Pretendium returns to Groop Gallery
You can’t pretendium that you don’t love art, when it’s made with energy like this.
An unusual art show is on now at Ridge Side Art / Groop Gallery. It is full of many artist names that stand tall in the local arts scene, and some new ones as well, but the challenge issued by proprietor Christina Watt to the participants was to make art unlike the stuff they were noted for.
Try different mediums. Try different subject matter. Surprise yourself. Make something worthy of the name Pretendium.
“This art-with-a-twist show is an open interpretation, non-juried exhibit where each art piece is up for silent auction bids,” Watt explained. “So what exactly is Pretendium? ...That is the question. The word pretendium actually came out of a fun class on creativity. We like to define it as the land of pretend or imagination. It also sounds like a word you might find on the periodic table of chemical elements. This unusual theme has lent itself to an amazing open-themed art show featuring both established and emerging artists.”
This is the second year for Pretendium, and Watts is certain the event has taken hold for the future. This year got more art- ists and more entries than the first year, and the public has been calling about attending the finale reception. Thirty-six creators made about 100 different pieces, all of them hanging now and set to be auctioned tonight.
“There’s some fun stuff here,” said gallery host Sharron MacBride who is available to show the public through the array of works up for viewing or purchase.
“A lot of artists play with the fun side of art, but a lot do not. They focus on realism, or one particular specialty, but when they were encouraged to try out a new way of thinking about making art, they found a whole new world opened up for themselves. I’ve heard so many of these artists talking about the fun and refreshment they’ve gotten from this show.”
The show opened on Tuesday and tonight it concludes with the final hours of the silent auction and refreshments for the artists and bidding public. The reception runs from 6-8:30 p.m. (final bids at 8 p.m.). The pieces are no larger than 100 square inches. Most reserve bids start at $40-$50. Tickets to attend are $5, available in advance at Ridge Side Art / Groop Gallery (located at Third Avenue and George Street). Seventy per cent of the sales proceeds goes back into supports for northern artists.