April 4 —October 13, 2025
Portsmouth Historical Society is once again joining forces with New Hampshire Art Association in 2025. This exhibition will be a contemporary response to the themes addressed in “Winds of Change,” the retrospective of Cabot Lyford opening through November 2, 2025.
Originally incorporated in 1940, New Hampshire Art Association (NHAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit contemporary arts organization dedicated to presenting and supporting emerging regional art and artists in New England. In 1990, the NHAA opened its doors in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at 136 State Street. Thanks to philanthropists, lenders, and leadership who recognized the need for a community space to support the visual arts.
The call for art for “Contemporary Currents” will focus on the themes of experimentation and advocacy through art, major themes addressed in “Cabot Lyford, Winds of Change” on the ground floor.
More than forty artists from across the Seacoast and the state of New Hampshire have work on display in the balcony gallery in an astonishing range of media, techniques, and topics. All the works are available for purchase to benefit the New Hampshire Art Association, Portsmouth Historical Society, and most of all, the artists!
Judges’ Awards
As part of the jurying process, our three judges also chose three winners as well as three honorable mentions. The winners were awarded a monetary prize generously donated by the Puddle Dock Restaurant
Tom Berger
Halibut
Styrofoam, Aqua-Resin, spackling, Sculpey modeling clay, primer, paint, 24k gold leaf, lacquer
25 x 55 x 6 inches
$2,800
🌐 www.thomasbergersculpture.com
Known for his direct carving of granite and other stones, Lyford would perhaps have been attracted to this view of a hard-working man’s outstretched hands holding shards and chips of a white stone. One perhaps first notices that these are roughened, callused hands, clearly used to demanding physical work of the kind necessary to create Lyford’s characteristic monuments and sculptures. A closer examination reveals that the person in the image is missing the index finger on his scarred right hand, testimony to the inherent dangers of hard manual labor.
Tom Cawthon
Hands of Stone
Giclée on fine art paper printed with archival inks
16½ x 24 x 1½ inches
$425
🌐 www.tomcawthonphotography.com
Here, the artist has painted a landscape on fire, seen through a window, evoking the wildfires that have plagued California and other areas in recent years. A closer look indicates that the fire is moving inside (as the curtains have begun to ignite) and causes us to recognize the fact that some issues (well beyond wildfires) can occupy both inner and outer mental and physical spaces, and that, upon reflection, many problems that we think are only external can also be internal as well. Lyford would have enjoyed the powerful, yet subtle, thought-provoking nature of this work.
Krysten Marche
Domestic
Acrylic on canvas, handmade frame
36 x 36 x 2 inches
$2,800
Marilene Sawaf
Currents of Life through Sea, Nature, and Music
Casein, claybord, gold leaf, glass, metal, resin, gold metal
30 x 24 x 2 inches
$3,500
This striking painting makes use of gold leaf, resin, metal, and glass, as well as acrylic and casein paint, to create a powerful, dramatic image that is a swirling symphony of color, figures, action, and massing. It relates well to Lyford’s interest in experimentation, diverse materials, and bold imagery.
Beneath the abstract colorful appearance of this collage is a more sinister message. The small dots that appear to float in a waterscape are, on reflection, suggestions of the microplastics that are found in abundance in the ocean and that we ingest on a regular basis. Lyford was an advocate for protecting the environment and might well have been delighted with this subtle, yet powerful, condemnation of our reckless attitudes toward Nature.
@joann_adinolfi
@JoAnnAdinolfiStudio
Maria Oakley
Absolutely Nothing
Mixed media
20 x 16 x 2 inches
$850
At first glance, this painting appears to be a colorful, pleasing landscape of clouds, mountains, and people. A closer look reveals that the clouds are mushroom clouds, the figures are armed soldiers, and that little, three-dimensional toy missiles are raining down from the sky. With its combination of high aesthetic quality, use of a variety of materials, and underlying political message (also conveyed by its title), Absolutely Nothing is a worthy contemporary evocation of Cabot Lyford’s commitment to experimentation and anti-war sentiment.
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