“Some art takes its subject from literature. It is far more unusual for literature to take its inspiration from art. But that is exactly what 15 writers—many of them prize-winners or best-sellers—have done...”
- Ellen Gamerman, The Wall Street Journal

The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) will present a groundbreaking exhibition, in Rockland, Maine, from August 19 through November 5, 2017. The exhibition, which pairs fifteen newly created paintings by the noted realist painter with fifteen new works of fiction by some of America’s most acclaimed writers, will premiere as part of CMCA’s Summer Gala on the evening of Friday, August 18, 2017. Tickets to the event are available online at cmcanow.org or by calling 207-701-5005.

The exhibition, Night Stories, and the accompanying book have been eight years in the making. When artist Linden Frederick (b. 1953) realized a growing number of his collectors were novelists and screenwriters, he wondered what would happen if the writer-illustrator relationship were reversed: the painting first, then the writing. The result is Night Stories. Fifteen celebrated American fiction writers each agreed to select one painting especially created by Frederick as inspiration and then, over the following months, write a unique story inspired by it.

The collaborating writers include:
Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See)
National Book Award-finalist Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog)
National Book Award-winner Louise Erdrich (The Round House)
National Book Award-finalist Joshua Ferris (Then We Came to the End)
Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen (Rizzoli & Isles series)
Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Kirkus Prize-winner Lily King (Euphoria)
Edgar Award-winner Dennis Lehane (Mystic River)
Newberry Medal-winner Lois Lowry (The Giver)
PEN/Faulkner Award-winner Ann Patchett (Bel Canto)
New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice (Crazy in Love)
Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Russo (Empire Falls)
Pulitzer Prize-winner Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge)
Academy Award-winner Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs)
PEN USA Award-winner Daniel Woodrell (Winter’s Bone)

A native of Amsterdam, New York, Linden Frederick’s paintings are celebrated for their evocative light and atmosphere. Compared favorably to Edward Hopper’s American scene paintings, Frederick’s contemporary works suggest the human presence without depicting it, allowing the viewer to complete the narrative. Frederick has lived and worked in Belfast, Maine since 1989. He has had more than twenty solo exhibitions of his work throughout the United States, including the exhibition You Are Here, held at CMCA in Rockport,
in 2010. Linden Frederick is represented by Forum Gallery, New York.

Linden Frederick: Night Stories will be on view at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland August 19-November 5, 2017.  www.cmcmnow.org