Ritual and Refuge

Two new art exhibitions opening on May 23 at the Hallberg Art Center's Freemore and Underground Galleries and running through June 15. Grand openings for both are from 4pm-8pm on Thursday, May 23, 2024.

"Ritual and Refuge" is a dual exhibition in the Freemore Gallery by independent artists Naomi Hart and Duane Diddy. Both painters use their art to convey messages of healing.  Hart uses an encaustic approach (hot beeswax in her case) to create visual stories of healing. "I seek to convey the intimate moments of a deliberate practice, the alchemy of a ritual", said Hart.  Diddy's own journey involved returning to the studio after a four year hiatus after recovering from a bone marrow transplant to treat MDS. "These paintings are a sample of what I have accomplished since that time and tend to be darker and more stark than those I made before I was sick". 

Also opening in the Underground Gallery is mixed media artist Jena Rivard's, "Repurpose, Regenerate, and Redefine". "My art is repurposing used materials, regenerating new life into the materials, and redefining what is seen as trash. As a single mom on a tight budget, I needed to find a way to make art with very little purchased supplies".  Her show is sponsored by the Rivard Cement Contracting and dedicated to the memory memory of Don Rivard.

Thursday night opening festivities begin at 4pm through 8pm which includes a "Meet the Artists" session around 6pm.