In Dialogue: Tessa G. O’Brien
In Dialogue: Tessa Greene O’Brien
September 24 – October 25, 2025
1 Rivington Street, New York
CANDICE MADEY is pleased to present a singular new painting by Tessa Greene O’Brien, Poison Ivy Sunset, Addison, in dialogue with the gallery’s current exhibition of Miguel Ferrando (b. Santo Domingo, DR, 1957 – d. New York, NY, 1996).
Like Ferrando, O’Brien delves into the psychological, historical, and social undercurrents of place, returning to specific sites ad infinitum to encounter the lingering spirits that inhabit them. Her recent works turn toward the romantic yet foreboding landscape of Addison, Maine, a rugged peninsula that is home to the Seligmann Cottage, an outpost of the Tides Institute as well as the former residence of civil rights activist and writer Herbert Seligmann and dancer Lilias Seligmann, who hosted cultural luminaries including Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keefe, Paul Strand, and John Marin throughout their lifetimes.
While exploring the land, O’Brien discovered a 19th-century cemetery in a nearby meadow, overrun with poison ivy. Encountered in the red light of sunset, she was struck by the optical phenomenon of the scene, and its potential to reveal dimensions beyond physical space—time, memory, and the powerful, persistent presence of history.
O’Brien is an artist based in South Portland, Maine. She received a BS in Fine Art from Skidmore College and an MFA from Maine College of Art and Design. O'Brien has shown throughout the United States, including recent exhibitions at the La Loma Projects, Los Angeles; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME; Platform Project Space, Brooklyn; Dowling Walsh Gallery, Rockland; Buoy Gallery, Kittery; Sears Peyton Gallery, NYC; Studio E Gallery, Seattle; and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. She was a 2022-2023 Residential Fellow at The Lunder Institute for American Art at Colby College; other residencies include Surf Point, Tides Institute, Monson Arts, Haystack, Hewnoaks, Vermont Studio Center, Joseph A Fiore Art Center, and Stephen Pace House. Grants and awards include the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Berkshire Taconic Foundation, Ellis Beauregard Foundation, Maine Arts Commission, Joseph. A. Fiore Painting Prize, St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award, and the Kindling Fund at SPACE Gallery.
O’Brien has curated group and solo exhibitions at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Alice Gauvin Gallery, TEMPOArts, and numerous shows at Able Baker Contemporary, where she was previously a director.
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