Rice Polak Gallery Presents Fifth Exhibition of Summer 2025
Show to be held August 28 – September 10, 2025; Featuring works by Larry Calkins, Ellen Rolli, and Les Seifer
Provincetown, MA – August 7, 2025 – The Rice Polak Gallery is proud to announce its fifth exhibition of the summer. The show will run from August 28 – September 10, featuring works by Larry Calkins, Ellen Rolli, and Les Seifer. Each artist approaches storytelling through abstraction, symbolism, and layered imagery—offering a lens into personal mythology, emotion, and the passage of time. Their works span the uncanny and the intimate, shaped by memory, instinct, and the surreal qualities of everyday life.
There will be an opening reception at the Rice Polak Gallery on Friday, August 29 from 7:00 – 9:00pm. Wine will be provided and there will be the opportunity to meet the artists in person.
Larry Calkins’ work merges the primitive and poetic, weaving together memory, myth, and surrealism. Known for his sculptural clothing forms crafted from paper, cloth, wax, and soot, Calkins creates hauntingly tactile objects that echo Shaker simplicity and outsider art sensibilities. His small-scale paintings, rich in iconography, tap into a dreamlike and often unsettling visual language drawn from childhood and ancestral memory. Calkins crafts personal yet archetypal narratives that feel both timeless and raw.
“The work I’m showing this summer is a mix of fables, faeries, Mexico memories, and landscape paintings of Tiger Mountain — largely encaustic, a process akin to embroidery that adds rich texture and depth to the narrative,” said artist Larry Calkins. “My artwork is suffused with the world that my ancestors opened up for me, condensed in a pictorial narrative, sometimes secretive, or humorous, or biting, sometimes dipping into the absurd and surreal undercurrent of a community steeped in personal tragedy — but also in the ever present hilarity of the unbroken human spirit.”
Ellen Rolli’s paintings are expressive and intuitive, balancing spontaneity with thoughtful composition. Drawing inspiration from the textures and colors of coastal New England, Rolli builds her canvases through layers of bold paint, often applied with palette knives or other unconventional tools. Her work thrives on process and experimentation, embracing imperfection and discovery as central elements. Each painting becomes a conversation— between painter and canvas, emotion and abstraction— culminating in rich, textured pieces that resonate with emotional depth.
“The works I delivered to Rice Polak for the upcoming season are a continuation of my ‘Vessel with Floral’ series,” said artist Ellen Rolli. “I continue to explore, allowing my intuitive process to interpret the subject in new and unique ways. Nature continues to inspire my work in both palette and design.”
Les Seifer creates intuitively layered works that blend painting, drawing, and collage into vibrant, dimensional compositions. His figures—often cowboys, soldiers, families, or children—emerge from cut-paper collage techniques and painterly improvisation, resulting in scenes that suggest fragmented stories without clear narratives. With themes of personal identity, memory, and Americana running throughout, Seifer’s work invites curiosity, reflecting both a playful energy and deeper reflections on belonging and time.
“This year, I’ve been making work that helps me express things I can’t quite put into words,” said artist Les Seifer. “When I include human figures, they usually reflect how I see myself—sometimes at ease, sometimes facing challenges big and small. Animals in the work often represent something I’m responding to, or trying to live alongside. My process is pretty fluid. Each painting shifts as I go—sometimes slowly, sometimes in big leaps from one day to the next. I’ve been enjoying experimenting with patterns, textures, and visible brushwork. In the end, each piece feels like a snapshot from my mind—blurry in some ways, but often clearer than what I can consciously articulate.”
Learn more about Les Seifer’s process and work in the Provincetown Independent.
The press release announcing the Gallery’s full summer schedule is available here, and the details for the final show of the season are listed below:
FINAL GROUP SHOW: SEPTEMBER 11 – DECEMBER 31, 2025
This show will feature new works from all gallery artists.
For press inquiries, to be connected to the artists, or to request photos, contact Natasha Fee at [email protected] or 978-460-4449. You can also contact the Gallery at [email protected] or 508-487-1052.