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The is pleased to present “Tenacious,” an abstract exhibit opening Friday, Feb. 10, on the Portland Campus.

Featuring work by James Graham, Karen Jelenfy, James Bradley Marshall, and Ian Trask — and curated by the Maine Historical Society’s Tilly Laskey — “Tenacious” focuses on non-objective abstraction as a generative visual language. The artwork is contextualized through process, with themes of aging, chronic illness, mental health, and the artist’s response to these challenges through the activity of artmaking.

“The work in ‘Tenacious’ responds to our ever-changing world, reflecting each artist’s unique perspectives — some inhabiting a body that is changing or processing environmental crises and current events,” Laskey remarked. “The labor-intensive processes of oil painting, mark making with pencils, layering glue onto paper, or binding cast-off materials into sculptures are methods to seek balance — both in creating the finished work and for the individual wellbeing of the artists. Relying on lines, shapes, colors, forms, and gestural marks to convey ideas, the work of Graham, Jelenfy, Marshall, and Trask find whimsy and beauty in adversity — it is tenacious.”

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held Friday, Feb. 10, from 4 to 7 p.m.

The is located at 716 Stevens Ave. in Portland. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday or by appointment. Please contact Hilary Irons for more information: hirons@une.edu.