Edge Art Gallery offers Two-Man Show Oct. 10 through Nov. 2

Artist Reception With Appetizers Fri. Oct. 11, 5-7 PM

Gallery hours Thurs.-Sat.1-4 p.m.

There’s a wonderful little gem just a beautiful 45-minute drive from Grand Rapids. It’s The Edge Center for the Arts, adjacent to Bigfork School--- and the gallery committee implores you to give a visit!

The upcoming show features the work of two very different artists, each of which is bound to captivate the viewer. Painter David Mataya’s “St. Croix Valley to the Chattahooche” is compositional, derived from objective observations of animals, still-life, and people. He notes that although his work is representational, “all art is an abstraction: a process of reduction that, when successful, lets the eye reward the brain for doing some of the work.” Mataya was taught to paint what he sees --- “… eyes independent from reason … (to not) paint what you think you see.” That is, his style is to observe objectively, paint accordingly, and to regard his work as a “suitable likeness” if the audience can accurately discern the subject matter.

The photographs of Paul Rome comprise a series of portraits titled “Creative Spaces: Portraits of Artists in Their Places of Work”. Indeed, these are depictions of artists actually occupying the unique arenas in which their creations come to life. The idea flowed from the fact that when he was a young child, Rome often had the opportunity to watch a sculptor create in a garage that Rome’s parents rented out as a workspace. The taking-in of the process, replete with the necessary materials, tools, and smells, resulted in reverence for the artist, yet also a fascination with the necessary “artist -space”. Acknowledging the recent advancement of imagery generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Rome emphasizes the depth of his effort to keep his vision “true”. He refers to his works as “laborious creations”, and states: “(my) images are carefully composed and arranged, unabashedly heavily manipulated … illuminated with multiple lighting setups and exposures. But all parts … were captured in-camera, and no AI (Artificial Intelligence)- based image generation, enhancement or manipulation is involved.”

We really hope you come out to the Oct. 11 4-7 p.m. Reception to meet these artists, give them your comments and questions, and have a little nibble. If not, please come during regular gallery hours before the show ends!