Horse by Aldona Jonaitis and Out of Another by Sara Tabbert
On View: June 5 – June 27, 2026
First Friday Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 5–7 pm (Gallery opens at noon on First Fridays.)
The Bear Gallery is located on the third floor of the Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts in Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Admission to the Bear Gallery is free of charge and open to the public Monday–Saturday, noon–6 pm.
June in the Bear Gallery brings together two concurrent solo exhibitions by Alaska artists Aldona Jonaitis and Sara Tabbert — two distinct artistic perspectives on attention, transformation, and the long arc of creative practice.
In Horse, Aldona Jonaitis gathers recent pastel work depicting horses in colors ranging from neutral to vivid — some peacefully grazing, others running, rearing, and jumping. Drawing on a lifelong love of animals and a renewed passion for making art, Jonaitis approaches the subject with both an art historian’s eye and a personal devotion to her subject. Animals, she writes, serve as continual reminders that we are not the sole inhabitants of this earth, and that they have much to teach us. The exhibition reflects on the peace and equanimity she finds in their presence, and in the act of portraying them.
In Out of Another, Sara Tabbert presents recent work shaped by a practice of saving, reworking, and revisiting. Drawing on offcuts, experiments, unresolved pieces, and materials saved over years in the studio, Tabbert pulls from the pile to make something new — sanding, cutting, covering, erasing, and reassembling. Finished, in her words, has become a less permanent state. The exhibition began as a self-imposed assignment to use only materials already on hand, and what emerged is a body of work built from remnants, reworkings, and revision — a meditation on transformation, value, and what it means to keep making. Some pieces were completed during her recent National Artist residency at Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh.
Join Aldona Jonaitis for a free public Artist Talk on Thursday, June 11 at 7 pm in the Blue Room on the third floor of the Alaska Centennial Center.
The First Friday opening reception takes place Friday, June 5, 5–7 pm.
About the Artists
Aldona Jonaitis is a longtime art historian who, in her youth, drew and painted animals — mostly horses — before pursuing a career in art history rather than art-making. When she turned 70, she returned to making art, taking pastel workshops and discovering a new passion. She now depicts horses in colors ranging from neutral to vivid hues — some relatively realistic, others more stylized; some peacefully grazing, others running, rearing, and jumping. Her renewed practice is rooted in a lifelong love of animals and a belief that art, beyond its visual qualities, should carry relevance — reminding us of our place among other living beings and the peace they can offer.
Sara Tabbert is a printmaker and mixed media artist from Fairbanks, Alaska. Trained as a printmaker, her love of woodblock printing has led to the creation of carved, painted wooden panels, as well as wider exploration into other ways of using wood in art. In addition to smaller work, Tabbert’s large-scale public art commissions can be found throughout Alaska. In early 2020 the Alaska State Museum presented a solo exhibit of her work, and she will be exhibiting at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks in 2028. Tabbert has been awarded several grants from both the Rasmuson Foundation and the Alaska State Council on the Arts. She was a 2024 fellow in the Windgate Arts Residency Program at the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, and at the time of this exhibit just completed a National Artist residency at Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh. Sharing art with other people is one of Tabbert’s priorities; she currently leads printmaking workshops through The Folk School, where she is the school’s print shop manager. Learn more at saratabbert.com.
About Fairbanks Arts Association
Since 1966, Fairbanks Arts has worked to connect, support, and showcase the artists and audiences who make creativity a defining part of life in Alaska’s Interior.
As a nonprofit organization and Interior Alaska’s local arts agency, Fairbanks Arts serves as a hub for the region’s cultural activity — coordinating exhibitions, workshops, arts education programs, and community initiatives across visual and literary arts. From the Bear Gallery in Pioneer Park to community events and educational outreach, Fairbanks Arts exists to make the arts accessible to everyone and to strengthen the creative ecosystem that sustains local culture, health, and connection.
Learn more about opportunities to get involved with Fairbanks Arts by clicking here, sign up for our Fairbanks Arts News e-newsletters, and follow @fairbanksarts on Instagram and Facebook.
Celebrating 60 years of arts and community, Fairbanks Arts Association has served as a creative home for artists, audiences, and cultural experiences since 1966. We are proud to continue supporting the arts and fostering connection through creativity across Interior Alaska. As we celebrate this milestone year, we invite community members to join us in sustaining the arts for future generations. Learn how you can get involved with Fairbanks Arts today by volunteering, becoming a new or renewing member, or making a charitable gift. Fairbanks Arts is your local arts council, and its work is not possible without you!
Fairbanks Arts Association programs are made possible in part by support from the Fairbanks North Star Borough, National Endowment for the Arts, Alaska State Council on the Arts, Lotto Alaska, the Richard L. and Diane M. Block Foundation, Mt. McKinley Bank, the City of Fairbanks Hotel/Motel Discretionary Fund, and individual and corporate contributions from supporters like you.
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