March exhibit announced at Justus Fine Art Gallery
The March Exhibit at Justus Fine Art Gallery will include a selection of new paintings by Mike Elsass, along with work by Susan Baker Chambers, Matthew Hasty, Robyn Horn, gallery owner Dolores Justus, John Lasater, Michael Francis Reagan, Sandra Sell, and Steven Wise.
The gallery will host a reception from 5-9 p.m. Friday as part of Gallery Walk, and the exhibit will be on display through April 1.
“Elsass’ strong abstracts are rendered on rusted sheets of steel. To Elsass, the steel represents, ‘strength, life’s elements, aging, imperfection, and beauty,’” the gallery said in a news release. “Many pieces have over 40 coats of paint and glazing. The artist approaches his work with a spiritual and mediative mindset. Drawing inspiration from nature, Elsass travels throughout the country painting en plein-air. His work has been widely exhibited and collected.”
Exhibitions have been featured at venues including the Arte-misia Gallery in Sedona, Arizona; A Muse Gallery in Columbus, Ohio; One Fine Art Gallery in Chicago; Posner Gallery in Detroit; Chapman-friedman Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky; Malton Gallery in Cincinnati; and Malton Gallery (Art Expo) in New York and Atlanta.
Elsass is “dedicated to landscapes that reflect the moment of the soul; his paintings have emotional and visual connections with places of choice and memories beyond the present. Elsass expresses his awe for natural elements through color, with a spontaneity and joyfulness that are the main traits of his work. In his paintings, a memory of the horizon persists as a last thought before space dissolves,” Anna Friedenberg said in the release.
A selection of oil paintings by Lasater will be included in the March exhibition. “Lasater developed a love for art while working as a designer and illustrator for a division of Hallmark
Cards. Fine art was a natural transition after years of study and practice. He now paints full time, both from his studio in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and on the road painting en plein-air. He also teaches workshops in venues around the United States and internationally. Lasater’s honors include national plein-air painting awards, artist residencies, feature articles in both Southwest Art and Plein Air Magazine, along with additional press in Art of the West, Southwest Art, International Artist, and Plein Air Magazine. Lasater’s work is also included in many private, corporate, and public collections,” the release said.
“I make simple visual statements with my artwork, regardless of the subject matter. Simplicity is peaceful, and reinforces the blessing of our existence. Through the medium of oil paint, I have a language for my gratitude,” Lasater said in the release.
Focusing on abstraction,
Wise’s paintings “emphasize geometric forms and playful lines that are both familiar and nonobjective,” the release said.
He earned a BA in Art History from Swarthmore College and an MFA in painting from the University of Iowa. Wise’s work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions including a 2018 solo exhibit “40 Paintings at 40 Years of Age” at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa; “P is Works on Paper” 2012 solo exhibit at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia; “Abstract Arkansas” traveling group exhibition (2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013); “Price is Right” at the David Lusk Gallery in Memphis; “Arkansas Legacy Exhibition” at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Petit Jean; and “Artsway +10” in Hampshire, England. Wise lives and works in Rogers.
Justus Fine Art Gallery is located at 827-A Central Ave. Call 501-321-2335 or visit http:// www.justusfineart.com for more information.