The first group show in Gallery Muir was a salon style exhibition of drawings and other works by students, friends, and admirers of Carlo Pittore. All the artists had worked together at one time or another in group drawing sessions in Carlo's studio, and it was a treat to get to look over each other's shoulder, even at this late date.

The show was a celebration of Carlo's inspiration to us all. We drank to his good health at the opening, and share our gratitude for the gifts he has given us.

Twenty-eight artists were represented, showing more than 400 works. The images collected here do the show scant justice. The quality of the reproductions is unfortunate. These are handheld low resolution shots in available light. I've tried to color correct, but many of the pictures were too wretched to begin with. I apologize to the artists.

Here's how the show was hyped to the press:

Carlo Pittore has been aiding and abetting fellow artists for the past 30 years. In 1975 he helped found the Union of Maine Visual Artists, which successfully lobbied for the Percent for Art program which puts art in our public spaces. Since the 1970’s Carlo has been major domo of the yurt community on Merrymeeting Farm in Bowdoinham, where scores of young artists have found cheap lodgings and a convivial place to make art. Carlo has hired and trained figure models, and hosted weekly drawing sessions at his studio since the early 80’s. Huddled around a wood fire or sweating with the fans going, listening to booming Italian opera, members of The Academy of Carlo Pittore have wrestled with art in Carlo’s company.

This show is a collection of works by artists who have climbed the rickety stairs to Carlo’s drawing studio to work with Carlo. Some have been his students. We all have become hisfriends. We’ve argued about the nature of art, and the lot of artists, talked about dance and classical music, and family tribulations; all the while struggling to capture the human form. The Academy of Carlo Pittore isn’t a classroom where one master teaches his acolytes. It’s a circle of creativity with Carlo at the center. It’s a community of artists working together to find our individual voices.

And what a variety of voices! It’s hard to believe the diversity of styles brought to the same task. For those of us in the group, it’s exciting to see what our colleagues have been doing. This show reveals how differently we see, and render, the same subject. And this show is a chance to get a glimpse of what our colleagues are doing outside the Academy. We hope you enjoy it too.