Drawn In

Walk into the Art Gallery on the Gorham campus and you’ll immediately sense the warmth that Gideon Bok and his work add to a space. Bok is the artist-in-residence at USM this semester, and he’s using the gallery as not only a place to display his work, but also to create it.

“Having Gideon working here makes it a more welcoming, more accessible, more energetic place,” says Melissa Sheets, a junior art history major from Turner. “He’s killing two birds with one stone. You’re not looking at the work, wondering, ‘Whose work is all this? Where is he?’ He’s right here creating it. It’s very cool.”

The artist-in-residence program is designed to bring together professional artists and students through a series of in-depth experiences beyond the classroom, such as lectures, and more informal settings. But even under that design the studio-in-gallery arrangement, suggested by Art Gallery Director Carolyn Eyler, was unusual.

“At first I didn’t like the idea at all,” Bok says. “And for that reason I thought it was a good one. It’s in keeping with the philosophy of the residency—it’s experimental, and it gives people access.”

Living the artist’s life

And he’s having a good time with it. Meleah Lampron is a senior fine arts major from Westbrook who is taking a figures and perspectives seminar with Bok. She finds him very open with students and visitors, discussing his process, and sharing stories of his professional life—working in different studios, and showing in galleries across the country.

Bok’s story is not lost on his students. He is a Vinalhaven native who developed his interest in painting while studying briefly at USM in the 1980s. He has gained national recognition, winning a Guggenheim Fellowship among other prizes.

He has gallery representation in New York and Boston, and maintains studios in Rockland, Portland, and New York. In fact, downtown Rockland and Portland are easily recognized as backdrops in some work.

At the Art Gallery, visitors are welcome to sit and chat while he paints. They shouldn’t be surprised should their presence be woven into one of his works in progress, which will be donated to the University collection.

Bok is clearly enjoying his time in Maine.

“I love walking around Portland,” he says. “Every corner you turn there’s something compelling going on. It’s kind of like walking around New York.”

But there is a striking difference.

“Artists (here) are more supportive of each other than in other places,” he says, “and because of that support people do better work.”

He finds the evidence in the variety of galleries, cooperatives, and spaces from Brunswick to Portland to Biddeford. He says, “Space Gallery is doing stuff that’s as exciting as anything north of New York.”

Exceeding expectations

And he relishes working with students.

“He’s really exceeded expectations in terms of his interaction and accessibility,” says Jan Piribeck, chair of the Art Department. “He’s relaxed and low key in one way, and very attentive and alert in another way. That kind of presence shows up in his painting as well.”

So what happens when a student such as Lampron studies Bok’s work and sees a bit of Maine?

“It’s a very cool feeling,” she says. “It gives me hope that maybe someday I can be successful, too.”

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