For nearly a quarter of a century, Marc Castelli has been exhibiting his stunning watercolors of the workboats, watermen and historic log canoes of the Chesapeake at the Carla Massoni Gallery in Chestertown, Maryland. Last year he made the decision to limit his one-person exhibitions to a single annual show. The Leaning Wind opens on October 24 and continues through November 25. Collectors and friends will have the opportunity to attend the Opening Reception on Friday, October 24th from 5-7 pm and the Artist Talk on Saturday, October 25th at 12 noon.
The festivities continue with the annual Sultana Downrigging Weekend from October 31-November 2. Massoniart is proud to have been an event sponsor of this premier tall ship and wooden boat festival since its inception and in keeping with Downrigging tradition, Castelli will release the 13th in the Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe Print series on Friday, October 31st. This year’s print “The Wait / Flying Cloud” is available exclusively at the Finishing Touch. The Gallery will host a reception and open house during the Downrigging Weekend Festival. But wait – there’s still more – plan to stay in the party mood through Chestertown’s November First Friday Weekend – November 6 -9.
The title Castelli chose for this year’s exhibition – The Leaning Wind – references the poem “The Conquistador” by Archibald MacLeish. The poem recalls a golden age and a time never to be recaptured. The poem’s storyteller Diaz describes “…the leaning Wind in their garments” and remembers a time when “…once we were the lords of it all.” Castelli’s paintings tell us stories – particularly the stories of the men and the vessels of the Chesapeake. Never one to be solely an observer, Castelli works side by side with the watermen in all weather and every season. Without overt proselytizing, and through the very dailiness captured in his paintings, one learns of the risks and the environmental and economic concerns facing the watermen of the Chesapeake in the 21st century.
Throughout his career Castelli has navigated numerous unknown seas. As an artist he has taken risks to expand his vision, address his artistic concerns and hone his technical skills. It is his wish to present views few others will ever see, his need to include the viewer in the experience, and his desire to create tangible abstractions from the shapes and textures that can be found in boats, tools, weather, and most of all water that keeps him ever exploring. In staying true to these impulses, he has found a subject in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers encompassing all the artistic challenges he would ever want to pursue.
“It is the light I have been trying to capture as it falls and illuminates the watermen going about their harvests. The light – that is in the water and air of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers.” M. Castelli
For additional information visit www.massoniart.com www.sultanaeducation.org and www.finishingtouchshop.com and our respective Faceook pages.
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