Editorial
Front Page - Friday, January 8, 2010
Weekly Indulgence
Stephanie Coward
Artists have the ability to catch a single moment in time and keep it alive through the ages. Such is the case with an oil on canvas by Artist Courtenay James currently on exhibit at the River Gallery in the Bluff View Art District.
In “Two Olives,” James painted a common scene that happens often in pubs around the world: A man laughing with a friend, who we assume is out of the picture and the girl he is with is eyeing the bartender or perhaps a person farther down the bar. Her piecing eyes bore into you when viewing the painting. She holds two olives while awaiting another martini. When viewing this image, I became transfixed by the woman’s eyes and felt as if I was transported to that very moment.
The ability to carry one moment and share it with all who view your work is a gift I am quite jealous of and the River Gallery is full of such works.
I adore the Bluff View Art District. When Joe and I moved here this summer, it was our second sightseeing stop. A statue featured in one of the city brochures I received when I was still in New York mesmerized me. While visiting River Gallery last week, I learned the statue was Icharus (you know, the guy with wings who looks like he is really flying?) in the sculpture garden. I also learned that the sculpture garden is part of River Gallery and the sculptures are changed out yearly.
Everywhere I looked, while walking through the gallery’s rooms, there was another beautiful piece of artwork to feast on. I stood in one corner of one room for at least five minutes. I was in awe of Russell Whiting’s carved steel figures and transfixed by an oil on panel by Sebastian Keneas. Keneas’ piece is of an egg broke apart and almost flying through the air, it reminded me a lot of the surrealism by the likes of Dali, my favorite artist of all time.
The set up of the gallery is top notch. Each piece flows into the next and takes you on an art-filled journey past hand-blown glass vases, pottery, pieces of photography that rival Ansel Adams, and then before you know it, you’re in the exhibit room. The exhibits change monthly. I went at the very end of December and the artists exhibited were Courtenay James (the month’s two-dimensional artist) and Brian Russell (three dimensional). Angela Supan, the gallery’s assistant director, sales said that every month there is work by both a two dimensional and a three dimensional artist exhibited.
Russell’s pieces were a mix of steel and cast glass. The pieces merged a ferocious delicateness that few artists can master. (Russell has it on lock down.) I wandered the room before settling on my favorite of his pieces. Ironically, the Sicilian (me) picked “Hemisphere: Rigatoni,” as my favorite piece of his.
My tour ended in a room filled with homemade jewelry. The ornate detail of some of the pieces in the jewelry cases was truly mind-boggling. The patience and attention to detail that goes into creating the jewelry and all the other pieces at River Gallery is commendable, to say the least.
I am looking forward to visiting the gallery again in January. And because the gallery does have an exclusivity contract with the artists, you won’t see work by any artist featured at the gallery anywhere within a hundred mile radius of the gallery.
This month’s exhibit includes works by Ray Gross, an artist who works in ceramics. I saw a sampling of his work and can honestly say it’s amazing. He features common objects that generally go unnoticed in our daily lives. For instance, his ceramic paintbrushes look so real that it took all my self-restraint not to reach out and make myself believe what I knew was true – that they weren’t real, rather they’re ceramic. (But I would never touch any artists’ work. It’s rude and I’m a clutz.)
River Gallery, located at 400 East 2nd St., opened in 1992. The gallery stays open seven days a week year round and admission is free. They also offer appointment viewings to those who are interested. It is owned by Dr. Charles and Mary Potera and was the first Bluff View Art District business to open. And as they say, since then, the rest is history. Mrs. Potera is the curator and sets up all the exhibits at least a year in advance, a feat in itself, if I do say so.
“If you came here once a month, you are guaranteed to see something new,” Supan told me. Everything in the gallery and the sculpture garden is for sale.
To learn about upcoming exhibits and more, visit the River Gallery Web site at www.river-gallery.com.
Contact Stephanie at stephanie@hamiltoncountyherald.
com.
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