Several art galleries in downtown Portsmouth opened new shows for Art ’Round Town this month, bringing summer color indoors.

The McLaughlin-Hills Gallery is now hanging new paintings by Oaxaca, Mexico artist Eloy Perez Aquino at 110 State St. Themes emerge throughout the selection, especially the notion of duality and the struggle for balance, sometimes represented by snake-like images pulling against each other.  

He also takes on the subjects of death as a stage we should embrace, the masculine and feminine, young and old, and good and evil. His mostly earth-toned paintings include mustard yellows, bottle greens and terra cotta colors.

Kennedy Gallery & Custom Framing, at 41 Market St., is showing “From Near and Far” by Patricia

Gordon, which introduces a new series of close-up flowers in addition to the rural landscapes she is known for. Gordon feels a peaceful connection to the countryside, with its open fields under cloud formations, and seeks to re-create her reaction in oil paintings. The details of flowers in bloom offer another perspective, drawing the viewer in.

At the New Hampshire Art Association’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, at 136 State St., a varied group show titled “The Sky’s the Limit” is up through August in the Main Salon. The East Gallery is featuring recent works by members Robert Thorensen and Keith Eveland.

Three Graces, at 105 Market St., is presenting a group show of gallery regulars in its “Summer Salon,” including watercolors by Dustan Knight, pottery by Stephanie Young, paintings by Cindy Rizza (whose solo show recently ended), and encaustics by Robin Luciano Beaty (who has a solo show at the gallery next month).

Nahcotta, at 110 Congress St., opened a solo show from mid-century design enthusiast and hyper-realist painter Leah Giberson. Her summery subject matter of garden chairs, pool sides, shiny Airstream campers and suburban landscapes is devoid of people and brighter than reality.

She reconstructs photographs in acrylic paint and collage, combining fact and fiction.
The Portsmouth Athenaeum, at 9 Market Square, is showing off the fashions of past proprietors in “The Height of Propriety,” including historic hats, coats and dresses, most provided by the Portsmouth Historical Society. The exhibit is up through Sept. 15.

The next monthly Art ’Round Town event takes place on Friday, Aug. 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. The downtown art stroll also includes the Banks Gallery and the Discover Portsmouth Center. See the gallery map at www.artroundtown.org.