Artists bring ‘Farm Chic’ to Priest Lake
Artists Harold Balazs and Ken Spiering have known each other for almost 40 years. They first met in the late 1960s when Balazs taught a workshop at Gonzaga University, where Spiering was a student.
Since then the prolific artists have collaborated on a couple of public art pieces but rarely have shown their studio artwork together.
Through Saturday there is a rare opportunity to see a variety of their art in “Farm Chic,” a show at the Entrée Gallery in Priest Lake, Idaho. A closing reception is Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m.
Balazs is best recognized in the Pacific Northwest for his large-scale metal sculptures and architectural art commissions found in buildings and public places from Oregon to Alaska. In Spokane, two of his more visible works are the floating “Centennial” aluminum sculpture in Riverfront Park and the concrete “Japanese Lantern” sculpture near the Convention Center.
He is internationally known for his large-scale elaborate enamels on steel such as the exquisite panels of flowers and birds on the front of the Lincoln Building on Riverside Avenue.
Among Spiering’s popular public art pieces is the giant “Childhood Express” red Radio Flyer wagon in Riverfront Park.
His hand-carved wooden sculpture in Spokane’s City Hall refers to the key role the railroads played in the city’s development, and his leaping bronze cougar sculpture is the focal point of the downtown Spokane Transit Authority Plaza.
One local public art project they collaborated on was “The Call and the Challenge,” on the edge of Riverfront Park near the Ag Trade Center. Here Spiering was the artist and Balazs was the model for the bronze sculpture of a man pushing a brick-laden wheelbarrow.
Their show at the Entrée Gallery includes a number of studio pieces by both artists in a variety of mediums and subjects.
Balazs is showing wall sculptures and enamels, including several from his kite series.
“Kites have always been in my lexicon,” says Balazs. “My dad and I made them together when I was a kid. We designed kites that would drop flares and parachutes. It was great fun.”
Today he makes colorful, stylized enamel plaques of Japanese fighting kites. “They are always in the crashed mode,” he says. “This often confuses people because they want the kite to be right-side up.”
Spiering is showing two dozen pieces ranging from bronze garden sculpture to delicate etching to highly detailed carved brick sculpture.
“My work has its feet mired in representation,” says Spiering. “This show is a good cross-section of the mediums I work in.”
Happenings at the MAC
Today at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Mimi Gates, director of the Seattle Art Museum, will give a free talk at 3 p.m. on the “Van Gogh to Mondrian: Modern Art from the Kroller-Muller Museum” exhibit on view in Seattle through Sept. 12.
The exhibition showcases 22 exquisite paintings and drawings by Vincent van Gogh that are rarely seen outside of the Netherlands. It also features works by Georges Pierre Seurat, Pablo Picasso, Ferdinand Léger, Diego Rivera, Juan Gris and Piet Mondrian. (Read more about the exhibition in The Spokesman-Review’s Sunday Travel section.)
• On Saturday there are two guided talks of the “Portrait of a People: Karl Bodmer and the Plains Indians” exhibit. Museum docents will give tours at 1 and 2:30 p.m. The exhibit is up until Aug. 15. Tours are included in regular museum admission. The museum, 2316 W. First Ave., is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Palouse clay artists
The first exhibition of work by members of the newly formed Palouse Studio Potters Guild opens Friday at the Third Street Gallery in Moscow, Idaho.
The show features both functional and sculptural ceramic objects created by 15 clay artists including Tina Carlson, Lizette Fife, Carolyn Guy, Ryan Law, Gloria Luther, Judith Marvin, Kimberly McKinney, David Roon, Anne Trail, Harue Tsurusaki, Heather Veeder, Terri Walters, Barb Wendt, Michael Wendt and Jeanne Wood.
An opening reception is Friday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the gallery, 206 E. Third St. in the Moscow City Hall. View the work weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Sept. 24.
Flour Mill events
Two painters will demonstrate how they make their art on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Pottery Place Plus in the Flour Mill, 621 W. Mallon Ave.
Betty Eaton-Rhea will show how she paints in oils, while Susie Snider will create in pastels.
Pottery Place Plus displays the work of 22 Inland Northwest artists including Patti Osebold of Spokane. Beginning Sunday, Osebold’s handcrafted Japanese dolls will be on exhibit with paintings by other two-dimensional artists in the Flour Mill Gallery.
New gallery at Spokane Marketplace
Janie’s Art and Flowers has opened its doors at the Spokane MarketPlace, 810 N. Washington St.
The gallery carries work by a number of local artists including paintings by Donald Clegg, Shirley Erlandson and Janie Edwards.
There is a “Summer Hats Show” on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring original hats designed by Margo Long. Normal shop hours are Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Liberty Lake garden, art tour
If you like walking through beautiful gardens and viewing art at the same time, take in the sixth annual Liberty Lake Garden and Art Show between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Spread across manicured gardens will be the watercolors of Sharon Vogt, Emma Randolph, Sohee O’Connor and Annette Carter; oil portraits by Diane McDermott; pottery by Mike Swatcell; and photographic cards by Linda Bernbaum. Also look for Dan Verzier’s willow furniture, and Mike and Lavina Jordan’s garden benches and birdhouses
Tickets for the tour are $6 and can be picked up on Saturday at Pavillon Park in Liberty Lake.
Othello’s Old Hotel gallery
The Old Hotel Art Gallery in Othello, Wash., displays folk art and crafts produced by Northwest artists. Paintings, sculpture and other works are exhibited in the rooms of a former railroad-era boarding house built in 1912.
During August the gallery is spotlighting photographer Chris Clutter of Ritzville and beadworker Jim Russell of Everett. An opening reception is Aug. 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the gallery, 33 E. Larch St. in Othello.
While there, check out the Milwaukee Caboose Museum project with its railroad memorabilia and antiques. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sullivan at Far West
Patrick Sullivan, a fine arts student at Eastern Washington University, is showing a variety of small clay figures and a few paintings at Far West Billiards, 1001 W. First Ave. The work is up through mid-August.