KENNEBUNK – The Speers Gallery at Kennebunk Free Library will present, East Meets West: From New England to the Sierra Nevada, an exhibition by artist Suzanne Demeo. The exhibit runs Aug. 1-31, and the public is invited to an opening reception scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Demeo grew up in New England and has lived in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. She received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MS in printing technologies from RIT. After working in the electronic screen-printing industry, she and her husband and two small daughters moved to Williamsburg, Virginia.

Demeo was an adjunct professor in the College of William and Mary art department for over 20 years and ran USTA junior tennis tournaments at the university’s tennis facility. After 30 years in Virginia, she and her husband moved to Kennebunk in 2021.

According to a news release, the paintings and drawings on exhibit at Speers Gallery are a personal record of her travels to visit family over the last several years. Demeo’s parents retired to Nevada’s Carson Valley, and she visited often. She took many photographs of the northern Nevada and California landscape along the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The photographs provided inspiration for a series of drawings and paintings.

Several years ago, Demeo attended a family reunion in the Lake Sunapee region of New Hampshire. The reunion was held at Pleasant Lake in New London, New Hampshire. This part of New England features moss covered rocks, old stone walls and abundant woodland streams. The trip led to another series of creative expressions.

Maine had been a family vacation destination when Demeo lived in New England. In Maine, it was the rocky coastline that had the greatest appeal. Moving to Kennebunk has provided easy access to Gooch’s Beach where she begins her drawings on location, using fine point permanent markers. The work is completed in her studio using photographs as a loose reference.

Ever since Demeo was a child, according to the press release, she has loved public libraries and is happy to share her visual journey with the public in August.

The public is invited to view the exhibit in the library’s Speers Gallery from Aug. 1-31 at 112 Main St., Kennebunk, during regular library hours when the gallery is not in use for library programs. For current hours and gallery access, visit www.kennebunklibrary.org.

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