My Residency Experience Part 3 ~ Artist Residency Exhibition New Hampshire
The Exhibition and What Remains
This final installment of the 3-part series, My Residency Experience, reflects on the artist residency exhibition in New Hampshire, and what happens when the work leaves the studio and enters the world ~ how it is received, held, and shared.
In Part 1, I shared about arriving at the residency and the space itself.
In Part 2, I wrote about the process of creating the work.
Seeing the Work Come Together
There is a moment when the paintings shift.
In the studio, each piece is its own conversation ~ something I am listening to, responding to, and resolving over time.
But in the exhibition, they begin to speak to one another.
Installed at The Art Center in Dover, New Hampshire, the work no longer felt like individual explorations. It became a body ~ moving across walls, around corners, and through space.
Color carries.
Light echoes.
The work does not ask to be understood.
It creates a space to enter.
The Physical Environment of
the Artist Residency Exhibition
The exhibition space matters.
The scale of the walls.
The distance between paintings.
The way light falls from above.
Seeing the work installed by the curator and gallery owner, Rebecca Proctor, revealed something.
Some paintings hold quietly, others carry across the room.
Some ask you to come close, others meet you from a distance.
This is where scale becomes real.
The work begins to function not just as paintings, but as an environment.
People of The Artist Residency Exhibition
One of the intentions of this residency was to move beyond private practice and into shared experience .
That happened.
People came in and moved through the space in their own way.
Some walked slowly, pausing at each piece.
Some perused on their scooters.
Some were drawn immediately to color.
Some returned to the same painting more than once.
There were conversations.
There was laughter.
There were special moments of recognition.
Nothing forced, nothing explained, just presence.
The work held space, and people met it there.
Living the Artist Residency Exhibition
During the residency, I also explored how the work lives beyond the gallery.
Not just as something to view, but something to live with.
A painting near where you begin your day.
Color present without asking for attention.
Light held quietly in a room.
The exhibition is temporary.
Living with the work continues.
Continuing the Work ~ Studies and Access
The Studies
Alongside the formal works, this residency included 21 artist studies.
These pieces were part of the process ~ moments of exploration, response, and discovery that informed the final paintings.
For two days, they were offered publicly as a small, focused release on Instagram.
Prior to this, they were offered privately to those who are part of my VIP list. And now, the remaining available studies are held in an online exclusive art show for VIP members.
If you would like to see what is available, and receive early access to future releases, you can join my VIP list.
It is where I share work first ~ along with process, updates, and opportunities that are not offered elsewhere.
Join the VIP list here: Contact MFD | Marie Florence Designs
Exhibition and Availability
Eleven of the residency paintings remain on view in the Artist In Residency Exhibition at The Art Center, 1 Washington Street, Dover NH, through April 30th.
These works are created on canvas panel, allowing them to be framed in a way that fits naturally into your space, or lived with simply, depending on what feels right to you.
Additionally, and also exhibiting at The Art Center in the Annual Members’ Rock The House Exhibition, is one of my residency capstone pieces, From Infinity. Both exhibitions run until April 30.
If a piece has stayed with you, or continues to return to mind, I welcome you to reach out.
What Remains
In this body of residency work, there are 27 formal paintings and 21 studies.
But more than that, there is a shift.
A deeper trust in my process.
A clearer sense of restraint.
Confidence in my flexibility and fortitude.
And a stronger understanding of what it means to listen and respond ~ to the art and to the art community.
Light is not something I create ~ Light is something I attend to.
Moving Forward
This residency does not feel complete.
It feels established.
A foundation has been set.
This residency has clarified a direction that will continue to grow in scale, depth, and presence.
I create a sense of space where the viewer can pause, be, and seek.
Now I understand more fully what that space can hold.
Thank you for being part of this series, and for stepping into the work.
View the 27 formal works on my website: Attending To Light | Marie Florence Designs
View my Artist Residency Exhibition Statement
