(WILMINGTON, DE)  April 2, 2007 — One of the largest and most ambitious exhibitions of contemporary American marine art will make its debut at the Chase Center on the Riverfront, May 16 – July 6, before continuing its East Coast tour ending in September 2009.
 The 30th Anniversary Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists presents exciting and varied art from more than 100 of the best marine artists working today. It will feature work in mediums including oil, watercolor, pastels, scratchboard, pencil, sculpture and scrimshaw.
 Marine art is flourishing at a time when environmental pressures are threatening marine environments, a dynamic which is evident in this exhibit. Viewers will see paintings and sculpture depicting marine wildlife in their ocean environment and coastal habitats that reflect the growing concern about the survival of “Planet Ocean.”
 The exhibition also presents more traditional contemporary subjects, including recreational scenes, container ships, battleships or ships in battle, coastal and harbor scenes, and historic renderings of an earlier era.
 “There has never been such excitement and diversity in marine art and this exhibition shows the tradition is very much alive and well,” said Charles Raskob Robinson, an exhibit organizer and fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA).
 Exhibit hours at the Chase Center on the Riverfront will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 12 – 4 p.m. Sunday (closed Mondays.) Tickets are $5 (children under age 5 are free). For ticket information, call (302) 425-4890.
 Following its appearance on the Riverfront in Wilmington, the  ASMA exhibit will appear at the following museums:
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museums, St. Michaels, Md., July 25–Sept. 22, 2008
• Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, N.J., Nov. 13, 2008–Feb. 22, 2009
• Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, S.C., March–May 2009
• New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, Mass., June–September 2009
 A 107-page, full-color catalog of the exhibition will be available at each of the venues for $19.95 or on the ASMA website at www.americansocietyofmarineartists.com.

About ASMA
The American Society of Marine Artists is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to recognize and promote marine art and maritime history and to encourage cooperation among artists, historians, mariner enthusiasts and others engaged in activities relating to marine art and maritime history. Since its founding in 1978, ASMA has brought together some of America’s most talented contemporary artists in the marine field. It is the nation’s largest organization of contemporary marine artists with more than 600 members.

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