New Art Exhibits To Open At Marblehead's King Hooper Mansion

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Four new art exhibits free to the public are set to open at the historic 1728 King Hooper Mansion starting this weekend.

The century-old Marblehead Arts Association said the exhibits will include one from its artist members and three group exhibits across the six galleries at the mansion.

The exhibits will run through Feb. 26 with an opening reception set for Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Rick Ashley's exhibit Michael will include photos and paintings of Michael, Ashley's brother-in-law with Down syndrome, whom Ashley has been photographing since 1975. The group of individual portraits is meant to be seen together as one piece of artwork and includes oil paintings and photos.

Michael has traveled to museums across the country until August 2018.

The New England Sculptors Association will present a three-dimensional exhibit with works from some of its more than 170 professional sculptor members. The sculptors association partners with local galleries, museums, historical sites, and communities to bring the sculptures to the public.

The Swampscott Arts Association will bring works from its 70 members to the Emerging Gallery of the Hooper Mansion. The SAA was started in the 1940s out of the Swampscott Public Library and now offers artist shows, workshops and demonstrations.

The MAA will also display a new member exhibit with this year's show including works from new members in 2021 and 2022, who were denied the chance to exhibit the past two years because of the COVID-19 health crisis, as well as those from January 2023.

The exhibits are open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon through 5 p.m. with a virtual exhibit to be available here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)