Art in Your Eye spotlights new gallery
Submitted by Art in Your Eye Festival
The Holmstad Retirement Community and Batavia’s Art in Your Eye Fine Art Festival are teaming up to present an art exhibition titled “Bridging the Generations.”
The event will give the Holmstad an opportunity to show off its new art gallery space and the opening will also serve as a volunteer recruitment event for the Art in Your Eye fine art festival, for which the Holmstad is a 2012 sponsor.
The art show, which is a collaboration between Batavia High School and the Batavia Historical Society, will feature artwork by Batavia artists of past generations alongside work by current Batavia High School students.
The show will hang in the new gallery space of the Holmstad’s Town Center Building, 700 W. Fabyan Pkwy., Batavia. The public is invited to the opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14.
Some of the featured art from Batavia’s past artists includes watercolors by Richard Lewis (1923-1988), an art director for a Chicago advertising company and founder of a 1960s Batavia art gallery called the Frame Group.
It will also include art by Earl Newton (1838-1891), vice president of the Newton Wagon Company, who painted two presidential portraits that are included in the Catalog of American Art at the Smithsonian.
Other historical art to be included are wood block prints by John Gustafson (1890-1984), miniature rooms by Elaine Cannon (1895-1982), work by “self-taught” artist Marge Rundle (1902-2000), chess pieces by art teacher Peg Bond, and work by Lorraine James.
The event also will unveil the 2012 Art in Your Eye poster featuring the sculpture “To Listen” by Batavia artist Sharon Sychta.
Each year, the Art in Your Eye Festival selects work from a local artist to feature on the poster and then purchases the work to be donated to the City of Batavia’s permanent art collection.
Sychta, a founding member of Water Street Studios, describes herself as a “mixed media sculpture artist.” Sychta’s piece is a sculptural aluminum wire curtain intertwined with wire sculptures of hands, which are signing a message in sign language. Free posters will be given to people who sign up at the event to volunteer at the festival.
The 2012 Art in your Eye festival will be Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5, at the Batavia Riverwalk at 100.N. Island Ave. The festival features an outdoor juried Fine Art Show, art exhibits, outstanding children’s art activities, artist demonstrations, and continuous musical entertainment on the Art In Your Ear Stage.
For more information about Art In Your Eye, visit artinyoureye.com.