Gallery
The Coastal Ecology Center Gallery showcases the intersection of art and science.
Located in the front of the Coastal Ecology Center, our gallery showcases the intersection of art and science through rotating exhibitions that explore themes of nature, wildlife, coastal ecosystems, and resilience.
Visit the Gallery
The CEC Gallery follows Visitor Center hours
Beginning May 24: open every day, 10am-4pm
Entrance is free with regular site admission.
2025 Exhibitions
Awash:
Coastal Watercolors by Suzanne Demeo
& Sculptures by Baxter Academy Plastics Project
On View: May 12 - July 20, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 29, 5-7pm
The Coastal Ecology Center Gallery reopens for the season with Awash, a pair of exhibitions on display through July 20. In the front room, local artist, student, and educator Suzanne Demeo’s sublime watercolors of seaweed and the intertidal zone are sure to please. In the back gallery, marine debris scavenged from Portland’s Back Cove becomes colorful, courageous art in the hands of high school students from STEM charter school Baxter Academy.
UPCOMING
Notes from the Coast:
Kathie Florsheim & Barbara Pagh
On View: July 21-September 15, 2025
Opening Reception: July 24, 5:30-7:30pm
This joint exhibition pairs two artists making work that explores the coast, calling attention to what is usually considered ordinary. Both artists observe small, momentary changes that can be seen over time, capturing an instant that blends into the next instant - Pagh’s work on a microlevel through lithographic collages and Florsheim on a macro and micro level through photography.
Past Exhibitions
2024
Consider the Lobster: A Decapod Odyssey in Art
June 14 to November 22: A unique and engaging exploration of lobster through the lens of art, this exhibition invites the viewer to consider what this remarkable creature can teach us about ourselves and the world we inhabit. "Consider the Lobster" showcases pieces that explore the life cycle and soul of the plentiful and delicious creature that occupies such a unique place in both marine ecology and Maine's coastal community. This group exhibition includes painting, photography, and mixed media works by local artists including Amy Kelly, Sue Rioux, Peter Sheppard, Wade Zahares, and others.
2023
Krisanne Baker
September 1 to October 13: "subMerge: An Oceanic Relationship" - Underwater intertidal images, a glass "mutating" plankton installation, and paintings inspired by microscope plankton gazing and NASA and NOAA satellite images.
Nikon Small World
May 9 to August 31: Twenty images celebrating the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope from the 47th annual Nikon Small World photomicrography competition.
2022
B.A. "Tony" King
August to October: "Honoring Trees"
Daisy Braun
July 28 to August 22: "being the current"
Jessica Brunacini
July to August: "What Makes This a Special Place: A Photovoice Exhibition"
Nikon Small World
May to August: Twenty images celebrating the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope. From the 46th annual photomicrography competition.
2021
B.A. (Tony) King
August 25 to October 24, 2021: "The Peace of Wild Things: Herons & Egrets Through the Lens of B.A. (Tony) King"
Gillet T. Page
July 21 to August 22, 2021: "Summer Splashes" sculpture and collage
Nikon Small World
May 28 to July 18, 2021: The top 20 images from the 44th annual Nikon Small World photomicrography competition, selected out of nearly 2,500 entries from scientists and artists in 89 countries. Nikon Small World celebrates the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope.
