Reflections of the sea at Nassau County Museum of Art

A great place to beat the summer heat is Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA). The museum’s current exhibition, “The Sea Around Us,” celebrates the oceans and waters that cover much of the earth’s surface. It portrays the magnetism we feel for bodies of water alongside the dangers, even the terror, that seas often
present.
“The Sea Around Us,” which runs through Sunday, Sept.12, was organized by Director Emerita Constance Schwartz. It examines the romantic fascination artists have always had for expanses of water. With our increasing awareness of environmental issues, the exhibit provides an examination of how artists have portrayed both the attractions and dangers of oceans and waters as well as their qualities as metaphor.
"The sea has become such a significant factor in daily life, a source of ecological events that are not always pleasant, and very much a part of Long Island's culture, that we decided to do an exhibit about the sea around us," Schwartz said.
The imagery of men dominated by the natural force of water has frequently fueled the artist’s imagination. These are subtle allegories of the span of life and of the struggle and joy experienced as mankind attempts to conquer that which is unconquerable.
Waterscapes provide the frontier in this exhibition. Offering a fresh look at marine art, “The Sea Around Us” includes artistic styles from 19th-century American landscape and Impressionism to those of modern and contemporary artists. Aproximately 70 works are on view, depicting water as a natural phenomena that seems to overpower mankind. Imagery ranges from placid seas, quiet lakes and sun-filled beaches to the dramatic dangers inherent in angry seas, tsunamis and creatures of the sea. Man-made objects such as ports and seaside villages, boats and ships, wharfs and docks are dwarfed by the grandeur of nature.