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Allie Micheletti '05. At The Bay. Graphite on Drawing Paper. September, 2024.
Diane Soboski. Untitled. Stained Glass. 2017.
Ryan Walker. The Cross in Fall. Oil on Canvas Panel. 2024.
Elizabeth Benestad. Untitled. Chromogenic Color Prints from Digital Photograph. 2023-2024.
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Creativity and Craftsmanship on Display at the Annual Faculty Art Show
Portsmouth Abbey School recently transformed its gallery space into a celebration of artistic exploration and introspection during the Faculty Art Show, an annual showcase celebrating the creative brilliance of the School’s educators. This year’s exhibit, a masterful show of technique, imagination, and thematic depth, offered an inspiring glimpse into the artistic lives of those who enrich our community. The following faculty and staff comprise this year’s exhibit:
Elizabeth Benestad: The Beauty of Familiar Landscapes
Head of Classics Elizabeth Benestad captured the beauty of Portsmouth Abbey’s natural surroundings with chromogenic color prints of campus landscapes and buildings. Her photographs, vibrant and contemplative, reminded viewers of the serene beauty woven into the School’s daily rhythms.
Alessandra Micheletti ‘05: Finding Grace in the Everyday
Alessandra Micheletti, Art History teacher, elevated the ordinary with her graphite drawings of found and everyday objects. Her pieces transformed the mundane into meditative studies, celebrating the inherent beauty of the domestic and familiar. Micheletti’s work spoke to the power of observation and the artistry in life’s simplest moments.
Mark Nadeau: Explorations in Form and Perspective
Mark Nadeau, Director of Fine Arts, brought a multifaceted body of work that challenged the viewer to consider the interplay of space, color, and texture. His digitally created images, printed with pigmented inkjet on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, were a study in abstraction, where every line and hue invited contemplation. Complementing these were his serene wheel-thrown white stoneware bowls, each imbued with quiet precision and elegance. Nadeau’s digital photographs of Paris, Chartres, and Versailles provided a poignant counterpoint, offering glimpses of historical grandeur through a refined lens.
Brittany Semco: Personal Histories in Paint
Marketing and Visual Design Specialist Brittany Semco brought a touch of intimacy and storytelling to the gallery with her captivating trio of works. A delicate watercolor scene invited reflection on nature and stillness, while a bold oil painting explored the vibrant intensity of the natural world’s colors. Completing the collection, an evocative acrylic portrait of her grandfather intertwined personal memory with universal emotion. Each piece demonstrates Semco’s talent for blending personal narratives with resonant artistry.
Diane Soboski: Light Captured in Glass
Diane Soboski, Director of College Counseling, showcased an exquisite understanding of glasswork. Her untitled series of fused glass trays shimmered with layered complexity, while her stained-glass depiction of a boat on water invoked a sense of tranquility. Soboski’s work invited viewers to consider the fluidity of light and the tactile allure of form.
Ryan Walker: Life at the Abbey, Brought to Life
Visual Arts Teacher Ryan Walker’s oil-on-linen works breathed life into Portsmouth Abbey’s landscapes and daily scenes. From the evocative domestic warmth of Nap Sketch and Burping the Baby to the atmospheric sketches of the Bay and Boathouse, Walker’s pieces were representations of an affectionate realism that resonates deeply.
This year’s Faculty Art Show celebrated the creative visions of its artists but also underscored the unique admixture of innovation, talent, and creative expression characteristic of Portsmouth Abbey School’s one-of-a-kind faculty body. Through their work, our faculty remind us that art, like the bay that gives us daily inspiration, is both a peaceful meditation and a tumultuous yet beautiful force, the experience of which better positions us to feel and to understand the realities of our world. The show was a triumph and a reminder of the creative spirit that animates our community.
Brittany Semco. Serenity. Watercolor on Watercolor Paper. 2014.
Mark Nadeau. Chateau de Chambord, Chambord, France. Digital Photograph. Pigmented Injet on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta. 2024.
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