MARC CASTELLI
Working Portraits / watermen.2
June 16 – July 8, 2023
113 South Cross Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
Open House – Saturday, June 17, 10-5 pm
Artist Talk – Saturday, June 17, 12 noon
Marc Castelli has been painting the workboats, watermen, and log canoes of the Chesapeake region for over thirty years. He is considered by many to be a master of his watercolor medium and a renowned artist of the Chesapeake. The MassoniArt gallery has represented Castelli for over twenty-five years with an annual one-man show. Encompassing only three weeks, Castelli’s special exhibition, Working Portraits / watermen.2, features the second in a series of Castelli’s portraits of watermen. These are not generic images or archetypes but portrayals of real people Castelli feels privileged to know.
This exhibition will be in addition to Castelli’s Annual One Man Exhibition – Laying Down the Sun – scheduled October 21-November 26, 2023.
When discussing the genesis of the project Castelli shared, “painting such personal images of them is unnerving. In some instances, the focus is solely on the face with the weathered lines of their lives streaming from the eyes. Some call those lines ‘crow’s feet’ I liken them to a map of every creek, river, gut, thurfer, cove, and bay these men have worked as they harvest crabs, fish, eels, oysters and turtles.”
Also included in the exhibit are focused images of the watermen on their workboats. For Castelli these watermen are not just figures to populate a painting. “There is no such thing as a generic waterman. The men in the paintings are knowable to themselves, their families, and to their compatriots.”
Both the High Street Gallery and Cross Street Gallery are open Thursday, Friday – 11-4 and Saturday 10-5. The Cross Street Gallery is open Sunday 12-3 and the High Street Gallery by appointment. Private appointments may be scheduled at any time by contacting Carla Massoni. 410-708-4512.
For additional information please visit www.massoniart.com.
Cheryl Hoopes says
Thank you, Marc Castelli, for doing such important work. Loved reading your words about the individuals you highlighted. Your heart shows through.