River Arts in Damariscotta invites the public to a new exhibition, “Stories in Color,” featuring the work of John Lorence and Jorge Peña. The show runs from April 23 through May 13 in the River Room gallery, with an opening reception from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

“Stories in Color” brings together two distinct artistic voices, each exploring personal narrative through vivid palettes, symbolic imagery and a deep connection to place.

A longtime Maine painter and educator, Lorence studied at Cranbrook Academy of Art and has spent decades teaching and exhibiting throughout the state.

“As an artist, I have been adaptable and sustained by particular themes. Some of these ideas have become series, as in: habitat and environment, nautical and sea images, classical mythology, and landscape (many places),” Lorence said in a prepared release. “I have lived in Maine for over 50 years, since the 1960s, and there is so much inspiration right here. My point of view as a painter reflects the spirit and energy from my mentors, under whom I was a student many years ago. And, based in Maine now, with travels to the ‘four winds,’ I identify as a Maine painter.”

Peña is a Maine artist whose work explores cultural heritage and the natural world through bold color and symbolic imagery.

“My art is color, shapes, symbols, episodes, memories. My art is personal; it comes from my heart. It is an intrinsic way to tell my story, my points of view, to tell others what interests me, reflecting my background and my current world, representing my surroundings and my ancestry,” Peña said. “My overall vision about what I create shows the duality of two different worlds. My current world in Maine will show that after more than 22 years of planting my roots in this state, I am still in the process of discovery of an ‘exotic world,’ a discovery of its vegetation, waters, rocks, seasons and people. It is impossible to disassociate from my ethnicity; then, Indigenous imagery appears within my work. The work shown in this exhibit is linked to my love of nature, where the landscape and certain elements — rocks, soil elements, forests, trees or weathered tree bark — dominate. Here they are as conceived.”

Together, Lorence and Peña offer two unique approaches to storytelling through color.

River Arts is located at 36 Elm St. in Damariscotta. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit riverartsme.org or call the gallery at 207-563-6868.

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