Escalet 2023 — Meredith Ward Fine Art

Storytelling: Frank Diaz Escalet in Maine

June 22 - July 28, 2023

Press Release | Online Catalog | View All Selected Works

Scene of an open mouth of a white whale about to engulf a tiny ship in a navy sea.

Moby Dick, 1977
Cut leather on masonite
18 x 24 inches

Street scene of a shoe shine boy standing before a businessman in browns, reds, and blue.

Shine Mister?, 1980
Cut leather on masonite
24 x 18 inches

Scene of two people toasting on a spring green hill next to a forest green car with red upholstery.

Your Place or Mine?, 1982
Cut leather on masonite
24 x 30 inches

Skateboarder in white and orange with a white and purple shoe on a red skateboard.

Skateboard, 1982
Cut leather on masonite
24 x 18 inches

Indoor scene of men in brimmed hats and collared shirts gathered around a green pool table playing pool.

Pool Game, 1985
Acrylic on board
24 x 18 1/8 inches

Still life of three warm-colored zinnias in a rust red vase on a white table and gold background.

Zinnias, 1982
Cut leather on masonite
24 x 18 inches

About the exhibition

Meredith Ward Fine Art is pleased to present Storytelling: Frank Diaz Escalet in Maine, an exhibition of twelve inlaid cut leather works and paintings on view from June 22 through July 28, 2023. Puerto Rican-born Frank Diaz Escalet (1930-2012) lived and worked on the coast of Maine from the 1970s until his death. The third exhibition of the self-taught artist’s work at Meredith Ward Fine Art, this show highlights his dynamic imagery created from pieced-together cut leather, a technique he developed after moving to Downeast Maine.

Created during Escalet’s first decade and a half in Maine, these works draw on memories, personal experiences, and the lives of those around him. His newly established art practice of inlaid cut leather, which flourished after several years of hardship as a newcomer to Eastport, found its basis in storytelling. “I always portray life, the storytelling of people,” Escalet noted. Through snapshot-like compositions in saturated, clean-cut leather, Escalet’s scenes are charged with intrigue, excitement, and humor. His works place the viewer in the midst of romantic trysts, among the daily toils and leisure of the working class, and within dramatic literary moments. In Moby Dick (1977), the head of the white whale overwhelms the composition, its menacing jaw on the verge of engulfing Ahab’s tiny ship.

Speaking about Washington County, Escalet remarked, “I got taken in by the beauty, I mean, it was nature in the raw, it was really fantastically beautiful up there.” Despite the beauty of their new surroundings, these were tough years for the Escalets. They opened a leather goods shop called Pandora’s Box and, for extra income, Escalet taught leathercraft to the native Passamaquoddy people through a government program. Spurred through isolation and adversity, Escalet began making his inlaid leather compositions in 1974. While he felt apart from his new community, Escalet shared a determined work ethic with the traditional Maine laborer, often working fervently until a piece was complete. In works such as Fish (1978), he alludes to his family’s humble circumstances while playfully animating a simple Maine meal through the wide eyes and knowing grins of the laid-out fish. Escalet found an outlet for joy and hope through his tales in leather and paint, becoming a storyteller during his early years in Maine.

Read more about Escalet here.