“Tales of a Fisherman,” a sojourn into the tranquility of the undersea world

The New Hampshire Art Association announces “Tales of a Fisherman,” a joint exhibition celebrating a love of fishing by two New Hampshire artists, Sheryl Bentley and John Catizone. Bound by their deep connection to fishing and the sea, Bentley and Catizone collaborated this month to deliver a journey into the world beneath the waves.

“We share a passion for fishing,” says Catizone. “We planned our works to harmonize and interact with each other.”

Sheryl Bentley, from Allenstown, is an avid fisherwoman and multidisciplinary artist who translates her communion with nature onto the canvas. From her studio in New Hampshire overlooking the Suncook River, she creates paintings with a sense of looking through a frame or window — a perspective that holds the two worlds of thought and action together.

Bentley often uses her art to create public awareness of the sea and the marine life it sustains.

“Earth is frighteningly hard and softly delicious all at once,” she says. “It deserves our reverence, our gratitude, and respectful tending.”

Bentley has created several pieces of public art commissioned through the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. These are located at Hampton Beach State Park and the NH State Prison for Women in Concord.

John Catizone, a sculptor from Hampton, melds his background as a design engineer with his lifelong passion for the ocean. Drawing inspiration from hours spent boating, fishing, and surfing, Catizone coaxes out stone’s innate qualities and hidden narratives. He enjoys the paradox between his chosen materials and their finished art forms — harnessing rigid stone to create fluid and graceful marine forms. Each sculpture becomes a testament to the transient and dynamic nature of the ocean, a captivating dance of form and movement frozen in time. Catizone is a member of the Maine Stone Workers Guild and was recently one of 6 sculptors chosen to lead a 10-day outdoor symposium in creating artwork for the Boothbay Region Land Trust’s Art for Acres Stone Symposium & Art Auction.

“Tales of a Fisherman,” a sojourn into the tranquility of the undersea world, opens on Aug. 31 at the Levy Gallery at 136 State Street, in Portsmouth. The gallery is open Tuesday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.