LINDSBORG — Five new exhibitions will open Sunday at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery and will continue through March 13. They feature paintings by Jaclyn Garlock of Clear Lake, Iowa; a Sid Garrison (1954-2021) retrospective; post-war Swedish ceramics from the Terry and Sid Garrison collection; Coronado Heights art from the collection of Deb Scalet and others; and a two-person show of drypoints by Phil Epp and etchings by Michael Jilg.
A come-and-go reception for the exhibitions will be from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 16, at the gallery, located at 401 North First St. in Lindsborg.
“Extraordinary Women Doing Ordinary Things” is the title for Jaclyn Garlock’s show of large, color filled, figurative paintings. She writes, “The figures in my paintings are predominantly women. They are snapping their fingers and having a good time. They are in complete control and they know how to laugh.” Garlock was raised in Iowa, Montana, and Colorado. She received a bachelor’s degree in art and secondary education from Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo., taught secondary art, and later started a screen print business. In 2000, she began painting in earnest – exhibiting work in art centers and museums throughout Iowa and the region.
The second exhibition, “BackStory,” is a retrospective for Sid Garrison, who passed away in early 2021. He was a San Francisco and Kansas City artist whose work appeared in galleries throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. A native of Wichita, he attended Bethany College and moved to San Francisco in 1988. In 2014, he and wife Terry moved to Overland Park. Garrison’s early work embraced the challenge of creating wet-formed laminated leather vessels and wall hangings, incised and spray-painted with acrylics. Committed to abstraction, in the early ’90s he left the process-intensive leather art behind to work exclusively with the most basic materials available – colored pencil on paper. While his artistic practice took many different forms, the best of them have in common a look of method without formal composition. The Gallery will also feature selections from the Garrisons’ collection of post-war Swedish ceramics that were acquired over several decades. Pieces were created by many of the most renowned Swedish ceramists from 1945 through 1960.
“Artistic Interpretations of Coronado Heights” includes images of the esteemed Kansas landmark by a variety of artists from the Lindsborg collection of Debra Scalet and from others. Artists include Kim Casebeer, Maleta Forsberg, Sue Godwin, Birger Sandzen, Ray Troll, and Rose Marie Wallen.
“Intaglio: Below the Surface” incorporates the Italian word for engraving and is used to reference an image that is incised into metal. There are multiple types of intaglio prints – Phil Epp uses the intaglio method of drypoint, whereas, Michael Jilg makes etchings. Both techniques rely on images drawn on metal plates. Both artists for this exhibition will show intaglio works along with paintings and other surprises. Epp was raised on a rural Nebraska farm and now lives east of Newton. He is strongly influenced by the open spaces of the Great Plains. His paintings reflect this celebration of sky and landscape, with a hint of human occupation, and he strives to incorporate timeless universal icons into the landscape. Jilg is also enamored with the Great Plains and is a retired art professor from Fort Hays State University. His explorative approach combines a variety of etching techniques to create visual and emotional impact.
The Sandzén Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, with donations appreciated.
