Community Gallery

Artists Erin Revere, Benita McNider, and Leslie Baumhower will be exhibiting December 5th to the 20th in MAC’s Gallery at the Saenger’s Room 1927.

Erin takes inspiration from the ever-present contrasts of dark verses light and up verses down that fills the world. She finds balance on a canvas and creates the feeling of being whole again. Creating makes the chaos in life make sense, allowing her to surrender to the unpredictable messy composition and make a way back to an organized vision that presents itself in a collection of paintings titled, “The Contrast.”

Together, artists Benita McNider and Leslie Baumhower will exhibit “Eclectic.” Eclectic includes a collection of abstracts, atmospheric seascapes, and paintings of musicians in abstracts and portrait form.

Gallery hours at Room 1927 will be 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Tuesdays – Fridays. The exhibitions will hang from December 5th through the 20th, with a special reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on December 13th, LoDa ArtWalk night. The gallery will be closed for the Holidays, December 23rd through January 1st.

Open November 5th to the 28th, Gallery Room 1927 will feature the exhibitions of Paul Gray, Sahar Alford, and the Mississippi Art Colony Traveling Show.

Paul Gray shares a collection of his nature photography, titled “God’s World as I See It.” Paul enjoys a variety of subjects: landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes, architecture, children, still life, nature, flora, birds, and wildlife. To him, what he photographs has never been as important as how he approaches the subject. Each image entails different technical, artistic, and emotional considerations, but he always tries to leave room for serendipity. Using light patterns, form, and personal perception, Paul’s goal is to capture God’s beauty and the magic he sees.

Artist Sahar Alford presents “Splash,” a series of realistic oil paintings that examine different objects and their refraction in liquids such as water, milk, oil, and more. One of Sahar’s favorite subjects of study in physics was refraction and the water ripple effect. Refraction of light is a commonly seen phenomenon in our everyday lives, and is utilized in optical lenses- allowing for instruments such as glasses, cameras, binoculars, microscopes, and the human eye to function. Refraction is also responsible for some optical illusions in nature, including rainbows and mirages. “Splash” combines Sahar’s love of art and physics together in her newest painting series.

The Mississippi Art Colony features their Fall Traveling Show. Twice a year, the Mississippi Art Colony asks a guest artist to jury a show that will travel the state and beyond, representing the artists who attended their most recent artist session. This show was selected by guest artist Stan Kurth, and represents the artists who attended their fall session.

Gallery hours at Room 1927 will be 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Tuesdays – Fridays. The exhibitions will hang from November 5th through the 28th, with a special reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on November 8th, LoDa ArtWalk night.

This October, see Mobile Art Association Annual Fall Show, Guy Marcinkowski’s environmental abstractions exhibition titled Super Natural, and a collection of paintings by SOMI Club members.

Mobile Art Association is an organization of working artists, students, and supporters of the visual arts. Annually, they exhibit a juried and judged Annual Fall Show. The show is open to both their members and non-members. The 2019 judge will be Bill Thompson. There are multiple cash prizes including $500 for Best in Show, $250 for second place, and $100 for the third place winner. The Exhibit Chair is Nancy Barry. The Exhibit Co-Chairs are Trey Oliver and Roxann Dyess.

Super Nature, the Environmental Abstractions exhibition, is a 2 year personal journey of Guy Marcinkowski reinventing the conventional ideas of landscape and seascape art. For this exhibit, Guy worked with different substrates, such as tin, drift wood, ply wood, cotton sheets, and canvas. Each substrate reacted differently to the applied mediums seeming to paint themselves.

Guy has never been a landscape fan. He was always attracted to stylized figurative portraits and graphic abstract art. Wanting to push himself, he poured over books of artists whom he perceived to be the best at the craft of landscape painting. Ultimately, this endeavor changed the way he views the environment.

SOMI stands for Survivors of Mental Illness. The club consists of a diverse group of people who live with mental illness. They come together to socialize, relax and participate in activities such painting and adult coloring. Sixteen members will be showing an eclectic collection of painting this October.

Gallery hours at Room 1927 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays – Fridays. The exhibitions will hang from October 3^rd through the 29^th , with a special reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, October 11^th, LoDa ArtWalk night.

This September, see works by the five artist competitors in this year’s Throwdown, a collection of paintings by designer Alma Hoffmann, and the “DON’T Campaign” by local graphic artist Conz8000.

