Gardiner Maine art exhibition is full-circle event for the artists

GARDINER — Monkitree is hosting an exhibition of the works of local artists Arlene Kelley and Marj Burgess through Sept. 29.
The show, “Full Circle,” references a Chinese proverb that underscores the relationship the artists have with each other, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” The gallery is at 263 Water St.

There will be an opening reception from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, which coincides with Gardiner’s Art Walk.
Burgess taught Kelley high school English, and then became Kelley’s art student.
“I always knew she was creative, and now I have seen her creative talent go to a new level,” Kelley said of Burgess. “She is an inspiration to me with her energy and drive to learn to be a better artist, and the impressive work that she creates. And it is so fun to share our history, and that once she was my teacher and now I am hers. Thus we have come full circle and both of our lives have been enriched by knowing each other.”
Kelley went into graphic design as a young adult and has enjoyed many years working in that field. Painting for her became her outlet for personal and artistic expression, “I love realism and the challenge of capturing form and color in detail. These paintings are examples of my personal work over the years.”
Burgess’s collage artwork has been an opportunity to return to something she was drawn to as a child. With collage she encourages the viewer to explore the meaning given to images and how that changes when images are places side by side. Her artwork is an opportunity to experience an interaction between your true self and your life’s history. Through her artwork, she finds possibility, saying, “In the autumn of my life, there is a new spring.”
For more information, contact Clare Marron, at clare@monkitree.com or 207-512-4679.

PHOTO: Peonies by Arlene Kelley. Kelley’s artwork and that of Marj Burgess will be on display at Monkitree in Gardiner through Sept. 29. (Submitted photo)