TRACE
What remains when something is gone? A mark... a sign...
evidence of what once was.
The MMPA Gallery presents "TRACE" - a powerful spring photographic exhibition exploring the vestiges of former existence, influence, and action.
Experience works by 10 distinguished artists. Some marks are meant to be discovered. Will you find yours?
April 4 - May 31, 2025.
Next Artist talks: Friday, May 16, 5-8pm
Jodi Colella
Joseph Podlesnik
June Kim
SaraH Hood Salomon
Drew Harty
Joan Fitzsimmons
Sara Stites
Jon Pelletier
Caroline Savage
Frank Lopez
Joan Fitzsimmons, #127, From the series, Small & Large Thoughts, 2015, Inkjet and silver prints, 16 x 20 inches, $1100
Small & Large Thoughts is a photographic series that began when I noticed that my emptied bowl of yogurt resembled the remnants of a painter’s palette. It began as a reflection on that artform’s centuries of practice. Later I noticed my spoons, evidencing decay, the inevitable entropy of life. Re-examining heirlooms of home is a process of reclamation; recycling objects and collecting memories, claiming their very simplicity as material for art-making. - Joan Fitzsimmons
A Call For Works
”About Home + Place”
Exhibition Dates: December 5, 2025 - January 29, 2026
Deadline for submission: September 2, 2025 (read below)
Talks: Friday, 5-8pm
December 19 + January 16, 5-8pm ( 3/4 artists each night + family Dedication)
A James R. Salomon Memorial Photography exhibit
Jamie Salomon (1963 - 2024) was a distinguished photographer whose passion for the art began at age 12 with his father's Rolleiflex camera. He earned a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and later established his career in Maine after relocating with his wife, Susan. Over more than three decades, Jamie specialized in architectural, editorial, and commercial photography, developing a unique style characterized by a keen eye and a sensitive use of light. An avid nature enthusiast, his deep knowledge of the woods, oceans, and flora and fauna often permeated his photography, bringing his passions vividly to life in his images.
The sense of place, as the phrase suggests, does indeed emerge from the senses. The land, and even the spirit of the place, can be experienced kinetically, or kinesthetically, as well as visually. If one has been raised in a place, its textures and sensations, its smells and sounds, are recalled as they felt to a child’s, adolescent’s, adult’s body. Even if ones history there is short, a place can still be felt as an extension of the body, especially the walking body, passing through and becoming part of the landscape. - Lucy Lippard
Sense of place is the sixth sense, an internal compass and map made by memory and spacial perception together.- Rebecca Solnit
The desire to go home that is a desire to be whole, to know where you are, to be the point of intersection of all the lines drawn through all the stars, to be the constellation-maker and the center of the world, that center called love. To awaken from sleep, to rest from awakening, to tame the animal, to let the soul go wild, to shelter in darkness and blaze with light, to cease to speak and be perfectly understood. - R. S.
Jamie Salomon with his dog, Olive.
To Submit: Send us an email with “Call for Works” in the subject line, a short bio (2-3 sentences), an artist statement (3–5 sentences about the content of the work.) and 6–36 jpgs (1500 pixels, long edge) and an image list (artist, title, edition, date, medium, size, pric. Please number jpegs and image list.) to contact.mmpa@gmail.com
Please note for national and international applicants, MMPA cannot pay for shipping. This exhibit is underwritten by the Salomon Family and there is zero charge for submission. Send us your best.
SUBMIT YOUR WORK
Carol Eisenberg, Flowers 1, From the Japan portfolio, Pigment print, 47 x 37 inches, $3,900. We have many of Carol Eisenberg’s prints and framed works for sale.
Have a portfolio that you would like to share?
Send us an email with “PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION” in the subject line, a short bio (2-3 sentences), an artist statement (3–5 sentences about the content of the work.) and 6–36 jpgs (1500 pixels, long edge) to contact.mmpa@gmail.com
WE CANNOT CONSIDER AN APPLICATION WITHOUT DONATION.
We take your work seriously and it takes some time to respond and consider.
Many of our submissions lead to exhibitions or sharing the work with other curators locally that also leads to opportunities for artists.
A donation of $50 with your submission is required. Please click on this link to make your donation.
This insures that we’ll be here in the future to exhibit your work and the work of others.
In Memoriam of Barbara Morris Goodbody, photographer, collector, philanthropist and friend.
