There is something significant about the space where the water of the Mississippi Sound meets the ever-stretching expanse of the sky. If one concentrates on the horizon line, one can feel just how small they are in comparison to the vastness of that sky and the liquid mirror that stretches beneath it. There is something awe-inspiring, adventurous, and almost primordial in that feeling.

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The vastness of space draws the eye and brings the viewer to the water’s edge time and time again. This view is what drew the artist, Mary Louise Porter, to its shores. From that moment, it has captured her mind’s eye, revealing its beauty to her in various and unsuspecting ways.

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Porter, a transplant to the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Louisiana, was instantly enamored with the enormity of the sea and sky as viewed from the shoreline. Where Louisiana offered her expanses of farmland and rich fertile fields, the Gulf Coast drew her to the beaches and the relationship between water and air. Porter says that it is this awe-inspiring relationship that draws her attention and the focus of her current work. With each brush stroke, each swath of color, she invites us to join her at the water’s edge.

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The exhibition, Where Sea Meets Sky, is created in collaboration between the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and Mary Louise Porter. The paintings displayed within the exhibition have been created by Porter over the past four years, reflecting her appreciation for the beauty and awe-inspiring nature of the Gulf. The ever-changing landscape of the Gulf is an important theme in this exhibition, as shown in her paintings and incorporated into the show through the use of Horizon Blocks. These are a series of boxes painted by Porter that will be rearranged by the artist throughout the run of the exhibition. The Blocks introduce the concept of change and multiple perspectives into the show, reflecting the shifting landscape along the Gulf.