Remembering June

My Time in the June Fitzpatrick Gallery, 1994-2005

Vivien Russe
November 2, 2023 – January 5, 2024
Maine Jewish Museum

About This Exhibition

With this exhibition, MJM and artist Vivien Russe honor the memory of June Fitzpatrick, a prominent member of the Maine arts community who was the owner and curator of the June Fitzpatrick Gallery.

“Working as a painter primarily but also a printmaker, my fourteen years with June was characterized by my interests in social, environmental and spiritual issues. While my life story is embedded in my choice of images, the work remains metaphorical. It is visual poetry with an interweaving of recognizable images, abstract and geometric forms.”

About the Artist

After graduating from Radcliffe College and recognizing a strong interest in studio art, Vivien Russe attended the Boston School of the Museum of Fine Arts, graduating with a diploma degree in printmaking. After art school, she moved to Maine, to an island in Casco Bay, near the city of Portland. With no access to a printing press, she used this opportunity to develop her painting skills and inspired by the beauty of the island, she focused on landscape. When she relocated to the mainland ten years later, she was able to engage the vibrant community of artists in Maine, an experience that had a major impact on her development.  In 1991, Russe was awarded the Bingham Prize to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Though primarily a painter, she also became a member and later President of the printmaking cooperative Peregrine Press, allowing her to return to her earlier interest in printmaking. Russe has shown work throughout the state of Maine and in other parts of the country. Her work is in many private collections, locally and overseas.