“Photostich” Artist Featured at Presque Isle Gallery

The University of Maine at Presque Isle's Reed Art Gallery is presenting "Downtown" by Heath Paley, from Tuesday, Jan. 17 through Friday, March 24, 2017.

"Downtown" features intricately stitched photographs by the Portland, Maine-based artist focused on downtown landmarks on Main Streets throughout the state.  

Paley says he stitches his images together by overlapping numerous full frame 35-millimeter shots, layering up to 50 shots into the final image. “Where most photographers take one picture at a street corner, I zoom in and take dozens, often over long periods of time. I then modify the layers in whatever way necessary to support my vision for the ultimate result. Each picture is therefore unique—an instant in time resulting from a myriad of shots, time frames and vantage points.”

Paley earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1972 from the University of Rochester in New York, his Master’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston in 1973, and his Master of Fine Arts from Emerson College in Boston in 1996.

He has participated in several solo and group exhibitions throughout Maine, and received several awards for his work. The artist and his work have been featured by several publications, including Maine Home + Design and Maine: A Photographic Portrait of the Pine Tree State. His work is housed in the collections of the Portland Museum of Art and the Saco Museum. Since 2014, he has worked as a volunteer project photographer, capturing Greater Portland Landmarks.

Reed Gallery Director Hyrum Benson said. “I find his process intriguing: how he combines several photographs, in some cases up to 30 in this series, just to make one image. His images show a side of Maine with which we are all familiar, but at the same time, he provides us with new and different information.”

A "Downtown" show reception with light refreshments will be part of First Friday Art Walk on March 3 from 5-7 p.m.  The event will include a Gallery Talk with the artist at 5:30 p.m.

The Reed Art Gallery is located in the Center for Innovative Learning.  For more information about this event, please contact Benson at hyrum.benson@maine.edu and follow happenings at the Reed Gallery Facebook page.