Holiday art shows cover imagination of styles, mediums

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for art lovers. There is an abundance of multi-artist holiday shows at the galleries. Not only is it an opportunity to do some seasonal shopping, these shows provide a wonderful chance to discover new talent and explore a wide range of styles and mediums.

Here are some of the many prospects:

■ Gallery 26. It’s almost overwhelming at first, but the floor-toceiling, tightly packed walls at the Hillcrest neighborhood gallery are loaded again this year with original art from more than 60 artists.

Some familiar names in the crowd include John Kushmaul, whose whimsical Cat, Green was quickly snapped up at a bargain $80; Benjamin Krain’s wonderful Indian

dancer photograph titled Native; Emily Moll Wood’s lovely watercolor of painter Georgia O’Keeffe — Young Georgia; Erin Lorenzen’s fabric piece Listen to Your Heart and many more.

“Holiday Art Show,” through Jan. 12. Gallery 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite 1, Little Rock. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Info: (501) 6648996 or gallery26.com

■ Boswell Mourot Fine Art presents work by more than 40 artists in its “Annual Holiday Show,” which hangs through Jan. 5 at the Heights gallery.

The artists include Anais Dasse, who won a Delta Award at this year’s Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center; past Delta Award winner Kathy Bay; three-time Delta Exhibition Grand Award winner David Bailin; the family painting trio of Dennis, Connie and Jason McCann; Elizabeth Weber; Democrat-Gazette photographer and digital artist John Sykes; painter Sheila Cotton and sculptor Andy Huss.

“Annual Holiday Show,” through Jan. 5. Boswell Mourot Fine Art, 5815 Kavanaugh Ave., Little Rock. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. boswellmourot.com Info: Info: (501) 664-0030

■ Greg Thompson Fine Art’s annual “Holiday Art Show” taps some of the South’s bestknown artists including Mississippi photorealist Glennray Tutor, Dallas photorealist (and Little Rock native) Kendall Stallings and Arkansas painters Sammy Peters and Dolores Justus.

The show also includes intriguing work by North Carolina collage painter Arless Day, allegorical realist William Dunlap and the late Arkansas painter Al Allen.

“Holiday Show,” through Jan. 11, Greg Thompson Fine Art, 429 Main St., North Little Rock. Hours; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Info: gregthompsonfineart.com, (501) 664-2787.

■ M2 Gallery. The contemporary art gallery has opened its new gallery space in the SoMa district at 1300 Main St., Little Rock.

The building has high ceilings, exposed brick and lots of windows, which give a luminous glow to the appealing space.

Joining the gallery’s roster for the first exhibition is Northwest Arkansas artist LaDawna Whiteside, who won the Grand Award and the Contemporaries Award in 2010’s Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center. She also won the Contemporaries Award in 2017. Also new to the gallery are mixed media artist Jay Sage of Oklahoma City, artist Ryder Richards of Dallas and sculptor Rod Moorhead of Oxford, Miss.

Also showing new work is Little Rock’s Lisa Krannichfeld, who won the Grand Award at this year’s Delta Exhibition.

“Grand (Re) Opening,” through Jan. 1, M2 Gallery, 1300 Main St., Suite B, Little Rock. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Info: (501) 225-6257

Other prospects include: ■ Red Door Gallery, 3715 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock is showcasing Diana Shearon’s lovely florals amid an array of work by Twin, Tod Crites and others. Info: reddoorgalleryonline.com or (501) 753-5227.

■ Check out The Arkansas League of Artists show at the Galleries at Library Square, 401 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Info: (501) 320-5790.

Artists co-ops are another option:

■ Fenix Fayetteville’s “Holiday Art Show” opens with a reception at 5 p.m. Thursday at 16 W. Center St., Fayetteville. Info: fenixfayettevilleart.com ■ The Art Group Gallery, Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Info: artgrouparkansas.com or (501) 690-2193 ■ Local Colour Gallery, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock. Info: (501) 265-0422.

ART AWARD

Marjorie Williams-Smith has won the 2019 Arkansas Arts Council Governor’s Award’s Individual Artist honor.

Williams-Smith’s delicate, but powerful metalpoint works focus mostly on botanicals. Her excellent exhibition “The Messengers: A Survey of Work in Metalpoint” hangs through Jan. 5 at Hearne Fine Art, 1001 Wright Ave., Suite C, Little Rock. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday (through Dec. 30). A lovely catalog of her work ($10) is also available at the gallery.

OPENING

“Paintings by Terry Brewer: Nepal Maa Dui Barsa Base (Two Years in Nepal, 2008–2010)” opens during downtown Little Rock’s Second Friday Art Night at 5 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Underground Gallery at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, which is now known as the Galleries at Library Square.

Little Rock resident Brewer worked in Nepal as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity for two years. While there, he also set up a painting studio in Kathmandu and began a series of portraits and landscapes.

“Paintings by Terry Brewer: Nepal Maa Dui Barsa Base (Two Years in Nepal, 2008– 2010),” through March 23. Galleries at Library Square, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, 401 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Info: www. butlercenter.org

Courtesy Gallery 26 John Kushmaul’s playful Cat, Green hangs at Gallery 26.

Courtesy Boswell Mourot Fine Art Kathy Bay’s Subway Series is an acrylic and collage on canvas. It hangs at Boswell Mourot Fine Art.

Courtesy Greg Thompson Fine Art Kendall Stallings’ Reach is part of the Holiday Art Show at Greg Thompson Fine Art.

Courtesy M2 Gallery Robin Tucker’s Koons Meets Hirst hangs at M2 Gallery’s new SoMa location.