Gold/Smith Gallery is presenting new paintings by John Vander based on his experiences on trips to Sicily. All of Italy is a layer cake of history but Sicily is particularly rich. The ancient classic world rubs shoulders with Medieval, North Africa, Baroque, and Modern. It is a place of great, if stark, natural beauty. The paintings are trying to draw on the seismic energy both natural and cultural. The pagan undercurrent makes the classical world alive.

The smoke from Mount Etna reminds us of fragility and endurance.“I have tried to evoke Sicily as a place where myth happens.” Seismic energy has constantly played a deciding role on the surface of the Island of Sicily. Modest villages and monumental temples were lifted up and washed away of tumbled to the ground by 20-story marimoti, tsunami or tidal waves. Communities, the size and population of Portland, Maine, and their rich and artistic cultures were destroyed in an instant, leaving the remains a mystery to the eye and downstream, a treasure yet to be found. The verdant landscape, semi tropical and lush covers a tumultuous history of earthquakes, wars and floods.    

The new exhibit “Sicily, The Crossroads of the Mediterranean,” will be featured at Gold/Smith Gallery July 30 through Sept. 9. There will be an opening reception at the gallery Friday, Aug. 1 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend. Gold/Smith is at 8 McKown St., Boothbay Harbor.

Gold/Smith Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. For more information the gallery can be reached at 207- 633-6252 or goldsmithgallerybbh@gmail.com. The website is www.goldsmithgallery.net