Sarah Bouchard Gallery in Woolwich presents the second solo exhibition of artist James Parker Foley, an oil painter known for his blue figures floating, swimming and wading through surreal landscapes. The exhibition is a personal one, chronicling Foley’s gender transition. It covers work created over the past two-and-a-half years across four media: graphite, colored pencil, gouache and oil.

Foley has orchestrated a few events to coincide with the show, most notably a free massage session in his studio, with a licensed massage therapist, for transgender and/or non-binary folks.

Foley’s “A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast” is showing from July 5 through Aug. 6, with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m. (RSVP required).

“When I first came across a copy of ‘A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast’ in August of 2023, I did a double-take,” Foley wrote in a prepared release. “With mild disbelief, I examined the cover and quickly realized that despite what seemed to me to be a rather suggestive title, the book was not about cruising — as in, cruising — but about cruising — as in, sailing. I decided to take the book home. It seemed to me to be a sign from the universe, and despite its seafaring subject matter, I hoped it would prove, in some way, instructive.

“That summer, I was in the midst of becoming someone new, and although I wasn’t quite sure who that person was or what he looked like, I was certain the person I wanted to become was someone who went cruising.”

Foley has exhibited extensively in the northeast, including Sarah Bouchard Gallery, Spring/Break Art Fair New York, Elizabeth Moss Gallery, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery and New System Exhibitions. Most recently, he has shown work at the Portland Museum of Art, Transmitter Gallery in New York and the McColl Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, Maine Magazine and
the Portland Press Herald, and can be found in significant public and private collections, including the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.

Sarah Bouchard Gallery is located at 13 Nequasset Pines Road, Woolwich. The gallery is open by appointment, seven days a week.