Featured Artists:  Kay O'Rourke and Gerit Grimm

Show Date:  November 13 - 28

Opening Reception: Friday, November 13 from 5-8pm

Show Sponsor: Le Danse, presenter of Eugene Ballet Company's The Nutcracker

Fall Gallery Hours: in November: Tuesday through Saturday from 11-6

Contact Information:

Steve Gibbs,

The Art Spirit Gallery

208-765-6006

[email protected]

www.TheArtSpiritGallery.com

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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This month's show sponsor is Le Danse, presenter of Eugene Ballet Company's The Nutcracker, performing at NIC on December 5.

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