Alice de Mauriac with one of her works, “Rhythm of my Heart.” Courtesy of River Arts

River Arts presents the abstract paintings of Alice de Mauriac in a solo show in the River Room from Aug. 1-21. The public is invited to the artist’s opening reception of “True Confessions” from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the gallery, 36 Elm St., Damariscotta.

Currently residing in New Harbor, de Mauriac studied at Hamilton College in New York before embarking on travels throughout Europe and the Middle East for four years. Continuing her painting practice while living abroad, she reveled in the opportunity to study works of art in many great museums.

The works in “True Confessions” speak metaphorically of the depths and complexity of the human spirit. The paint is scraped, scumbled, glazed and drawn in multiple layers with fragments that emerge and recede as the piece develops.

“These paintings represent my personal affirmation of the human experience in their energy, noise, silence, mystery, clarity, serenity, awkwardness and elegance,” de Mauriac said in a prepared release. “People have often asked me, ‘Do you ever quit working on a painting that isn’t going well?’ Quite the reverse, I embrace a painting when it isn’t going well. I can push it further if it isn’t working. There is freedom in the unruliness. That is the moment when the adventure begins!”

The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 563-6868 for more information.