Downtown Spokane Receives Art Transfusion ‘Works From The Heart’ Opens Friday At Former Lamonts

A potpourri of art will brighten downtown these next few weeks, helping chase away midwinter doldrums created by an overabundance of gray skies.

“Works from the Heart,” which features 95 works of art by artists from five Western states, is the annual contemporary art exhibition and auction presented by the Cheney Cowles Museum and Washington Water Power. This year’s event will be at the old Lamonts at Riverside and Wall from Friday through Feb. 14.

Each piece of art is, of course, as unique as the artist who creates it. One-of-a-kind.

To demonstrate that diversity, here’s a look at some of the work by Spokane-area artists featured in the show:

“Canyon Rim,” oil on linen by Kathleen Adkinson.

Famed Northwest artist Mark Tobey once told Adkinson to paint what she loves. And what she loves is nature. Her large abstract canvases are scenes she’s encountered in hiking trips from the mountains of Washington to Nepal. Adkinson, a Spokane resident since 1948, is considered one of the Northwest’s foremost abstract artists.

“Chinese Lantern,” gelatin silver print, by Hermon Joyner.

Joyner’s photograph for this show “is part of an ongoing series exploring, in quiet terms, the Japanese garden of Manito (Park).”

For this and the other photos in his series, he used a 50-year-old Kodak 8-by-10-inch view camera. He has worked as a commercial photographer and has taught art at Eastern Washington University and the Spokane Art School.

“Stories of My Life,” ceramic by Lee Ayars.

Ayers has an urge to create that can’t be denied. “Whereas a painter will prepare a picture plane by stretching a canvas,” Ayars wrote on his autobiography sheet for the show, “my technique involves building a clay form. I do this with the intent to draw, brush or carve on its surface.” Ayars, a studio artist and ceramic instructor at Spokane Falls Community College, has exhibited his work throughout the United States.

“Red Cabbage,” enamel on steel, by Harold Balazs.

“Making stuff is better than not making stuff,” wrote Balazs. His artwork can be appreciated throughout the city, from the middle of the Spokane River as it divides Riverfront Park to pieces that adorn outside walls of downtown buildings. He has exhibited his work and completed commissions throughout the United States.

“Tangle/Winter One,” mezzotint and drypoint, by Mary Farrell.

Farrell, an assistant professor of printmaking, drawing and design at Gonzaga University, has most recently exhibited her work in Spokane, Portland, Chicago, Seattle and India. Her prints can be found in a number of public collections, including GU’s Jundt Art Museum.

“Landscape with White Clouds,” acrylic on rag paper, by Heidi Oberheide.

The works of this Palouse artist are inspired by “the open spaces, unique vegetation, desert, canyons and mountains” found in the West. Her artwork graces numerous public collections from Toronto and Newfoundland to Montana and Seattle.

“Reflections on being rejected by the Bellevue Art Museum’s Pacific Northwest Annual and getting dumped by my girlfriend,” graphite on paper, by David Wagner.

The title of this piece is bigger than the artwork itself, which measures 2-by-3 inches. “The whole history of modern art is the progressive elimination of detail,” wrote Wagner. “By the time it got to Mondrian and then the Minimalists, it finally succeeded in eliminating itself. …”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. Art “Works from the Heart” will be held Friday through Feb. 14 at the old Lamonts at Riverside and Wall. Admission is free.

2. Come and view ‘Works From the Heart’ Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes “Works From the Heart,” a contemporary art exhibition and auction sponsored by the Cheney Cowles Museum and Washington Water Power. Beginning at 11 Friday morning, the work of 95 artists from five Western states will be shown in the former Lamonts at Wall and Riverside downtown. Art of all forms is included in the show, from watercolors to oils, ceramics to metal sculpture, prints to glass - and more. The gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday until Feb. 13. Admission is free. On Friday, Feb. 6, a Meet-the-Artists reception will be from 5 to 9 p.m. as part of the city’s Visual Arts Tour. Visitors can meet and greet the artists from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, California and Arizona. In conjunction with the exhibit and auction, four artists will present free slide lectures about their work for the museum’s Wednesday Night Lecture Series. Palouse artist Heidi Oberheide and photographer Mary Randlett will speak Jan. 21. Harold Balazs and Ken Spiering will discuss their work on Feb. 11. Both presentations will be at 7:30 p.m. in the museum auditorium, 2316 W. First. Then, on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., the show’s art pieces will be auctioned. Admission to the auction is $50, which includes the auction catalog, hors d’oeuvres, a gourmet dinner, wine and music by Casey MacGill. Proceeds will go to the museum’s art acquisition fund. Reservations, which are required, can be made by calling the museum at 456-3031, ext. 101. Beverly Vorpahl