‘Sea Piece’ by Jan Porcellis

‘Sea Piece’ byJan Porcellis (1584-1632)

Oil on panel

Jan Porcellis specialised in marine paintings. He worked in the cities of Rotterdam, Middelbourg and London. This painting had originally been attributed to the artist Jan Claes Rietschoof, hence the text on the painting’s frame. Presented by Miss Micklethwaite in 1932

Shipwreck Galleries

The Maritime Museum in Cliff Street, Fremantle, has been renamed the Western Australian Maritime Museum Shipwreck Galleries.

The Shipwreck Galleries are recognised as the foremost maritime archaeology museum in the southern hemisphere.

The displays in the restored convict-built Commissariat building feature early exploration and shipwrecks along the treacherous coastline as early as the 17th Century, including original timbers from the Dutch VOC ship the Batavia, wrecked in 1629.

The Shipwreck Galleries will continue to play an important role in researching and conserving Western Australia’s maritime heritage as well as being part of the complex of attractions for visitors to the Fremantle waterfront precinct.

Biscayne National Park Gallery Features the Art of Carey Chen

Renowned marine artist Carey Chen will be the next featured artist at Biscayne National Park’s Dante Fascell Visitor Center Gallery.Chen’s near-photographic paintings portray a realism few artists can match. Chen, though, is quick to point out that a painting can capture much more than a photo ever could. The signature piece for the Biscayne National Park show is a perfect example. The bottom half of the painting is a diverse scene featuring animals and plants from three of the park’s ecosystems: the mangrove shoreline, Biscayne Bay and the coral reefs. Above the waterline, a great white heron flies past the Boca Chita lighthouse, tying in the remaining significant parts of the park. Paradise for Marine Life will feature this original painting, and over 20 additional original paintings and prints.

A native of Los Angeles, Chen was raised in Jamaica where he took an early interest in fishing, boating and marine life. When his family moved to Miami in the mid 1970s, he pursued varied interests like motorcycle and auto racing while running the family business, a chain of Miami video stores. Throughout these successful ventures, he knew his heart remained with the ocean, and he returned to fishing and boating, etching into his memory many spectacular encounters with billfish and other marine life. Eventually he decided to try and capture some of his memories by sketching and later painting them. After years of honing his skills as an artist, he has now been the featured artist for over 200 of the world’s most prestigious fishing tournaments. He is always quick to share his success by working with various conservation groups and other charities.

Public Art in Maine

Maine’s Public Art program shall promote civic stewardship, cultural vibrancy, creativity, aesthetic excellence, and appreciation-of-place through the enhancement of public spaces using the arts. The program will champion federal, state, and private support, and encourage relationships that advance the quality of physical environments in Maine.

Public art refers to artwork that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being exhibited in the public environment. The implication of this is that it will accessible to all members of society. Public artwork possesses characteristics that make it distinct from other artistic disciplines. Public art has particular relevance related to site specificity, physical and historic context, community involvement, and civic collaboration.

The term public art can also include private art which is exhibited in a public space or publicly accessible buildings. Civic statuary such as monuments and memorials are perhaps the most recognized forms of public art. Music in the park, parades, street theatre, public poetry, and other cultural events in shared spaces also can qualify as Public Art. The broad understanding for Public Art is that it is openly accessible and impacts public space.

Maine’s Percent for Art program sponsors public art for state buildings. The artwork commissioned through this program has taken many forms. Traditional representative sculpture, abstract wall-mounted works, projects that integrate artwork throughout the building in a holistic manner, mobiles, earthwork and electronic art are just a few of the categories that have been commissioned. An archive of the collection can be viewed through the Percent for Art Directory, current calls to artists can be accessed through the Opportunities Directory. The Maine Arts Commission also manages the Arts in the Capitol program, which brings exhibits from some of Maine’s finest galleries to the State Capitol. The Maine Arts Commission is dedicated to providing leadership, being an information resource, and developing process models to successfully place art in the public sphere.