This is Sandy Brown Jensen, and you’re listening to Viz City, KLCC’s art review program. Art for All Seasons is up and running for your viewing and gifting pleasure. This is the 30th annual membership show at Maude Kerns Art Center. The wildly diverse art of over 160 members fills the galleries, bright and vibrant and priced to sell for the holidays.
There’s also a big Club Mud Ceramics Show and Sale, a gallery full of handmade clay objects, both useful and whimsical, sometimes both. But wait, there’s more! The Gallery gift store is a regular Santa’s bag of good things for self and loved ones.
Let’s take some close-up views of some art. I always have food and flower art in my kitchen, and perfect for cheering up any domestic corner is a sprightly oil painting of explosive red and orange dahlias in a vase on a green table with a violet background. Two yellow pairs cast a reflection on the surface. The flowers are wild, the pears are calm – pure Tara Kemp, a long time favorite local artist.
But not as long time as Ellen Gabehart. She has been a teacher to so many and a constant presence in the Lane County art scene as a fine watercolorist. She has a charming little masterwork called Los Tejados, which is rooftops with Mexican colonial era church domes gently tinted with dawn colors.
Both of these artists feel the most simple every day themes like flowers, and skylines with emotion.
This is a huge show, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when each and every work of art is shouting for attention. But keep your visit simple. There is no rule that says you have to see it all. Follow your heart. Discover what you love and just hang out and look at it and it alone for a while. It’s OK to take a picture. It’s OK to walk away and then come back. It’s OK to buy art for yourself or a loved one. If you love it, I guarantee your loved ones will love it, too.
This show is only open until December 16, so make a date with yourself to visit art for all seasons at the Maude Kerns Art Center. This is Sandy Brown Jensen for KLCC.
