Fields Alive with Pollen + Wings by Maine artist, Tessa Greene O’Brien brings the outside in, grounding the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in the surrounding area by combining hand-painted native Maine flora + fauna and colorful geometric shapes that feature vignettes of lively nature scenes. The title of the mural is taken from a line in the poem “In Praise of Hands” by Maine poet Stuart Kestenbaum. In the spirit of Kestenbaum’s poem, Tessa Greene O’Brien’s mural invokes the transformational potential of close looking. Intricately woven together into a central image are four Maine habitats, filled with specific species.

Tessa Greene O’Brien is currently participating in the Lunder Institute for American Art’s residential fellowship at the Greene Block + Studios. O’Brien is a Maine-based artist and curator with a multi-faceted painting practice. She views painting as a framework through which she connects to the world and deepens her understanding of it. Working in a variety of media and scales that range from architectural exterior murals to postcard-sized watercolor paintings, O’Brien is perpetually interested in the possibilities of paint.