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Courtesy Erie Art Museum
\nTom Paquette at Erie Art Museum with his paintings. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tCourtesy Erie Art Museum \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy of the artist \t\t\t Paintings made by Thomas Paquette, of Warren, have been shown in U.S. embassies on five continents, and are collected and exhibited widely in this country\u2019s museums and galleries. Now two solo exhibitions of his work overlap for this month. Nine hundred miles apart, they are different in many ways.<\/p>\n \u201cIntimate Landscapes\u201d, a two-part exhibition on view at Erie Art Museum from now through June of next year, focuses on Paquette\u2019s unique, tiny gouache (opaque watercolor) paintings. Most of the paintings measure only three to four inches, and are sometimes much smaller. This exhibition is presented in two parts to accommodate the 150 works assembled from the artist\u2019s own collection of these small landscapes, starting from his first gouache painting in the early 1990s to current works. <\/p>\n Many of the works in Part 1 were painted during extended travels and residencies around America, for instance while he was Artist-in-Residence at national parks coast-to-coast \u2013 and also around Europe, for instance while he was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, and resident artist at the Aegean Arts and Cultural Exchange in Greece. The exhibition also includes examples of Paquette\u2019s large scale oil paintings, borrowed from local collections, to demonstrate the relationship between his gouache and oil paintings.<\/p>\n \u201cThe little gouache paintings have outsized meaning to me. They remind me, in just a couple square inches, why I paint landscapes,\u201d explains the artist. \u201cThis is why so many of them were kept in my private collection, now shown at the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n The opening reception for Part 1 of the exhibition at the Erie Art Museum was last week. Paquette will present a talk on Friday, July 31, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of the artist Part 2 of the exhibition opens Dec. 11 and continues through July 3, 2027. Two books of his gouaches serve as catalogues for this two-part exhibition.<\/p>\n In another solo June exhibition, Lowry Hill Gallery in Minneapolis presents \u201cLiving History\u201d from through Friday. The subject of many of Paquette\u2019s paintings in this exhibition is, along with other related landscapes, ancient old-growth forests across the eastern half of the country. <\/p>\n The gallery states that \u201c[f]ocusing on North America\u2019s old-growth forests, Living History serves as a visual reminder that these biological entities, though impermanent, are foundational and steadfast. Paquette, a sophisticated colorist, visually demonstrates the ever-present intersection of human nature and the reliable, and grounding, landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese recent paintings come from the awe and a deep appreciation I felt visiting these vanishing \u2018original\u2019 environments \u2013 a web of living history \u2013 and their important function in our world,\u201d Paquette adds.<\/p>\n The paintings in this exhibition range in size from over four feet to just four inches. Whatever the size, the oil paintings are composed of layers of paint that are applied and scraped off the canvases over the course of weeks and sometimes years, making for highly textured surfaces in many works.<\/p>\n The exhibition ends on July 3.<\/p>\n Located in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, the Erie Art Museum holds the region\u2019s leading art collection with more than 8,000 objects spanning American ceramics, paintings, photography, and sculpture. The museum regularly hosts special exhibits bringing art and inspiration to the community. It also hosts lectures, educational programs and school tours.<\/p>\n The Erie Art Museum is open every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, and Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m. For more information, visit erieartmuseum.org or call 814-459-5477.<\/p>\n Lowry Hill Gallery was launched this spring in Minneapolis, and is already a leading light for contemporary art in the Twin Cities. For more information on the works in this exhibition, visit lowryhillgallery.com or call 612-315-4080.<\/p>\n Paquette\u2019s oil and gouache paintings have been shown in over a dozen solo museum exhibitions across the United States, as well as many dozen solo exhibitions at galleries in cities around the country. Aside from private, corporate and public collections, his paintings have also been displayed in twenty-two U.S. embassies on five continents. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville in 1988, and his BFA in Painting from Bemidji State University in 1985. He was awarded a three-year residency-fellowship in Miami Beach, Florida, from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. He was Artist-in-Residence at Acadia, Yosemite, and Rocky Mountain national parks, the Aegean Arts and Cultural Exchange (Greece), and was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, among other residencies. He lives and works in Warren, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., continues to be at odds with his party over the U.S. war with Iran and potential …<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is the last week to attend the Erie Zoo\u2019s Glow Wild: Chinese Lantern Festival. Glow Wild runs Thursdays …<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/paquette@Erie-Art-Museum-1-466x300.jpg\")
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\nTom Paquette at Erie Art Museum with his paintings. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Paquette-RetreatingSea-3x2.25-RGB-1-433x300.jpg\")
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\n\u201cRetreating Sea,\u201d 2 x 3 inches, on the wall behind Paquette in the other photo. <\/p>\n
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\n\u201cRetreating Sea,\u201d 2 x 3 inches, on the wall behind Paquette in the other photo.\n<\/p>\n