See “Gary Haven Smith: Sculpture & Paintings” and “Connie Hayes: Small Pastels” through Oct. 26

YORK VILLAGE - In passing by the George Marshall Store Gallery one can't help but notice three prominent granite sculptures that frame the view of the York River beyond.

These are just three of thirty three paintings and sculpture by New Hampshire artist Gary Haven Smith currently on view on the grounds and in the gallery. Simultaneously, Maine artist Connie Hayes is exhibiting three dozen small pastels that depict familiar views of York and the Portsmouth area.

With glacial boulders harvested from his native New Hampshire, Smith creates sculptures that are both bold and delicate. Belying the unyielding material's inherent weight and strength, he spins and shapes the rock into textured forms both light and airy, which appear as though they could take flight or blow in the breeze. While the sculptor's cutting and shaping transforms the granite, he respectfully retains its natural essence.

Smith takes a similar approach with his paintings, choosing materials such as lead and slate, which he transforms by combining them in unexpected ways. Surface patterns that are often based on organic forms, are highlighted with white gold leaf and color pigments. While seeking a harmonious relationship between the paint and these unusual materials, he creates tactile surfaces, ultimately producing an element of surprise and mystery. These very contemporary pieces could for a moment be mistaken for ancient monuments and icons.

Smith received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1973 and, ever since, he has committed himself to sculpture and, more recently, painting. He has been a three-time recipient of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts individual fellowship and was the first recipient of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's Artist Advancement Grant.

Though Connie Hayes is renowned for her oil paintings, her pastels notably contain the same qualities of color and detail, as well as her ability to capture a sense of place. In this exhibit, she takes on big subjects, featuring landscapes and landmarks in and around York and Portsmouth. Their diminutive size and Hayes's sense of color and light gives them a jewel-like quality that draws the viewer close, an invitation to look at the familiar and see it as something new. The Mill Pond, the marshes, the bridge we see rush by from our car window every day, even noting it's beauty, is elevated and enhanced in this artist's rendering.  

Her self-made, artist-in-residence program, which she calls "Borrowed Views," has taken her up and down the coast of her home state of Maine and to other special places including Florida, New Orleans, California, New York, France and Italy. This project began in 1990 and is documented in the book "Painting Maine: The Borrowed Views of Connie Hayes," which accompanied her 2004 exhibition at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. Hayes has a large following of admires and collectors. This selection of new pastels is sure to not disappoint and will be inspiration for artists who enjoy the challenge of pastels.

Both exhibitions continue through Oct. 26. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., and by appointment at 140 Lindsay Road in York. To learn more, call 351-1083 or visit www.georgemarshallstoregallery.com.