On Friday, October 23, Marc Castelli’s annual one-man exhibition – They Live by the Sun – opens at the Carla Massoni Gallery with a Collector’s Reception from 6-8 pm. On Saturday, there will be an Artist Talk and tour of the exhibit with Marc Castelli at 12 Noon. Both events are free and open to the public.
Castelli has been painting the watermen for nearly twenty-five years. He is known for his intimate perspective on their lives, a perspective gained by his active involvement on their workboats. Castelli continues his efforts to be a powerful advocate for the Bay’s watermen, through slide lectures, writing papers about the issues, and testifying at Senate and House hearings that directly bear on the watermen. He serves as a member of the Friends of the Board at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum where he has been asked to represent the views of the watermen and their issues.
2015 marked his twenty-fifth year of crewing on racing log canoes. He is currently working with Judge John North who is authoring a book on the Chesapeake Bay Log Canoes due for publication in the Spring of 2016 as a finale to the year long celebration of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s 50th Anniversary. Pete Lesher, chief curator of the CBMM, is serving as editor and Castelli as art editor.
World renowned for his depiction of the workboats, watermen and racing log canoes of the Chesapeake, Marc recently completed his 1,315th watercolor dealing with the watermen and the Eastern Shore and his 448th painting of the log canoes.
The fifty watercolor paintings featured in the 2015 exhibit go far in capturing the watermen’s reality. In explaining his artistic goal Castelli said; “I want to paint the truth of their lives. I see them as the last of the free ranging cowboys. I don’t romanticize them or pretty them up.” The harsh conditions – ice, wind, snow, swells, fog, and the dark of night – Castelli is unsparing in his desire to convey the conditions faced on a daily basis. Snow capped baskets of oysters and crabs on sunburned docks; nets pulled, set, repaired; tongs, dredges, and the workboats – skipjacks, buy boats, drake tails – all painted with stunning accuracy and an artistic aesthetic. But, in the end with Castelli, it is always the men – men at work – plying their trade.
Massoniart and the Marc Castelli exhibition are proud to be an official partner event to the Sultana Education Foundation’s Annual Downrigging Weekend. The Castelli exhibition is timed to coincide with one of the largest annual Tall Ship and wooden boat festivals on the East. We will be celebrating in the gallery throughout the festival – Friday, October 30 – Sunday, November 1 with extended hours. www.sultanaeducation.org
Gallery hours, directions, and additional biographical information can be found on the MASSONIART website. (www.massoniart.com) The entire exhibition will go online Saturday, October 24th.
MASSONIART is located at 203 High Street in historic Chestertown, Maryland. For inquiries please call Carla Massoni at 410-¬778-7330.
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