HINCKLEY — The L.C. Bates Museum will feature Maine artist Toni Jo Coppa on Wednesday, July 22. The exhibit will be on view through Oct. 8. “The Interlopers” will feature new sculptures of fantastical creatures by Coppa. In addition, the exhibition will be supported by an activity book created by Coppa, made specifically for the groups of children visiting with their schools.

The Interlopers exhibition works as a collaboration between Coppa and the L.C. Bates Museum. Instead of approaching the museum as just another exhibition space, Coppa mingles her work throughout the displayed specimens at the natural history museum, as if they are part of the permanent collection, according to a news release from the museum.

“My work is inspired by the modern scientific DNA play with hybrids and cloning. Although the extinction of animals is disturbing, reading about human/pig hybrid embryos and resurrected extinct animals, creates an anxiety and real fear in me that propels the work at the show. Inspired by what is making me uncomfortable, I address it with a little whimsy to find balance within,” Coppa said in the release.

Born in Westfield, Massachusetts Coppa has also lived in Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, New York and Maine. A large portion of her family lives in central Maine, so this state is what she considers home. She attended both The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and The Maine College of Art for her degrees. The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, she also went to residencies at the Hewnoaks Artist Colony in Lovell, Maine ,and the Something Rotten Landfill Residency in Denmark, Maine. She has received awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The Puffin Foundation and The William and Marguerite Zorach Foundation.

The L.C Bates Museum is dedicated to inspiring wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds through exhibitions and programs. For more information about the L.C. Bates Museum The Interlopers Exhibition and programs contact the L.C.Bates Museum at Good Will-Hinckley 207-238-4250 or lcbates@gwh.org. The L.C. Bates Museum is located on U.S. Route 201 in Hinckley on the campus of Good Will-Hinckley. The Museum is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday and other times by appointment.


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