gabbed, and pointed out favorites among the pieces on the walls.
The exhibit, which continues through Feb. 29, includes works by more than 50 Wellfleet-based artists with and without gallery representation. There is a strong showing of landscapes and figures and a healthy dose of abstraction and experimentation. Overall, the show is an assortment of bursts of color and pockets of quiet works the eye can rest upon.
At the opening, Wellfleet showed its colors as a gallery town. Most of those present spoke fluently about the art and the passion behind it. It was a wintry iteration of those summer gallery strolls where artists, locals, and out-of-towners rub shoulders.
Megan Feeney was visiting for the weekend from Brighton. “My girlfriend Royola and I come down here at this time of year,” she said. “It’s a chance to hide away from the city someplace gorgeous. We can afford it in February.”
She was admiring Wharf Trio by Dianne Longchamps. “It’s that sparkling green,” she said. “The undulating movement of the wharves and the sky and sand — it feels like summer to me. The weight of the vibrant green connects all three panels so brilliantly. I want to be on that wharf — God, yeah, I’d love to be on that wharf in 80-degree weather.”
Brian Paris was visiting for the night from Harwich. “I always look forward to this show,” he said. “It’s nice to see what my friends have been up to all year. It’s amazing to me that some of my buddies made this stuff. You think your friend is just taking a casual picture of something on a walk. Next thing you know, it’s a gorgeous painting.”
He stood with arms crossed, surveying, until he spotted the work across the room. “That bird,” he said, nodding at Snow Bird by Carol Fitzsimmons. “I love the subject itself: I’m a birder. I love the way it’s embroidered. The texture is cool. I like how you can see the variations in the feathers and the details in the thread. It looks like it feels nice. I want to run my hands over it — but I won’t!”
“Oh boy,” said Dylan Heinricher of Chatham about Moonswept by Agnes Collis. “This one really touches me. I’m not sure why. But just looking at it, I can feel myself there. I can feel the evening sky, the gentle summer night wind. It’s beautiful.
“I go to any event out here at this time of year,” Heinricher said. “I don’t care if it’s in Mashpee. I’ll drive however far. If I don’t have events to go to, people to see, I start going a bit crazy.” It’s the general feeling of the room: contentment to be around one another and excitement to see the work.
Michael Page’s Further Points of Reference held the attention of many who crossed its path with its strong lines and powerful restraint. “I was taken aback at the overall quality of the art in this group,” said Page. “It looks like it belongs in a for-profit professional gallery, and yet it’s just a collection of the artists we have living in our area. It’s pretty spectacular.”
A Wharf in 80-Degree Weather
The event: Eighth annual Wellfleet Artist Exhibit
The time: Through Thursday, Feb. 29
The place: Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main St.
The cost: Free
