By Jeffery L. Carey Jr.
The first Artist Member Show opening Friday in Buckham Gallery’s new locale “will cap off a milestone year,” artist member John Dempsey said about the coming event. “Our new street-level location has made the gallery accessible to everyone.”
The theme for this year’s Artist Member Show, celebrated with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Friday at the Gallery, 121 W. Second St., will be the passing of time and Buckham’s longevity.
Recent opening night at the new downtown locale (Photo courtesy of Buckham Gallery)
According to Executive Director Lynn Penning, “Members have come and gone over the decades, since 1984 [when Buckham opened] but the organization has maintained a steady presence in the community and continues to present contemporary art to the residents of Flint, Genesee County, and beyond.”
This presence continues as Buckham Gallery thrives in its new ground floor location. “With all the improvements in downtown Flint,” Dempsey said, “foot traffic in the downtown area has increased and Buckham’s guest count reflects that.”
The Artist Member Show will run Friday through Jan. 4. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday. Gallery hours are Wednesday – Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday – 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception of the Sundays before the second Friday openings. The gallery will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Artists featured in the show are Guy Adamec, Aisha Changezi, Nancy Dash, John Dempsey, Donovan Entrekin, Susan Hagen, Paul Hauth, Andy Hill, Craig Hinshaw, Robert Huebel, Michele Leclaire, Emily Legleitner, Suzanne Lossing, Janice McCoy, Michael D. Melet, Karen Milito, Ken Milito, Thomas Myers, Corinne Nuzum, Matt Osmon, Shirley Owens, Nancy Pennell, Paul Rozycki, Sam Selou, Chris Waters, and Linda Woodruff.
“Our annual Artist Member Show showcases work by area artists who are members of Buckham Gallery,” Penning said. “The selection of work presented in this exhibition is diverse. Gallery visitors will see a variety of subject matter, media, and styles.”
According to Penning, new member Andy Hill will be exhibiting in the Artist Member Show for the first time, while many of the exhibiting artists are long-time Buckham members or artists familiar to the community such as Craig Hinshaw, Guy Adamec, and Dempsey.
Dempsey describes his work submitted to the Artist Member Show as portraits of Mott Community College painting students. These pieces were done to, “demonstrate a traditional Atelier based Dark/Light/Mass-Tone oil painting technique used to start a new composition,” Dempsey said.
“These are also affectionately referred to as tobacco juice paintings, in the European, and as soy sauce paintings in the Asian art school tradition.”
The demonstration paintings described by Dempsey became, “documents of the variety of painters passing through Mott’s painting studio. Quick and spontaneous they serve as fleeting sketches of studio life rather than finished ‘real’ work and are a reminder of the amazing students that I was privileged to work with over my years at Mott Community College.”
Vibrant crowds inside and outside the gallery have typified opening night receptions in Buckham’s first year at the new locale (Photo by Darlene Carey)
In addition to the Artist Member Show, prints by Buckham’s Print Exchange will be on exhibit. This exhibit. titled, Things That Happen In The Woods, will feature work by a variety of Buckham artists, each rendering their own interpretation of the show’s title in the printmaking method of their choice.
More information about the upcoming show and about Buckham Gallery is available at 810-239-6233.
EVM Staff Writer Jeffery L. Carey, Jr. can be reached at jlcareyjr@hotmail.com.
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