Nearly 30 Maine artists are showcasing their work — focused on industrial architecture — in a new exhibition.

On display now, “Industrial Maine: Our Other Landscape” is a collection of paintings, photographs, prints and sculpture by 27 artists highlighting the structures and environments of some of Maine’s most prominent industries and lesser-known work sites.

The exhibition is in the Atrium Art Gallery at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston- Auburn campus. It’s free to visit and open to the public; it will be on display through June 1. A reception will take place from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 22.

Freeport painter Janice L. Moore is the guest curator for the exhibition. She has had a longtime interest in Maine’s industrial landscapes and how they have shaped communities both physically and culturally over time. Her paintings focus on working factories, abandoned work sites, and repurposed structures throughout the state. She describes industrial landscapes as “the architecture of our usefulness.”

Moore believes that, in Maine landscapes, “we often reference our idealized natural state of forests, mountains, and coastline, but there is another overlooked landscape that tells an important truth about our culture, our history and our potential.”

A year ago, Moore reached out to the arts community to find others who share her affinity for industrial structures. The resulting exhibit includes realistic and abstract works, from highly detailed to the lyrical and poetic.

Moore has been awarded a grant from the Maine Arts Commission to pursue her project “Structures and Patterns: The Remnants of Our Work,” which took place last fall at Museum L-A in Lewiston, housed in the repurposed Bates textile mill. “Industrial Maine: Our Other Landscape” has allowed her to advance this conversation and include perspectives from artists around the state.

In addition to Moore, other artists whose work is featured in the exhibition include Mark Barnette (Portland), Stephanie Berry (Durham), Chris Beneman (Scarborough), Susan Bennett (Auburn), Crystal Cawley (Portland), Dan Dowd (Phippsburg), Bruce Habowski (Waterville), Nina Jerome (Bangor), Samantha Jones (Orono), Kate Katomski (Portland), Carol Liscovitz (Brunswick), Mike Maron (South Portland), Allison McKeen (Gardiner), Caren-Marie Michel (Portland), Leslie Miller (Deer Isle), Janice L. Moore (Freeport), DiTa Ondek (Tenants Harbor), Dennis Pinette (Belfast), John Ripton (Kennebunkport), Roland Salazar Rose (Biddeford), Bronwyn Sale (Brunswick), Gail Skudera, Matthew Smolinsky (Orono), Anne Strout (Falmouth), James B. Taylor (Portland), Deb Vendetti (Rockport) and Laura Waller (Rockland).

The Atrium Art Gallery is located at 51 Westminster St. The art gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; it is closed Patriot’s Day and Memorial Day.

For more information, visit usm.maine.edu/atriumgallery/industrialmaine our-other-landscape.

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