East Wing Gallery At Mount Wachusett Community College Kicks Off 2026–2027 Exhibition Season With Alumni Doug Caves

Mount Wachusett Community College’s East Wing Gallery will present Circumstantial Light: An Exhibition of Recent Paintings by MWCC alumnus and Central Massachusetts artist Doug Caves, Sr., from September 8 through October 15, 2026.

 

A closing reception will be held Thursday, October 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the East Wing Gallery on MWCC’s Gardner Campus. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

An accomplished painter working in oil and acrylic, Caves explores the ways light, space, and familiar surroundings can reveal unexpected emotional and perceptual depth. His layered approach to oil painting begins with observational drawing and a warm underpainting, followed by controlled transparencies that allow earlier tones to remain visible and active within the finished work.

 

“My work explores how light, space, and everyday moments can reveal emotional and perceptual depth,” Caves said. “While my subjects vary, my goal is consistent: to create paintings that offer clarity, stillness, and a deeper awareness of the environments we inhabit.”

Caves is dedicating Circumstantial Light to the late Gene Cauthen, longtime MWCC art professor and founder of the college’s sculpture program.

 

“His guidance and presence shaped the creative lives of so many students,” Caves said. “It feels right to honor him through this new body of work.”

 

Caves exhibits extensively throughout New England. His painting Cliff House, which is included in Circumstantial Light, was featured in the Fitchburg Art Museum’s recent 90th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition, where it received second prize. His work has also been selected for previous annual juried exhibitions at the museum, and he recently exhibited at Creative Connections in Ashburnham.

 

Caves is represented by Portland Art Gallery in Maine, the Copley Society of Art in Boston, and Creative Connections in Ashburnham.

 

An alumnus of MWCC’s art program, Caves earned a Master of Science in Professional Communications and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Clark University in Worcester. An active member of the local arts community, he works from his studio in Central Massachusetts.

 

Caves’ work can be found on Instagram at @dougcavessr.artist and online at dhcaves.com.