PRESS RELEASE
The Art Spirit Gallery will open a show of new work by Kay O'Rourke and Gerit Grimm. Please join us on Friday, November 13 for the Opening Reception in conjunction with the 2nd Friday ArtWalk. Meet the artists and enjoy a lively evening of fine art, fine dining and good friends in Downtown Coeur d'Alene. Everyone is welcome!
Kay O'Rourke will give an informal talk in the gallery starting at 1:00 on Saturday, November 14.
Fall/Winter Gallery Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 11-6
This month’s show sponsor is Le Danse, presenter of Eugene Ballet Company's, The Nutcracker at Schuller Auditorium on Saturday, December 5. For tickets, contact Le Danse Studio: 1917 N. 5th St., Coeur d'Alene, 208-667-3342. We thank Debi Terracciano for her longtime commitment to teaching dance to our community, for continuing to bring The Nutcracker to Schuller Auditorium and for her support of the arts in our region.
Kay O’Rourke and Gerit Grimm: Stories Unveiled
Longtime Spokane artist Kay O’Rourke can bring a good story to life on canvas. A descendant of homesteaders who farmed in Eastern Washington, O’Rourke claims, “I am intrigued by folklore, myths, and stories, especially those pertaining to indigenous people in our area.” The artist’s new body of work for her upcoming show at The Art Sprit Gallery emerged from ideas and inspiration generated during the artist’s recent commission for Kendall Yards in Spokane. In this commissioned series, “The River Remembers,” O’Rourke created thirty paintings depicting the story of life along the Spokane River from the Ice Age to Expo ’74.
Personal elements also surface in O’Rourke’s compositions. A winged cat, for example, represents the spirit of the artist’s beloved cat, who although awkward and heavy, always wanted to jump and “fly.” O’Rourke’s mother often graces the canvases, typically adorned in leopard print, her fashion statement of choice. “Although I am well versed in the rules of good painting,” the artist admits, “I prefer to focus on the emotion of the moment and the tale to be told.
O’Rourke has participated in more than fifty exhibitions in the Northwest and throughout the United States. Her work is in numerous private and public collections, including the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Jundt Art Museum, and Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts in New Castle, Pennsylvania. The Art Spirit Gallery has shown her work since 2010.
Like O’Rourke, figurative sculptor Gerit Grimm captures the essence of a story through her work. Inspired by the memory of a small collection of folk art and dolls her parents owned during her youth in the German Democratic Republic, Grimm sculpts historical figurines – many of which are life-size and larger – derived from fables and myths. “My work seeks to render the formless material of clay into figures that resonate with wonder and makes the familiar increasingly strange. Devoid of color and increased in scale, the objects I produce move away from the seemingly whimsical nature of their original source both in terms of physical size and technical virtuosity.”
Born and raised in the German Democratic Republic, Grimm was classically trained as a production potter before arriving in the United States, where, according to the artist, she “lost her boundaries and went crazy with creative exploration.” By utilizing her background in traditional ceramic craft processes, she developed a distinct approach to making sculpture with wheel-thrown parts.
Grimm has taught at various colleges around the country and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has also worked at esteemed residencies like Mc Colle Center, Bemis Center, Kohler Arts & Industry Program, LH Project, and Archie Bray Foundation, where she was first connected with The Art Spirit Gallery. Grimm has been exhibiting her work at the gallery since 2006.
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UPCOMING SHOWS AT THE ART SPIRIT GALLERY
November 13-28
Kay O’Rourke and Gerit Grimm – expressive oil painting and figurative clay sculpture
-Opening Reception: Friday the 13th of November from 5-8
-Informal Artist's Talk & Demonstration by Kay O’Rourke at the Gallery: Saturday, November 14 beginning at 1 pm
-Show sponsor: Le Danse—presenter of Eugene Ballet Company’s The Nutcracker
December 4 – January 2
17th Annual Small Artworks Invitational –artwork smaller than 12” by 30 artists
-Opening Reception: Friday, December 4 from 5-8
-Show Sponsor: Idaho Cuisine & Spokane Sizzle Magazines
January 8 – February 7, 2016
Harold Balazs –mainly enamels
-Opening Reception: Friday, January 8 from 5-8
-Informal Artist's Talk at the Gallery: Saturday, January 9 beginning at 1 pm
February 12 – March 6
Jerri Lisk –acrylic painting on aluminum
-Opening Reception: Friday, February 12 from 5-8
-Informal Artist's Talk & Demonstration at the Gallery: Saturday, February 13 beginning at 1 pm
-Show Sponsor: Coeur d’Alene Bike Co.
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