Are you ready for The Throwdown? On September 20th, five local artists will compete to create works of art in just 90 minutes, which will then be auctioned off at the end of the evening. While these artists work, guests will enjoy libations, musical performances, a fantastic silent auction, and delicious eats. This year’s event will take place from 6-9 p.m. in the air-conditioned Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion at USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park. This year’s competing artists – Anna-Marie Babington, Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough, Brandin Stallworth, Patrick Tucker, and Ginger Woechan – will have samples of their work on display at the gallery this month.

Alma Hoffmann is a professor of graphic design at the University of South Alabama. In her exhibit at MAC, Hoffmann falls away from the structure and order of her design career. She seeks to contrast the “mundane” aspects of making art – the tediousness of the daily grind – to the “sublime” moment in which the artist’s ideas manifest themselves physically on paper. Hoffman describes what inspires her to create: ” From events on the news, a keen awareness of my sense of duality in the present societal context, being a bilingual speaker, living navigating two cultures within me, and the need to say something collide to knit a piece that manifests my being.”

A native of Puerto Rico, Hoffmann is a design educator with her own freelance practice, as well as a part of the editorial board at Smashing Magazine. Her book, Sketching as Design Thinking, will be published later this fall.

Conz8000 (a former Throwdown competitor himself) is a local comic book and multimedia artist and educator. His graphic, colorful work is inspired by animation, specifically anime of the 80s and 90s. His September exhibit at MAC is a collection of pieces from his Don’t Campaign, a series of guerrilla art pieces meant to provoke questions in the viewer about social and political matters.

Gallery hours at Room 1927 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays – Fridays. The exhibitions will hang from September 4^th through 27^th, with a special reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, September 13^th, LoDa ArtWalk night.

This August, see our annual MAC Members’ Exhibition, which is open to all of our Artist Members and represents the range of talents and interests among those who support the Mobile Arts Council. The 2019 show will feature paintings, sculptures, mixed-media works, and much more by artists of all ages and experience levels. With the range of medium and technique represented in this annual show, there’s sure to be something for everyone to enjoy and appreciate. In addition, most of the artists’ works will be available for purchase. If you or someone you know is interested in participating in next year’s exhibition, consider joining as a member!

Participating artists in this year’s show include Amanda Napper, Angela Montgomery, Anne Brooks, Anne Rose, Benjamin Kaiser, Bertice McPherson, Bronco Sloan, Bryant Whelan, Christopher Murray, Conroy Hudlow, Frank Vogtner, Gail Bramer, Ginger Woechan, Guy Marcinkowski, Herb Willey, Holly Farmer, Janet Hinton, Joanna Myers, Joanne Brandt, Karen Bullock, Kathy Friedline, Kellie Jane Holland, Lisa Hancock, Lisa Johnston Hancock, Lisa Warren, Lynda Touart, Marnee Edwards, Marsha Hodges, Mary Rodning, Michele Zaricor, Michelle Pujols, Mike Carmichael, Mike Kittrell, Nikki Shaw, Robert Goler, Robert Schroeter, Ruby Lange, Sahar Alford, Sandy Holberg, Sarah Rutledge Fischer, Sharonda Harris, Shelly Schmidtling, Vanessa Quintana, and William Morris.

Gallery hours at Room 1927 will be 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Tuesdays – Fridays. The exhibitions will hang from August 5th through 30th, with a special reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on August 9th, ArtWalk night.

Head over to 6 South Joachim Street to see the Mobile Arts Council’s new satellite gallery location, known as the Saenger Theatre’s Room 1927. MAC’s July artists are lovers of local nature and Alabama scenery. Come see a watercolor collection with a message of preservation by Emily Sommer; a traveling Alabama 200 exhibition featuring educational and commemorative works by Alabama Plein Air Artists; and an assortment of plein air paintings from local group PleinAirSouth.

Gallery hours at Room 1927 will be 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Tuesdays – Fridays. The exhibitions will hang from July 3rd through 30th, with a special reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on July 12th, ArtWalk night. We will remain closed on July 4th in observance of Independence Day. MAC’s office location and hours will remain at 318 Dauphin Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout most of July.

Dates: June 6 – 28

This June at MAC, see the third annual “Hat Show” featuring various Mobile artists, a collection of scenic Mobile paintings from Ginger Woechan, and an exhibition of work created by artists at the Connie Hudson Senior Center.

Hat-loving local artist Karen McGahagin has once again rounded up a motley collection of hat art from artists all over the Mobile area. This constitutes the third official annual Hat Show at MAC organized by McGahagin. The theme for this year’s show is “The People of Mobile,” and 18 local artists are providing hat-themed work for the occasion. Come see their work in the Daniel Juzan Gallery.

