April 2018
Spring Juried Exhibition: Whimsy
Juror: Rachelle Dowdy
On view: April 6th-28th, 2018
Opening Reception: Friday, April 6th 5-7pm
Rachelle Dowdy’s artwork is primarily made up of sculptural images of birds and animal-human hybrids. Combining organic materials, such as wood and fibers, with concrete, industrial resins and recycled materials like nails, disc blades, scrap steel and wood. The combinations of images and materials address contemporary issues of life in the north, while putting a spin on popular Alaskan wildlife and motifs.
Rachelle Dowdy’s work is held in many public collections, including the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, University of Alaska’s Museum of the North, the state’s Percent for Art Program, and the Municipality of Anchorage 1% for Art Program. Dowdy completed a private commission for the WILD Foundation: four life-sized ferro-concrete sculptures titled Wilderness, Wildlands and People: A Partnership for the Public, which was installed in downtown Anchorage and gifted to the City of Anchorage and the people of Alaska. In November 2009 at Ted Stevens International Airport her latest large-scale 1% for Art piece, From Here to There and There to Here was dedicated.
As one of the co-founders of SoNot, a coalition of six visual artists, she organized numerous exhibitions throughout Alaska, including a series of One Night Art Stands set in alternative venues. SoNot’s final project was to curate Double XX, the first comprehensive look at contemporary women artists in Alaska, exhibited in 2003 at the Fairbanks Arts Association Bear Gallery. Rachelle currently lives and works in Ester, Alaska.
Visit Rachelle’s website: Rachelledowdy.com
Join us for an artist talk with Rachelle Dowdy
Monday, April 2nd from 7-8pm
Blue Room (3rd Floor, Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts), Pioneer Park,
2300 Airport Way,
For more information contact 456-6485 ext. 226 or gallery@fairbanksarts.org
April Gift Shop Artist:
Alaska Reads and Alaskan Poets
Alaska Reads is a biennial statewide reading program that features a selected publication by a living Alaskan author. The initiative began in 2015 through the efforts of Frank Soos, 2015-17 Alaska State Writer Laureate, and seeks to build excitement around contemporary Alaskan authors and the stories they tell. Spanning genre and sharing the work of diverse authors, Alaska Reads bridges vast distances through a shared story.
Also featured during April:
Watercolor Corner Artist of the Month
Peggy Birkenbuel
“The world around us is forever an ART SHOW! Filled to the brim with culturally artistic inspiration, we all live in an everlasting colorful past and future. While growing up among 8 siblings, my dad placed a blank sheet of paper in front of each of us and drew a few lines. He advised us to “draw our own picture”. Thus began my drawing motivation.
After earning an elementary K-8 and Art K-12 degree from Portland State College, I was thrilled to experience the wonders of sharing a most colorful future.
As a transplant from Dillon, Montana, and after teaching in the “Bush”, my arrival in Fairbanks was highlighted by joining the Art Association and the Watercolor Society groups. Thus began my desire to show my art works and teach classes.
Many years of art classes stretched into yearning for more. I gleaned much from local artists such as Sue Cole, Vladimir Zhikhartzev, Jessie Hedden and Summer Arts Festival classes with Judi Betts, Ray Pierotti, Karlyn Holman, and Life Long Learners instructors.
I hope my pictures speak to each observer and everyone inspirationally. Our rural northern exposure and majesty add to the mastery of painting the light and our natural elements. There are material forces that brighten up the hopes and dreams of all artists thus enriching my own landscapes. There is so much more to learn in the art world. My aim is to keep on producing as much art as I can.”
-Peggy Birkenbuel
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