NARROWSBURG, NY — An exceptionally beautiful exhibit of local photographer Maureen Neville, titled “Island Winter,” is a go-to show for this September. Curated by Brandi Merolla, the 28 black-and-white and color photographs, taken during the month of February in 2015, are at the Hawk Gallery at the Narrowsburg Union until September 30. 

Neville’s subject matter is the winter sea, land and sky of Block Island, an isolated island three miles by seven miles long, located 13 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. 

When asked, “What interests you about this winter setting?” Neville answers, “I chase the light. Winter in Block Island is the perfect place to find it. I bring my car on the ferry so I can photograph light from one end of the island to the other.” 

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Neville is drawn to the ocean; for many years, she lived and sailed in Key West, FL, before settling here in Damascus, PA. 

All art is meant to elicit feelings in the viewer, and Neville articulates how she feels about her work. “Experiencing this island during the dead of winter resonates deeply with me. There are the long daily walks along the beach where I am typically the only person for miles; those early, often brutal cold sunrises, which take my breath away both literally and figuratively. And then there are the sunsets where I am chasing the island’s light from one end to the other. These are the times when I want to be no other place than alone here and on this island. A quiet exuberance. Through my photos, I hope to share these feelings.” 

Neville’s aim in her art is to confer the stillness and simplicity of nature. Many of the works plant you firmly on the sand or brush in the foreground, so you look out across the deep space of the ocean and sky to the horizon.  We stand on the shore and view the unknown. Stability and change, the known and the unknown, the two poles of our existence, can be read into these works.  

Artists are confronted, either consciously or unconsciously, with hundreds of decisions as to how to make their art speak. Neville’s style is both calm and charged with energy, a compelling combination. The strong horizontals give a feeling of calm.  The vivid dark and light contrasts add energy to the scenes. And entwined in the simplicity of the image, Neville shows the intricacies of nature—for example, soft cloud colors turning grey to blue to white across a massive sky. Here the artist shows us the tremendous scale of nature along with its delicacy and constant change. 

These photographs and their meanings linger in the mind long after viewing. Make the trip and see for yourself. 

The Narrowsburg Union is located at 7 Erie Ave. in Narrowsburg.

To learn more about Neville, follow her on Instagram @maureenannneville.