Three-dimensional flower structures adorn the walls of Tremaine Gallery in the current exhibit, Cicatrix, In Bloom, by artist Maggie Nowinski. 

Ms. Nowinski is instructor of Art at Manchester Community College and lecturer in art at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. 

Her works, presented in stark black and white, combine drawings of plants and human anatomy. 

Ms. Terri Moore, director of Tremaine Art Gallery and instructor in Art, said, “Many of her drawings, art installations, and printmaking artworks allude to the idea that humans are a part of the natural world, showing similarities between our and nature’s design.” 

“Cicatrix,” means the “scar of a healed wound.” Ms. Nowinski said, “I want to symbolize the resilience of humans and nature by portraying humanity’s ability to flourish despite experiencing pain, imperfection, and trauma.” 

The focal point of the exhibit is a large-scale piece made up of multiple ring-shaped drawings on canvases folded in a way that makes them appear three-dimensional. The resulting effect is an installation resembling the texture of a scar that spreads across two walls.

Ms. Nowinski said, “I call each circular canvas a ‘wHole’ to portray the paradox that something strong still contains emptiness; the ‘whole’ represents one’s strength and the ‘Hole’ symbolizes the pain one has experienced to have this strength, similar to how a cicatrix, or scar, represents new strength where there was once a wound.”

Other pieces featured in the exhibit include  “Divoc Daily Drawings,” eight rows of fifteen drawings that Ms. Nowinski completed during the Covid pandemic. 

During the pandemic, Ms. Nowinski could not access her studio, which prevented her from creating large installations. 

“I had to make the scale of my work smaller,” she said, “but that gave me a little more time to have a focused daily project. While there were limitations, there were also opportunities that the pandemic offered me as an artist.” 

Sophie Kaspar ’26 said, “I was inspired by Ms. Nowinski’s unique style. I’ve been working on realistic drawings, but now I want to try to explore my ability to create something that shows my individuality as an artist.”

Ms. Nowinski will be in residence on campus from September 26 to October 2. She will work with Lower Mid studio art students, offer an Artist Talk, and talk with visitors to the gallery. Ms. Moore said, “Each class is going to do their own cicatrix with Ms. Nowinski, then we will install them together.” 

Ms. Nowinski said, “We’re going to work on some personal mark-making that is inspired by nature. Students will then work on large canvases, like I do, in monochrome, but they’ll be using their own interpretations to create their own installations.”

Cicatrix, In Bloom will be on display in the Tremaine Gallery from September 6 to October 15. 

Community members can attend an Artist Talk on Thursday, September 28 at 7 p.m. and a reception with Ms. Nowinski on Saturday, September 30 from 4-6 p.m.