River Arts welcomes the public to the opening reception for “Abstract,” a juried exhibition, on Friday, Dec. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. with music, refreshments, conversation and art. The exhibition of 80 pieces of art includes paintings and sculpture by 60 Maine artists. The exhibition runs through Thursday, Jan. 16.

Juror for the Abstract Exhibition is Suzette McAvoy, director and curator of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) in Rockport since September 2010. Previously, she served as chief curator of the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland.

McAvoy received a bachelor’s degree in art history from William Smith College and an master’s degree in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. She has over 30 years experience in the art field. She has lectured and written extensively on the art and artists of Maine, and has organized national traveling exhibitions of the work of Louise Nevelson, Alex Katz, Kenneth Noland, Lois Dodd, Karl Schrag and Alan Magee.

Exhibiting artists in and around the Boothbay area: James A. Kipfer, Alna; Mark Reilly, Boothbay; Polly Steadman, Michael Austin Kane, Bernice Rosenthal and Jennifer Garron, Damariscotta; Barbara Fischer Eldred, East Boothbay; Bob Thomas and John Lorence, Edgecomb; Anna Shaw, Newcastle; Wally Margaret Schweighauser, Nobleboro; Jennifer Litchfield and Peter Felsenthal, Trevett; Leonard Meiselman and Sheila DeBettencourt, Wiscasset.

Also on exhibit, in the River Arts West Gallery, are 50-plus paintings by Maine artist Kerstin Engman, a study of the Midcoast Maine landscape and still lifes.

River Arts is located at 241 Route 1 N in Damariscotta. River Arts is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call River Arts at 207-563-1507 or visit www.riverartsme.org.

The mission of River Arts is to nurture and encourage participation in the arts throughout the region of Midcoast Maine by providing exhibition, studio and performance spaces, classes and workshops, for people of all ages and abilities and support a wide range of activities in artistic disciplines by partnering with other arts and performance organizations to produce programs.