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Peninsula Gallery to host art reception Oct. 6

September 30, 2018

The Peninsula Gallery in Lewes will host Mutual Interests, a new exhibition featuring the work of Richard Calvo, photography; Howard Eberle, watercolor; and Steve Rogers, acrylic. An opening reception with the artists will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 6.

What, one might ask, do the three have in common? First and foremost, in subject matter, each artist is inspired by coastal Delaware and the rural parts of the mid-Atlantic. Second, in composition, each focuses on the simplicity of the subjects. Each tries to evoke a sense of stillness and calmness in the works. Each looks for subjects that tell a story of simpler times.

Richard Calvo’s photographs have been described as “painterly.” He said, “I search to find the compositions that most painters would not need to alter. The camera does not allow me to change the height of trees, or move buildings. It does not allow me to change the colors I see. Early morning light can only be captured early in the morning. Painters with their brushes, imagination and memories can move mountains. Their work is as new as they are creative.”

The spirit of Howard Eberle’s work lies in dramatic composition of simple subject matter. He loves to paint anything textural – peeling paint, rust, wood grain – which is why he is drawn to things that are aged and weathered. He said, “When contemplating which elements to include in my paintings, I attach as much importance to what I need to eliminate as to include, in order to achieve my goal, which is to create a work of extreme simplicity leaving space for the imagination.”

Steve Rogers has always been attracted to waterfronts. He is fascinated by docks, workboats, crab and lobster traps, and the marshes that surround them. “I see beauty in the shape of an abandoned boat hull lying in the grass. I love the color of rust and aging paint. I see past the skill in the forming of the ribs, the shaping of the planks. For me, all these things tell a story, and this is what I try to record in my paintings,” he said.

All three artists love what they do, and they love each other’s work. They see things the same way and are moved by the same rhythms of the world around them. They each seek to capture a moment in time, and it is this that gives their works an eerie similarity.

The Peninsula Gallery is in the shops at the Beacon Motel, just across the canal on Savannah Road in Lewes. The exhibition will continue until Tuesday, Oct. 30. To preview all work, go to www.peninsula-gallery.com. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday. For more information, call 302-645-0551.

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