Now through March 5, 2022
Featuring gallery artists:
Betsy Ruth Byers
Jil Evans
Abby Mouw
Kelly Jean Ohl
Jodi Reeb
Julie Snidle
Cameron Zebrun
The color blue, many painters’ favorite for its cool and dramatic yet serene and calming tones, has always been more expensive than other colors. During the Renaissance, true blue (ultramarine) was five times more expensive than gold as its color derived from lapis lazuli. Today, according to the study, The Colors, Emotions, and the Auction Value of Paintings, abstract paintings in which blue dominates are top sellers. Due to recent supply chain disruptions, blue paint is becoming costly as manufacturers struggle to locate the ingredients necessary to make blue paint.
All of which adds to the mystique of Kolman & Pryor Gallery’s upcoming exhibition, The Color Series: Part 5, Blue, the fifth show in the gallery’s ongoing Color Series. The exhibition, which features work by gallery artists, Betsy Ruth Byers, Jil Evans, Abby Mouw, Kelly Jean Ohl, Jodi Reeb, Julie Snidle, and Cameron Zebrun, opens January 8, and runs through March 5, 2022. An artist reception is happening on Saturday, February 12, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. during Northrup King Nights, a Northrup King Building open studio evening.
“Most of our gallery artists already work with blue,” says gallery co-founder, Patrick Pryor. Betsy Ruth Byers’ most recent work, for instance, contains layers of blue to conjure memories of her research on glaciers and other disappearing landscapes. Many of Jil Evans’ paintings are intercut or layered with shades of blue. Jodi Reeb’s recent encaustic paintings and wall sculptures are dressed in vibrant shades of blue. Julie Snidle’s encaustic abstractions often include wide, evocative swaths of blue. Blue pops as an accent from many of Cameron Zebrun’s wood sculptures. Abby Mouw uses many colored glazes, including blue, when she creates her functional clay artworks. She loves knowing that her pottery will be used and held in someone’s hands.
The shades of blue filling the gallery’s walls highlight and complement Kelly Jean Ohl’s earth-toned, hand carved clay sculptures so beautifully.
“Because our gallery artists are so enthusiastic about the color, blue,” says Anita Sue Kolman, gallery co-founder, “we’re happy and pleased to present, The Color Series: Part 5, Blue, to you.”