RAL exhibitions to open with reception May 10

As the summer season nears, the Rehoboth Art League will open five new art exhibitions Friday, May 10.

Featuring works from the league’s permanent fine art collection are two exhibitions titled Self-Taught and Sitting Pretty. Two oil painting exhibitions will be Sea Change: Works by Stephen Estrada, and The Everyday: Oil Paintings by Michael McSorley. From River to Ocean features quilts by textile artist Anne Bellas.

The art league will host opening receptions for all the exhibitions from 5 to 7 p.m., May 10, inviting visitors to the Corkran, Tubbs, Ventures and Homestead galleries to see the displayed work.

A self-taught art quilter who lives in Nantes, France, Bellas draws inspiration from the waterways of France for pieces featured in this exhibit on the walls of the Corkran. Mostly abstract, her art sometimes hinting at landscapes but is never completely representational. She mostly pieces and machine quilts, using fabrics inherited from her great-grandmother’s dowry - white cotton and linen sheets and tablecloths that she dyes and prints. Her colors are bold and bright, and, indeed, her focus is light and colors: she is well aware that the use of colors has a therapeutic effect on people,

In the Tubbs Gallery, Estrada paints the various moods of the ocean. “Our connection to the sea goes back beyond time; its moods and rhythms affect our daily lives,” said Estrada. He said the ocean has always been a source of solace, mystery and adventure. These oil paintings reflect a lifetime of experiences in and near the sea; sometimes tumultuous, sometimes indescribably tranquil.

McSorley’s images of everyday objects will populate the Ventures. His oil paintings are a continuation of his childhood fascination with the visual world. As he has grown, his personality and outlook on life have matured, as has the way in which he perceives the everyday. Every subject has a spirit; there is a spark of the designer within it. In the process of painting something, McSorley is respecting that fire of creativity, while giving the painting its own artistic force. His paintings show the passing of time, with the subject being painted and repainted.

The three shows in the Corkran, Tubbs, and Ventures galleries are on display through Sunday, June 9.

Through Sunday, July 14, the league will have two unique curated shows on display to highlight pieces from RAL’s permanent fine art collection. The historic Peter Marsh Homestead will display the exhibit Self-Taught, which features pieces from artists who are considered to be self-trained. While some may have taken some art classes at RAL, the majority have never attended a formal art school and began creating art out of an internal desire to express themselves.

Sitting Pretty, a showcase curated by RAL exhibition committee members Le Rowell and Denise Clemons, will be on display in the DeWitt Gallery. The most prominent feature of a portrait is the person who sits for the artist creating the work. The same can be said for an object that serves to inspire a piece of sculpture. In this show, viewers will find a unique ensemble of works from the league’s collection that illustrate the notion of sitting pretty, whether whimsical or serious, abstract or representational.

The exhibitions are free and open to everyone during the regular gallery hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m., Sunday.

The Rehoboth Art League is located at 12 Dodds Lane, Henlopen Acres.

For more information, go to rehobothartleague.org.