Artist Mea Duke’s highly-anticipated solo show opening Saturday evening at Jessica Hagen Fine Art + Design was brimming with people and high energy. The sun shone both inside and out of the gallery as Duke welcomed a crowd of all ages with smiles as wide as the brim on Bowing, her centerstage oil and acrylic hat painting.
“Mea Duke is a creative force. Her paintings elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary, supercharging the viewer’s experience,” says gallery owner Jessica Hagen.
Duke’s work is the perfect complement to summer. Her painted wall sculptures of hanging towels are not to be missed for their sheer creativity, color and playfulness. With paintings of calming horizons, a blowup raft, life preserver, an archery target, a pair of cool cars and even a bottle of sunscreen, Duke has summer wrapped up.
The show runs through July 24th and must be experienced.
About Mea Duke
Duke holds her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Rhode Island. She has been an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Montserrat College of Art, teaching fellow at SMFA at Tufts, and most recently a teaching assistant in printmaking, painting, and sculpture within the Art, Film and Visual Studies Department at Harvard University. Duke’s work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the Northeast, has been the recipient of numerous awards, and has been featured in several publications such as New American Paintings and Studio Visit Magazine among others.
About Jessica Hagen Fine Art + Design
Jessica Hagen Fine Art + Design was founded in 2005 and features contemporary American art, including painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, textiles, and jewelry. Located in the historic Point section of Newport, the gallery’s summer hours are Thursday through Saturday 11:00-5:00 and Sunday 12:00-5:00, as well as by appointment.
Mea Duke: Don’t look I’m changing
Open through July 24, 2022
Jessica Hagen Fine Art + Design
9a Bridge Street
Newport, RI 02840
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