1936 - 2024
"Barbara Morris Goodbody was a visionary photographer, collector, and philanthropist whose compassionate worldview shaped Maine's cultural landscape. Her dedication to social activism, politics, and the arts left an indelible mark on the state. From presidential campaigns to connecting Nobel Peace Prize winners with youth mentorship programs, she worked tirelessly to create positive change. Goodbody believed in taking personal responsibility to improve the world through direct action, fostering deep relationships with art institutions across Maine. As a founder, board member, trustee, and benefactor, (and MMPA advisory board member) she helped shape the present we know today. Her legacy stands as a cornerstone of Maine's artistic and cultural heritage.” - Denise Froehlich, Director of the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts
Photographer unknown, this image was made in Japan at the beginning of her long and stellar photography career.
A Book Feature
MMPA is proud to have offerings from Radius Books, MW Editions + Artist monographs and Book Arts
New titles are constantly coming in.
Robert David Atkinson, Silent Witness to Beauty, 2024, Limited Edition Soft bound book, 148 pages, 8.25 x 11.5 inches, $45.
A Silent Witness to Beauty is a journey through the lens and the imagination of photographer Robert David Atkinson. This unique collection combines black-and-white photographs with fictional narratives to offer a truly immersive experience.
Through the intimate portraits of birds, each photograph and story invites you to pause and contemplate the beauty of nature in its rawest form. From tales of resilience to moments of quiet reflection, this collection celebrates the diverse tapestry of life and the profound connections between all living beings. R.D.A.
Robert David Atkinson Photographs (from the book)
Robert David Atkinson, The Waiting, 2025, Pigment print, 16 x 12 inches, $500.
My Fine Art portfolio consists of nature and landscape photography. It is my way of sharing the profound beauty of the natural world. Each landscape and each bird in flight has a story to tell. I strive to capture those narratives through my lens, inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and appreciate the untouched splendor surrounding us. Everything is worth observing, from the natural world to everyday objects, from the elegant flight of a songbird to urban decay exploration. To capture these things in a photograph or sound recording, to create an image from nothing, has been my lifelong work and passion. I am always looking. -RDA
Robert David Atkinson is a Commercial / Fine Art photographer based in the heart of New York City. He has recently won awards from Communication Arts and American Photographic Artists. Robert started his career in the 1980s, shooting commercial work with large format cameras, then transitioned to digital in the 90s. From the streets of New York City to the tranquil landscapes that inspire his work, his lens has become a tool for capturing the essence of subjects in all their forms. His portfolio showcases his journey, reflecting a blend of technical prowess and an artist's sensitivity. In every shot taken, whether it's a product, a landscape, or a bird in flight, He is reminded of the incredible privilege it is to share stories, evoke emotions, and spark conversations through the art of photography.
VOLUNTEER POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Office assistant needed with MAC/ Adobe suite skills.
Email us at contact.mmpa@gmail.com with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.
Featured Art
This piece was just used as an example in our night of artist talks for our current exhibition, TRACE. Sara Stites is an American painter and photographer known for creating imagined narratives that draw upon the complex relationship between the internal and external worlds, calling upon personal history and thoughts and emotions in response to current events and the pull of desire. A native New Yorker, Stites received her BFA from Syracuse University in 1972 and MFA from Pratt Institute in 1976. A crucial part of her childhood was spent in Puerto Rico, where she witnessed the break up of her parent’s marriage. This early experience awakened an interest in exploring “power politics” on an intimate level in her art.
Sara Stites, June and Tower, 2017, Inkjet print, 40 x 30 inches, $2,800.
Print Offering/ Fundraising to benefit MMPA
This piece was donated by the artist who made It and 100% of the purchase goes toward our operating expenses. Thank you to Christine Higgins for Her generosity.
Color, pattern, light, and movement are found in my work. I am drawn to contrast and juxtaposition – the presence of fragility and strength. Water wearing down the hardness of rock, moss clinging to untenable surfaces, the abandoned and forgotten, growth despite adversity. Present are layered elements of time in what has come before, vestigial traces of history portraying past evidence in the present. I look to the sublime in the sometimes over-looked ordinary. CH
Christine Johnson Higgins works in her woodland studio in Readfield Maine. She earned her B.A. in art from Marietta College, Ohio, and M.Ed. in Integrated Arts from Lesley University, Cambridge, Mass. Her work has been exhibited throughout the Northeast, Ohio, Ecuador and Finland, and she has been featured in various publications. Seasonally, she explores pulp painting and other fiber techniques during the summer, while taking photographs and translating them into photogravure prints year round.
