Governor Healey Unveils Art Exhibition by Massachusetts Veterans

 Governor Healey Unveils Art Exhibition by Massachusetts Veterans   

 

BOSTON – Today, in honor of Veterans Day, Governor Maura Healey unveiled a temporary art installation featuring works created by veterans living in Massachusetts. The exhibition, presented in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council, showcases the work of Peter J Damon, Hector René Membreño-Canales, and Francis Olschafskie and will be on view in the Governor’s Reception Area through December 12. 

“Our veterans have sacrificed and contributed so much to our state and our nation, and this exhibition is an opportunity to honor their service and showcase their many talents,” said Governor Maura Healey. “It invites the thousands of visitors who come through the State House to pause, reflect and connect with Peter, Hector, and Francis’s work. I’m deeply grateful to each of them for sharing their art with us.” 

“I want to thank the Mass Cultural Council and all three artists for helping us bring this meaningful exhibition to the People’s House,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Our veterans embody the values that define us, and it’s an honor to celebrate their service and creativity here in our capital.” 

Under Governor Healey's leadership, veterans services in Massachusetts have been transformed. She appointed the first-ever cabinet level Veterans Services Secretary, Jon Santiago, signed the most comprehensive veterans’ legislation in state history with the HERO Act, helped more than 1,000 veterans get housing through the End Veteran Homelessness campaign, opened a state-of-the-art new facility at the Chelsea Veterans Home and broke ground on the new Holyoke Veterans Home. 

Since taking office, Governor Healey sought to expand diverse art on display in the Governor’s Executive Office Suite by adding Black Tie by Robert T. Freeman and At the Tremont Street Car Barns by Allan Rohan Crite, which are on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts. She has also displayed other temporary exhibitions in the Governor’s reception area, including celebrating Black History, Climate Month, Pride Month, the Cape & Islands, Hispanic Heritage Month, Western Massachusetts, Native American Heritage Month and Women Veterans. The office also has on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Early Summer by J. Appleton Brown, Spring Hillside by J. J. Enneking, George Washington by Francis Alexander, Landscape by Leslie Prince Thompson and Showery May Morning, by J. Appleton Brown. 

 

Additional information about the temporary installments: 

Peter J Damon is an artist, catastrophically injured Iraq War Veteran, and co-owner of True Grit Art Gallery in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Alongside his wife, Jenn, he operates this vibrant space, representing over 25 artists from across Southern New England and establishing it as a key cultural venue for Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. 

After suffering traumatic amputations of both arms in 2003 while serving in Iraq for the Massachusetts National Guard, Damon channeled his resilience into art as a profound source of meaning and purpose. He paints primarily in oils, drawing inspiration from his working-class roots in Brockton, Massachusetts, where he grew up. His work captures the simple yet evocative colors, shapes, lines, and textures found in the humble architecture of Brockton and the surrounding areas, including Middleborough, where he now resides. Through his art, Damon explores themes of grit, recovery, and everyday beauty, inviting viewers to find depth in the ordinary. His pieces reflect not only personal triumph but also a deep connection to the landscapes and communities that shaped him. His work “Parade Day” and “Canal Drawbridge at Dusk” are on display in the Governor’s Reception office. 

 

Hector René Membreño-Canales is a Honduran American artist, educator, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of military experience, identity, and visual culture. A former U.S. Army Public Affairs Officer, he served for over a decade with deployments and assignments in Iraq, El Salvador, Poland, Germany, and Canada. In 2022, he completed the Smithsonian Institution’s inaugural U.S. Army Monuments Officer Training, continuing his commitment to preserving cultural heritage in conflict zones. Currently based in Massachusetts, Membreño-Canales is the Francis C. Robertson Instructor of Visual Studies and Photography at Phillips Academy Andover and a Lecturer in the Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Membreño-Canales’s earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from the School of Visual Arts and a Master of Fine Art in Art and Art History from Hunter College, City University of New York.  He has received awards and grants from The Eddie Adams Workshop, Red Bull Arts, Magnum Foundation, and Harvard University. His photograph Soldier in Kevlar is currently on display in the Governor’s Reception area. 

Francis Olschafskie is a photographer, educator, and media artist, and a 2025 Mass Cultural Council Grants for Creative Individuals recipient. His work explores the intersections of photography, media, and technology, reflecting decades of artistic and academic engagement. 

Olschafskie holds an undergraduate degree in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art and a graduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. He has taught in the photography programs at New York University, the School of Visual Arts, the International Center of Photography, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

His photographs have been widely exhibited across the United States and Europe, including at the Walker Art Center, Museum of Modern Art, Isentan Museum, Greek Ministry of Culture, Tisch School of the Arts, Robert Hull Fleming Museum and the Photographic Resource Center.  

 His work Flowers is currently on display in the Governor’s Reception area.