Beloit Art Center Announces September Exhibits

Artist Connie Gardiner

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Artist Robert Wilken

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Summer Art Camp Showcase

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August 29, 2022 – Beloit Art Center August announces September exhibits
 
Beloit Art Center is pleased to announce the September exhibits which will open with a First Friday Gallery Reception on September 2nd  from 5-7pm.  A gallery talk featuring the artists will be held at 6pm.  The exhibits will be open through September 29th.

Connie Gardiner of Beloit is the featured artist in the Main Gallery. Connie is relatively new to painting and is self-taught. Specializing in the essence of life, she has grown with each strike of her brush. Her current studio at Beloit Art Gallery, has allowed her to take the first step as a member of the art community.  Professionally, Connie is a nurse at a local skilled nursing facility, Autumn Lake in Beloit.  During the pandemic, she began sharing her artwork in the rooms of her patients and proudly gifting pieces to those returning home, or to the families of those who pass on. Her dedication to her profession as a nurse has extended to her artwork and will continue to grow throughout the next chapter of her life.
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In the Bell Gallery the art center welcomes Robert Wilkens.  Robert feels blessed to be a purgatory artist - seeing two worlds and trapped in neither. Hispanic by birth, his adoption at age eleven, provides his Anglo last name. Robert began his career as an artist at age 23. Inspired by Michelangelo and DaVinci, he began his work doing murals and trompe l'oeil. His commissions are in Texas churches, businesses, homes, and culminated with the Theater Room of the White House for First Lady Laura Bush. As his skills developed, his influences have expanded to include Doolittle, Dali, and Picasso. He remains open to a diverse range of styles, subject matters, and mediums, including sculpture, plein air, portraits, still life, and is known in San Antonio for his Day of the Dead paintings. Determined to find his own voice as an artist, his current work uses surrealism and expressionism in an attempt to expand consciousness and challenge intellectual reality. His work is collected throughout the United States and Mexico.

In July Beloit Art Center hosted an Art Camp for students ages 9 – 16.  A Student Art Showcase will be displayed in the open classroom space adjacent to the gallery.  Students learned about drawing, watercolor, acrylic, collage techniques, and pottery.  The showcase will feature several of these pieces and several of the young artists will be in attendance.

Beloit Art Center is located at 520 E. Grand Ave. in downtown Beloit and has established a mission of partnering with the community and regional artists to maintain a center to teach, display and promote art through events, classes, and studio space. To learn more visit www.beloitartcenter.com. The gallery is free and open to the public. Hours are Monday 10am – 2pm, Tuesday – Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 10am – 2pm.