Portland artist Cathleen Mahan's exhibition, “Foreign Bodies,” will be displayed at River Arts Gallery West through May 9.

Mahan's body of work has to do with passage, with encountering an unfamiliar self. Perhaps it is a crossing of an invisible line between youth and “other.” Questions of value, significance, place, substance, loss/gain infused the making of “Foreign Bodies.”

Small ink drawings reflect an intuitive contemplation of disintegration, reintegration. Large conte drawings emerged from a more vulnerable feeling state. It was important that the images be drawn with a single line.

Mahan is a contemporary visual artist born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Trained in ceramics, she has an interdisciplinary approach toward making.

Cathy Mahan has taught and lectured nationally and her work may be found numerous collections.

River Arts is located at 241 U.S. Route 1, Damariscotta. For more information, call 207-563-1507.