INKED – Natural Pigments from Mexico to Maine
Kaspar Heinrici Solo Exhibition at the Center for Maine Craft.
On View: February 27 – April 10, 2026
“My work investigates how human perception constructs meaning, value, and desire—from the basic mechanics of light and shadow that create an illusion of depth to the cultural signals embedded in designed objects. I am interested in how form operates not only visually, but socially: how images and objects shape assumptions about status, taste, and identity. This inquiry situated my practice at the intersection of art, design, and marketing.
I work across drawing, painting, animation, and sculpture, informed by my training as an industrial designer. Process is central to my practice. I am often as concerned with how a work is made as with what it depicts and who it is intended for. I repeatedly return to the same concepts through different materials and modes of production, using iteration as a way to interrogate authorship, value, and access. By translating ideas across media, I examine how cost, scale, and reproduction shape who is able to encounter and own art.”
“This exhibition focuses on the intersection of Maine-inspired imagery and Maine-derived materials. In 2018, during an artist residency in Oaxaca, Mexico, I learned to create natural pigments by foraging materials from the surrounding environment. After moving back to Maine in 2019, the landscape became both my subject and my material source. I began developing a color palette derived from plants collected in the woods and garden, informed by my graduate studies in industrial design, where color and pattern were central areas of focus. Learning that pigment extraction could be as simple as collecting organic material and boiling it down was an epiphany that fundamentally shifted my practice. If one is creating imagery about Maine, it felt intuitive—and necessary—to also use materials found here”
“My work ranges from sculptural dolphin mobiles to animated GIFs and mass-produced watch designs. Across these forms, I ask viewers to consider how and why things are made, what systems of value they participate in, and who they are ultimately for. Whether situated in a gallery or embedded in everyday life, the objects reflect a shared preoccupation with material culture—how meaning is constructed, how resources are used, and how place shapes both perception and production.”
We invite you to experience INKED by Kaspar Heinrici, an exhibition that explores how meaning and value in art emerge through images, objects, and materials. Deeply rooted in Maine’s landscape, both as subject and source, the work draws from Maine-inspired imagery and Maine-derived materials, using a technique learned during his artists residency in Mexico. Together, these elements offer a contemporary approach that invites viewers to feel grounded, connected, and immersed in a sense of place, no matter where they’re from.
Visit the Center for Maine Craft:
288 Lewiston Rd West Gardiner, ME 04345
Open Daily, 9am – 6pm
(207)588-0021
center@shopmainecraft.com
