WATERVILLE — The timely, politically relevant work of Lucinda Bliss, “Tracking the Border,” is on view at Common Street Arts gallery, 93 Main St.

The exhibit is the culminating event of a year-long project supported by a Kindling Grant from the Warhol Foundation. The resulting work takes many forms, including installation, drawing, and photography, all of which will be represented in the Common Street Arts exhibit, alongside other, related bodies of work.

An opening reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, and an Artist Talk with Lucinda Bliss is set for 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the gallery.

“For the last several years, my creative work has sprung from the intersection of my life as an artist, academic, and runner,” said Bliss is a news release from the gallery. “The work now takes many forms, but it began with a process of drawing the GPS records of my runs on print fragments. This initial work led to my current project, Tracking the Border. This project involved a year-long navigation of the 611 miles that make up the Maine-Canada border. My process included conducting interviews with a Passamaquoddy Council member, a Maine geologist, a former border patrol officer, and a forester, among others, and the stories and perspectives that emerged from these conversations led me to question assumptions about the nature of borders that had far-reaching and personal implications.”

A Maine-based artist, Bliss has shown widely in New England, Chicago and the Southwest. Exhibition venues include the University of Arizona, the Tucson Museum of Art, Dinnerware Artspace, The Brattleboro Museum, Aucocisco Gallery, Whitney Art Works, Rose Contemporary, The University of New England, Space Gallery, The Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Bates College Museum of Art, Boston Center for the Arts, The Ross Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Gallery 312 in Chicago. Bliss recently received a Kindling Grant through the Warhol Regional Regranting Program in support of her project, “Tracking the Border.” In addition, she has received two Maine Arts Commission grants and residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Hewnoaks, Shotpouch Creek, Anderson Ranch, and the Vermont Studio Center.

The gallery is open noon-5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.

For more information, visit commonstreetarts.com.


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