John Grant's "Beach Ball," 24-by-26 inches, archival pigment print
Each year, Page Bond Gallery mounts a group exhibition that runs mid-July through Labor Day. “The title choice is based on a summertime theme,” explains Page Bond, and this year it’s a fitting one — “Swelter.”
Dive into a hot summer theme and a visual treat — and maybe a dose of A.C. — before it’s too late. “Swelter” closes on Sept. 2.
The group show includes works by 20 artists including Karen Blair, Penelope Gottlieb, Ledelle Moe, Rob Tarbell and more. Click here for a complete list of the artists featured.
Shown above is an archival pigment print by John Grant. It’s called simply “Beach Ball,” and I think it captures the buoyant carefree spirit of summer and the welcome quench of water on a sweltering day.
“John Grant’s beach ball inside the pitcher photograph has been a favorite of collectors,” Bond says. “That along with the ice-cream cone painting by Tim O’Kane and the ocean landscape painting by Robin Braun.”
O’Kane’s oil on panel, “DQ 2 / Homage to WT & DWR,” radiates with realism and has me craving a childhood treat: a Dairy Queen soft-serve swirled ice-cream cone dipped with a chocolate shell.
Braun’s work, “Sunset, Outer Banks,” captures the peaceful tranquility of an empty beach at sundown. Its abstracted layers of sand, water and horizon, awash in gradations of blues, rose and gray, left me relaxed and contemplative.
Also on view at the gallery through Sept. 2 is the exhibition: “Finding Shapes as a Way of Orienting Oneself: Nancy Murphy Spicer.”
Page Bond Gallery is at 1625 W. Main St. Summer hours are Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment.
