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Maine-based abstract oil painter, Rose Umerlik, will release, “Histories,” a book of new paintings and writing, on Friday, November 4. More than a catalog of works, the book is culmination of a nearly yearlong project the artist began in December 2010 after a month-long residency at Vermont Studio Center in Johnstown, Vermont. (Continued below)

The first section is a catalog of selected works painted by the artist in late 2010 through August 2011. The latter half of the book contains images of the 41 pieces Umerlik painted during that period; accompanying each of the images is an excerpt of writing she did immediately following the creation of each painting. The writing captures Umerlik’s conscious and deeply personal effort to better understand her work by exploring the complex and often difficult emotions that are at their foundation. The release of “Histories” coincides with the opening of the artist’s solo show of the same name on Friday, November 4, at Nahcotta Gallery, in Portsmouth, NH. In addition to Nahcotta, the book will be available through Umerlik’s website, roseumerlik.com, and at RiverRun Bookstore, also in Portsmouth, NH.

Rose Umerlik explains, “In September 2010, I spent a month in a residency program at the Vermont Studio Center. While living there, away from the distractions of ordinary life, I found myself with more free time than I am accustomed to. For the first time, I found myself lingering in my studio with newly finished paintings, and I began to write about them. Initially, my goal was simple: I wanted to keep a record of the pieces I completed in Vermont ⎯ what they looked like, their size, their orientation, etc. Fairly quickly, however, this record keeping evolved into writing that was more exploratory,” adding that, “the writing process, which encouraged self-reflection and honesty, unearthed ideas and feelings that I had not been as keenly in touch with before. I began to see that each painting has a story, a history.”

In addition to the catalog of paintings and Umerlik’s writing, “Histories” contains an introduction by Shawn Hill, an accomplished New England art critic, member of the International Association of Art Critics, and an assistant professor at Montserrat College of Art.

“Histories” is the artist’s second self-published volume, following “Intimacy of Forms,” released in 2009. Rose Umerlik was a finalist for the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation-Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant, winner of the Vermont Studio Center’s Clowes Award, and was awarded a NH Cultural Exchange Grant in 2008 by the NH Department of Cultural Rescources & Park Street Foundation, NH State Council on the Arts. Her work has been shown across New England, in New York, California, and Berlin, Germany. She is represented by Nahcotta Gallery, Portsmouth, NH; Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME; Mark Humphrey Gallery, Southampton, NY; Rebecca Cox, Los Angeles, CA; and Elisa Contemporary Art, New York, NY.