Local painter Ginger Woechan – often known as GIN.WOE – is known for her colorful, whimsical representation of Mobile scenery. In this exhibition she showcases not only her well-known exuberant painting style, but also a more serious, abstract side of her artistic self, creating moody landscapes with a brush and palette knife. Woechan’s work has been in galleries and festivals along the Gulf Coast, and this June it will be hanging in the Small Room at MAC.

In the Skinny Gallery this month is a representation of work created by students at the Connie Hudson Senior Community Center. The Senior Center offers classes in drawing, watercolor, oil, and acrylic to seniors who have a passion for art or just want to try something new. The show at MAC is a chance for these 24+ artists to show us their hard work. Subject matter ranges from wildlife to landscapes to still life.

Dates: May 3rd – 30th, 2019

This May at MAC, see a collection of colorful narrative paintings from Cat Pope, a series of striking portraits by Sarah Rutledge Fischer, and an exhibit of Gulf Coast nature in oils and acrylics by Nancy Milford.

Mobile painter Cat Pope uses her brush to tell a story on every canvas. With a painterly style and a focus on nostalgic, pastoral subjects, Pope captures the vibrant soul of the Gulf Coast’s past and present. Her May show in MAC’s Skinny Gallery focuses on a world of Pope’s own creation, which in her words tells a story of “love for place and home, and a dedication to a way of living that values this love.” Cat Pope is a native of Clearwater, Florida, and moved to Mobile in 2015. She received her B.A. in Painting from Judson College in 2011. Her work is held in private collections across the US.

The subjects of local artist Sarah Rutledge Fischer’s drawings are anything but wallflowers. Her collection of figure drawings in the Danielle Juzan gallery is a celebration of the human form, stripped of clothing and unabashed. Fischer states that, in a state of undress, the individual “bear[s] nothing that can distract us from empathy and connection. They claim their space and invite us to see ourselves reflected in their lines and shadows.” A self-taught artist, Fischer lives in Fairhope and has acquired her skill through figure study groups and dedicated practice. She devotes special attention to the human form, and her art represents her belief that “all bodies are good bodies.”

Baldwin County native Nancy Milford sees herself as a visual preservationist. Once an engineer, Milford turned to drawing and painting as a way to express her creativity and share her love for the unique natural environment in Lower Alabama. Now she uses her art to preserve the landscapes, flora, and fauna of our coastline, recording memories with the hope that future generations may enjoy our way of life, too. Now a municipal planner in Fairhope, Milford attends classes to build upon her artistic skills and draws her inspiration from naturalist artists like Beatrix Potter and Keith Brockie. Her show in MAC’s Small Room this month will feature works in oils and acrylics.

These exhibitions will hang from May 3rd – 30th, with a special reception from 5 to 9 p.m. on LoDa ArtWalk night, May 10th. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Dates: April 3rd – 29th, 2019

This April, see the artistic side of wood-burning by Kathleen Kirk Stoves, find your favorite local hangout among Jerry Fair’s watercolors, and see through the lens of the photographers of Camera South. MAC’s exhibitions will hang from April 3rd – 29th, with a special reception from 5 to 9 p.m. on LoDa ArtWalk night, April 12th. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays.

The word pyrography comes from the Greek: writing with fire. You may have heard it called wood burning, referring to the process by which the artist etches designs into the wood’s surface with a heated metal point. This is how South Jersey native Kathleen Kirk Stoves created her most recent collection, “Feels Like Me,” in which she highlights how we use our senses to understand, transmit, and enhance our emotions.

If you frequent the Market on the Square, you may recognize Jerry Fair and his watercolors. And if you frequent the city of Mobile, you’ll surely recognize many of the street scenes and local landscapes represented in his work. Fair uses watercolors in a loose, evocative style that lends itself to portraying the relaxed Gulf Coast lifestyle. In this exhibit, Fair has included over 20 original pieces and prints of scenes from Mobile and the surrounding areas

In “Through Our Lens,” the photographers of Camera South allow us to see the world as they do. Camera South Photography Club is a local group of photographers who come together to develop new skills, exchange ideas and learn about the art of photography. Photographers of all levels of experience are welcome. Participating members include Aggie Little, Carl Fallo, Debbie Jone Kuykendall, E.J. Wright, Eric de Jong, Gwen Ainsworth, Jerry L. Hammon, Jon Jeffress, Michele Zaricor, Mona Tackett-Denton, Mary Kay Hammon, Pat Kearns, Rebecca Parsons, Sue Carney, