Join the University of Southern Maine for this exhibition which has two locations: our Art Gallery in Gorham, Maine and our Glickman Library’s 7th Floor Reading Room in Portland, Maine.

With traditional hand papermaking at its core, PULPED UNDER PRESSURE underscores important contemporary issues steeped in history and craft. Enticed through touch, these works encourage a contemplative slowing down even as they urge acknowledgment of some of the most pressing issues (environmental crisis to global marginalization) facing civilization today. Each of the artists, Jillian Bruschera, Julia Goodman, Reni Gower, Trisha Oralie Martin, Melissa Potter, Marilyn Propp, and Maggie Puckett, starts simply with a foundation of pulp made from natural fibers. Their multifaceted results incorporate a rich range of printmaking, letterpress, papercutting, and installation with a diversity of recycled disposable materials (junk mail, egg cartons, old cotton t-shirts, ripped denim jeans) as well as old bedsheets, beetroot, heirloom plants, and illuminated el wires. In very unique ways, these artists consider paper beyond its most common function as a passive surface of record or craft. Instead, the material is transformed and embedded with content that turns communication into a public practice. By challenging assumptions, the artists of PULPED UNDER PRESSURE create artworks that are both beautiful and brave.

This is an ongoing exhibit through December 9. The hours for the Art Gallery are 11 AM – 4:30 PM, Tuesday – Saturday. The hours for the Glickman Library are 8 AM – 4 PM, Monday – Friday.