Wait 'Till Next Year

Having moved back to the North Shore after living and working in Boston for the past 15 years, I have immersed myself in the infinite inspiration of sea air and solid souls ... mixed with a wee bit of turpentine. I have always felt a deep spiritual connection to the town of Marblehead, and over the past year I have been impelled to work in a process that I call “Boat Yard Art.” 

I first became driven to change the direction of my art not long after my father died. I suddenly felt a grave and persistent melancholy that I wont bother to bore you with here, except that it really all has to do with my father’s death and my awful feeling that everything was the same yet absurdly different. Over this tumultuous period of time I have become resolute on expanding my way of thinking about process, materials and sources of inspiration. I have come to realize that, indeed, you can’t go home again, but; you can tighten up some loose ends. So, I delved back to my roots and heritage and found inspiration in the raw honesty of the boat yard. 

The result is a body of work that I call Spirits Of The Boat Yard. It is an oblique reference to the boat yard heyday of my father, and subsequently; my time as a curious 8 year old in tow. With easy access to the readily available detritus and tools, my curious exploration of the boat yards of Marblehead launched my own inchoate attempts and deep-seated urge to create. That freedom to explore, play and imagine (combined with some questionable parental oversight) has continued to fuel my Artistic development.

NICHOLAS W. KENT BRINGS “SPIRITS OF THE BOAT YARD”
TO STETSON GALLERY THROUGHOUT JANUARY

The love of boats and boat yards, use of boat-specific materials, memories of his father, and images from the past imbue Nicholas W. Kent’s exhibit, “Spirits of the Boatyard,” with emotion, color, and vitality. The Stetson Art Gallery in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead will present Kent’s work throughout January, and will hold an opening reception for the artist on Sunday, January 12, from noon-2 p.m.

Nicholas W. Kent grew up on the North Shore, spending countless hours in the boatyards of Marblehead with his father, Christopher, an avid sailor and boatman. Christopher’s death a few years ago affected Nicholas deeply, and the emotional turmoil of that loss is reflected in the work on display.

“I first became driven to change the direction of my art not long after my father died,” Kent says. The “grave and persistent melancholy” of the loss overwhelmed him, and compelled him to “work in a process I call “Boat Yard Art. I have immersed myself in the infinite inspiration of sea air and solid souls ... mixed with a wee bit of turpentine.”
Kent says he became “resolute on expanding my way of thinking about process, materials and sources of inspiration. I have come to realize that, indeed, you can’t go home again; but, you can tighten up some loose ends. So, I delved back to my roots and heritage and found inspiration in the raw honesty of the boat yard.

“The result is a body of work that I call ‘Spirits Of The Boat Yard.’ It is an oblique reference to the boat yard heyday of my father, and, subsequently, my time as a curious 8 year old in tow. With easy access to the readily available detritus and tools, my curious exploration of the boat yards of Marblehead launched my deep-seated urge to create. That freedom to explore, play and imagine continued to fuel my artistic development.”

Nicholas W. Kent of Salem graduated cum laude with a BS in Media Arts and Design with a concentration in Graphic Design, from Northeastern University in 2004. He is the cofounder in 2008 of Mind Adventure, Inc., a small publishing company of Self-Help and Inspirational books and media. He is a member of Rifràkt Artist Collective, a community of emerging Boston Artists devoted to networking and the pursuit of local Art. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout Boston and the North Shore. For more information about Nick’s work, visit his website at artistnick.com.

Stetson Gallery is open weekdays 9 a.m.-2p.m. (1 p.m. Mondays) and during Church events at other times. The Winter/Spring 2014 Gallery season will feature the following artists: February, Barbara Naeser; March, Elisabeth Neville; April, William Cloutman; May, Daly Inspirations, watercolors by students of Elaine Caliri Daly; June, the photographs of Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo. Curators Anthony and Jo Ann Silva welcome inquiries at stetson@uumarblehead.org.

CALENDAR: SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 12-2 PM: Opening Reception for January exhibit, “Spirits of the Boatyard,” paintings by Nicholas W. Kent, at Stetson Gallery in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead, 28 Mugford St., Marblehead. For further information visit uumarblehead.org or email stetson@uumarblehead.org.

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