A Thousand Mornings in New Bedford

On view on the 2nd Floor at New Bedford City Hall

A Thousand Mornings in New Bedford takes it’s tonal cue from Cape Cod poet Mary Oliver’s poem, “I Go Down To The Shore”.

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.”
― Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings

A Thousand Mornings in New Bedford draws on the humility of nature and the importance of work. These themes, highlighted in Oliver’s poem, are the conceptual thread that binds the works of local artists Marissa Bolton, Jacob Ginga, Gregg Harper, Heather Hobler, Dudley Moor and Ruth Rego. Each artist works with their hands to collage, photograph, paint and sculpt scenes related to the ocean. 

Like the city of New Bedford, its history and its relationship to the sea, the work on display at City Hall demonstrates that beauty, be it natural or crafted by an artist, is not fixed or tranquil but rather an active and integral part of the human experience.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website