The Harlow will present “50 Years of Art,” a retrospective exhibition highlighting the work of local artist and art educator Barbara Loken, on view through March 23 at 100 Water St. in Hallowell.

The exhibit celebrates the rich variety of work Loken has created over the years and how it has changed, depending on circumstances, new techniques learned, and combinations of materials used. The exhibition features a vibrant range media including watercolor, pottery, mixed media paintings, songwriting, printmaking, batik and more.

Loken describes her background and inspiration as an artist: “I started out in college doing watercolors. After college I did two summer sessions at the International School of Art in Salzburg, Austria where I was exposed to lots of new ideas. I traveled around the Middle East, spent a few months in Jerusalem, Jordan and then a few months in Israel always sketching and learning about lots of different art. I returned to Italy where I spent another year living in Sicily where I sketched, drew and painted fishermen, cactus, and markets and learned Italian and lots of Sicilian songs. Returning to Minnesota, I taught a year at St Olaf College, where I met and married Neal and continued to paint and did some silk-screening and Batik. Neal, my husband, and I set off to see the world in 1970, backpacking across Asia. It took us a year to cross countries including Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong-Kong.  When we finally got to Japan, Neal found a Japanese potter to work with and I studied with a Japanese Woodblock artist. I often wrote songs about the places we visited, which later became a whole series of “song pots” when we returned home and started our pottery studio. Our studio first started in Minnesota and then when we moved to Maine, where I taught art at Hall-Dale High School for twenty years, and we both continued to develop Loken Pottery. This exhibition includes pieces from many of these periods,” according to a news release from the gallery.

Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.

For more information, visit harlowgallery.org or call 622-3813.


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