NEWBURYPORT — Newburyport Art presents new work by award-winning master artist Sara Demrow Dent.
The exhibition runs through May 7 in the Hills Gallery. The public is invited to meet the artist at an opening reception Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. The artist will also be at NAA for the citywide ArtWalk on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dent has been painting for more than 20 years and works out of her studio and home in Newburyport’s South End. She received her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in fine arts and filmmaking.
Dent also completed her master’s degree in modern art and the art market at Christie’s Education in New York. She has shown her work in New York, California and Massachusetts, and is included in collections internationally.
“In my current series, I continue to be inspired by shapes and hues in nature and find the juxtaposition of colors and textures in seascapes and flora poetic,” Dent said in a release.
“I attempt to translate the wild aspects of nature into a more architectural line and am currently exploring the combination of the realistic within the abstract,” she added. “I have always been intrigued by the marriage of words and paint, and often include my own poetry and/or journal entries that inspire an individual or group of paintings. I ultimately hope my work creates an atmosphere of both contemplation and serenity.”
Dent has been a NAA member for 21 years and credits the organization for launching her art career. She has given back by serving for eight years on the board of directors, including a term as president.
During the pandemic and during periods of personnel changes, she stepped up as the organization’s interim executive director on three occasions to help guide the organization, the release said.
Due to Dent’s impact on the organization in 2020 and 2021, NAA gifted her an annual, two-week solo show in the Hills Gallery, a lifetime membership and an annual $1,000 scholarship in her name for graduating seniors from Haverhill, Triton and Newburyport high schools.
Twenty percent of NAA’s commission from her show sales go toward the scholarship. This upcoming exhibition marks her first awarded show.
The galleries are free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. NAA is closed Mondays.
The ground-floor Hills Gallery has a handicapped accessible entrance. More information, as well as an online gallery, is available at newburyportart.org.
