Public Art
Installations
Wellfleet Oyster Alliance commissioned three original paintings by local artists that are on display at different locations along Main St. in Wellfleet. The paintings honor Wellfleet’s vibrant shellfishing and artist communities and celebrate the connection between them. Abraham Storer, Andrew Jacob, and Sonya Woodman are the artists and also work the tides, harvesting oysters. They were tasked to share their connection to oysters and the bay through their artwork.
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Location
Abiyoyo
286 Main St.
Wellfleet, MA 02667Description
“Labor of Love” is a “sort-of” self-portrait of a vernal oyster harvest in the Herring River. The day is crisp and sunny, yet the water is still cold - bearable enough to get your hands wet while searching the deeper depths of the river for those beautiful golden oysters.About the Artist
Andrew Jacob is a mixed media artist focusing on murals, design & fine art canvases. Born in Boston and raised on the outskirts of the city and beyond, his style is gritty, layered, bold & fluid. Inspired by nature, surf, space, fantasy, and wonder, his creations often tell fantastical tales through his imagery.Over the decades, Andrew’s work has developed into larger-scale masterpieces around the globe. His work has been shown in museums and galleries across the United States, Europe, and Central America, as well as private collections.
Currently residing in Wellfleet with his wife & two children, Andrew’s focus on art has intensified, inspired by his passion for surf and oyster farming, which he melds into thematic tales in part of his ongoing series on canvas, murals, and illustration.
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Location:
Wellfleet Preservation Hall
335 Main St.
Wellfleet, MA 02667Description
Elementals is a window into the experience of harvesting wild oysters on Wellfleet's tidal flats. There are so many elements to this practice. Everything is constantly shifting…the tides, the weather, the sand, and all of the organisms that exist in this environment. There are fleeting moments of calm where the wind lies flat and the sounds of birds fill the air. Then the weather shifts for the worse, and we can quickly be humbled by the great forces of nature. Wild harvesters often work alone with only birds as witness, sharing in the experience of hunting and gathering like kindred spirits. Moving with the tides in a natural rhythm directed by the moon.About the Artist
Sonya Woodman has been a Cape Cod artist and resident for over 20 years. She is also a shellfisher, surfer, forager, outdoor enthusiast, and a mother of two. Sonya graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Art in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration. Her work has been exhibited in restaurants and galleries in Provincetown and Wellfleet. She has also created murals, painted signs, and exhibited sculptures. Sonya’s more recent work is derived from her life as a surfer and wild shellfish harvester in Wellfleet. Being a woman wild at heart, she has fallen in love with the search for oysters in the far corners of Wellfleet Harbor. Through paintings, Sonya seeks to frame a lifestyle, capturing moments in nature and illustrating aspects of the sea, sky, and the life that exists between these elements. Sonya enjoys finding flow and pattern in the raw power of nature and using paint to translate this into a two-dimensional image. -
Location
Laha
326 Main St.
Wellfleet, MA 02667Description
Over the past year, Storer spent some time harvesting oysters in the wild. From this experience, he wanted to capture something about that experience in this painting: the drudgery, the struggle against the elements, but also the moments of beauty in the ever-changing landscape.About the Artist
Abraham Storer is a landscape painter who depicts the land and objects within it as a means of exploring external states, like weather and light, and interior personal states. He currently lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he also writes about art and culture for the Provincetown Independent. His work reflects his connection to the Cape landscape as well as diverse places around the world where he has lived, including Israel, Poland, and New York.
Storer has an MFA from Boston University, a BA from Brandeis University, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has shown work on Cape Cod and in New York, Boston, Houston, and Jerusalem, receiving press in publications such as Provincetown Arts, The Provincetown Independent, The Times of Israel, New American Paintings, Art New England, and the Houston Chronicle. Honors include a Fulbright Fellowship to Israel, a residency through the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council on Governor’s Island in New York Harbor, and a grant from the Wellfleet Cultural Council.
THANK YOU
Special thank you to the host of the paintings, who graciously donated space to place the paintings in support of public art:
Wellfleet Preservation Hall’s Executive Director Kate Ryan and the entire team.
The owner of Laha, Nella Rasic, and the owners of the property, Leigh and Bryan Larson, where Laha is located.
Marty and Amy Rebhun, the owners of Abiyoyo.
Additional thanks to Samuel Tager, Irving Puffer, Joey Rugo, Ethan Boyle, and Alex Neri.