September 6, 2019

“The Geography of Color: Imagined Maps,” an exhibit of art by Dan Rocha, is on display at the Nashua Public Library in September.

The pieces, created from wood, metal leaf, pigment, and resin, are aerial views of imaginary seas and terrain in brilliant, reflective, pure color.

Travel as inspiration

“I enjoy travel,” says Rocha, “so views from the plane, and the horizon, are important visual factors.” Through travel, he is exposed to cultures different from his own, adding fresh perspective to his work.

Rocha has a bachelor’s of fine art in painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a master’s in education from Cambridge College. He has work in many collections, including those of Fidelity Investments, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Enterprise Bank, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, and Eastern Mountain Sports.

Color as an expressive tool

“I’ve always had an interest in color as an expressive, artistic tool,” Rocha says. In fact, he worked as a designer/colorist for industry for 12 years and wrote a thesis on color in graduate school. “My technique of using tinted colored resin over metal leaf was developed to emphasize color; it is somewhat optical, and akin to the properties of stained glass.”

Meet the artist

The exhibit can be viewed during regular library hours. You can meet the artist at a reception on Wednesday, September 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.