River Arts is pleased to present the abstract paintings of Alice de Mauriac in the solo show, “True Confessions,” in the River Room Aug. 1-21.

Currently residing in New Harbor, de Mauriac studied at Hamilton College before embarking on travels throughout Europe and the Middle East for four years. Continuing her painting practice while living abroad, she reveled in the opportunity to study works of art in many great museums.

The works in this show, “True Confessions,” speak metaphorically of the depths and complexity of the human spirit. The paint is scraped, scumbled, glazed, and drawn in multiple layers with fragments that emerge and recede as the piece develops.

“These paintings represent my personal affirmation of the human experience in their energy, noise, silence, mystery, clarity, serenity, awkwardness and elegance,” said de Mauriac. “People have often asked me, ‘Do you ever quit working on a painting that isn’t going well?’ Quite the reverse, I embrace a painting when it isn’t going well. I can push it further if it isn’t working. There is freedom in the unruliness. That is the moment when the adventure begins! In my practice, most paintings reach an awkward, chaotic, ugly stage and I have to figure out how to make sense of them. A great gift of the creative process is learning how to live with flux and uncertainty. I never give up. My ‘True Confessions; express the joy, the beauty, the humor, the grit, the imperfections and the passion of life.”

River Arts is located at 36 Elm St., Damariscotta. The gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 207-563-6868 for more information.