In 2020, sculptor and furniture designer Charles Schreiber thought about making things that were compact, easy to transport, and mobile. He shared, “Nobody knows what’s going to happen. Things feel so insecure now for so many people that being able to pull up stakes quickly and move seems to be something to consider.”

Portland Museum of Art selects artists for exhibition about 2020

The 25 artists were chosen from 900 submissions.

BY BOB KEYES STAFF WRITER
November 23, 2020

Twenty-four artists and one artist collective have been chosen for the Portland Museum of Art’s exhibition about the turmoil and upheaval of 2020. The juried exhibition, “Untitled, 2020: Art From Maine In A _______ Time,” will open in February.

Artists living and working in Maine were encouraged to fill in the blank in the exhibition’s title by submitting art for consideration that speaks to the uncertain and unsettled nature of this historic moment, and they responded en masse. More than 900 artists submitted work, said Jaime DeSimone, curator of contemporary art at the PMA and curatorial liaison for this exhibition.

The five jurors settled on 25 artists after many long digital meetings. “They were given the impossible task to survey 900 submissions and come out on the other side,” she said. “I think the jurors did a phenomenal job being extremely thoughtful and considering all the different conversations in our communities and around the globe today, and how artists are really active in the studio right now, inspired not only by the pandemic, but civil unrest, the political situation, climate change and other issues.”

Titi de Baccarat, shown at work in February, is among 24 artists and one artist collective chosen for the Portland Museum of Art’s exhibition about the turmoil and upheaval of 2020. Michael Kelley / The Forecaster

The exhibition will open Feb. 12. If the pandemic forces the museum to close before then, the PMA will present the work online. If nothing else, 2020 has taught the museum to adapt to the circumstances, DeSimone said. “There will be no public opening, no performances, no installations on site. As we have been doing since March, we will have a robust digital presence of the show online, and we will do everything we can to highlight the artists’ work and provide visibility that way,” she said. “We recognize that not all people will be comfortable coming into the museum when this opens in February, depending on where the COVID-19 numbers are.”

The artists selected are:

Ryan Adams, ARRT! (Artists’ Rapid Response Team!), Henry Austin, Greta Bank, Steve Bartlett, Rachel Church, Titi de Baccarat, Anna Dibble, Christopher Dudley, Rosamond Gross, Celeste Henriquez, Greg Jamie, Eleanor Kipping, Enrique Mendía, Meghan Mitchell, Elijah Ober, Ashley Page, Veronica A. Perez, Julie Poitras Santos, Joshua Reiman, Charles Schreiber, Sally Stanton, Giles Timms, Deborah Wing-Sproul and Evelyn Wong.sts were chosen from 900 submissions.