AABC to open 74th show
This weekend will mark the opening of The Art Center's longest standing tradition. The 74th annual Spring Show, hosted by The Associated Artists of Butler County, begins Friday and runs through May 30.
"It is our longest running community favorite exhibit reflecting the diverse disciplines of local artists," said Rebecca Rose, exhibit coordinator.
More than 200 original works in a variety of mediums including ceramics, drawings, graphic arts, painting, photography and sculpture will be featured in the Main Rittelmann Gallery.
"Subject matter is wide-ranging, although numerous entries express a spring theme. The talent of the area is evident, the prices are affordable and the atmosphere of the deco gallery is relaxing and airy," Rose said.
The opening reception for Spring Show will run from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at The Art Center. Admission is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Entertainment will be provided by the Hula-Hoop Troop, and awards will be announced at 8 p.m. on The Spirit Café stage.
Also during the opening, the public has a chance to win an original Billy Perry watercolor, valued at $700, or Carl McGrady oil painting, valued at $650, by purchasing raffle tickets which cost $5 per ticket or $10 for three tickets. The raffle is a fundraiser to benefit the project to renovate the gift shop for member-artists at The Art Center.
The judge for the spring show is Kathleen Zimbicki, founder of and director for Studio Z Gallery in Pittsburgh for 27 years. She has served on the board of directors for The Associated Artists of Pittsburgh for more than 10 years. The Best of Show Award is being sponsored by area art patron Mary Phillips.
Also showing starting Friday in the Member's Gallery collection will be "Nature's Palette," the work of Meadville native Mary Kostolansky. She has been watercolor painting since her retirement from Crawford Central School District in 2001.
"Although I minored in art at Mercyhurst College in Erie, my watercolor painting has mainly been self-taught since retiring from teaching," she explained.
Kostolansky has taken workshops from Jan Lutz, a renowned watercolorist from Cambridge Springs, Pa.
"The watercolor medium fascinates and challenges me. I am fascinated with the pigments as they flow and mingle to create hues and textures," Kostolansky said. "I am challenged though, by the need to plan out the painting first so that whites and light are saved while painting the darker values to create form and depth without also creating 'mud.'"
Kostolansky's subjects include florals, animals, still life and landscapes. "No matter the subject, it's unique form, structure and character is what I hope to capture," she said. "In all, my paintings are my way to glorify God, the master artist, and to express my awe with his nature's palette."
Another gallery at The Art Center, the Mezzanine Gallery, will exhibit "The Power of Place: Americans on Vacation" by Christine Holtz. This exhibit is a retrospective on tourism and travel and the American ideal of vacation.
"In this photographic series, I captured representations of vacation experiences," Holtz explained, "posing questions along the way. What is the power of place? Is it attraction or lure to a destination? What motivates tourists to travel to a particular destination?"
"Pointing my camera at these vacation areas, I have tried to capture dualities of common experience and escapism."
Holtz is a Pittsburgh-based photographer and educator. She attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, earned a bachelor of fine arts in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000 and a master of fine arts in imaging arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2002.
The final gallery opening a new show on Friday is the Underground Gallery, which will be displaying "Till Yesterday Begins Tomorrow" by Shawn Farester of Kittanning.
"For the past few years, I have been creating figure and large-scale abstract art. The majority of my work integrates form and space, which best portrays my personal expression as an artist," Farester said.
He is drawn toward those aspects because they lack a hidden meaning, he said. "My work has a cohesive strength that exhibits a majestic flow, which is testimony to the many qualities of the metal I incorporate," he noted. "My greatest skill is displayed in the magical process of taking a rigid material and transforming it to my will. I have many people ask, 'What is this made of?' They express amazement that metal can be shaped in such a manner."
The exhibit will be on display through May 30. Most of the works are available for sale.
<B>WHO: </B>Associated Artists of Butler County<B>WHAT: </B>Annual Spring Show<B>WHEN: </B>Friday through May 30. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.<B>WHERE: </B>AABC Art Center, 344 S. Main St.<B>INFORMATION: </B>724-283-6922 or www.butlerartcenter.net
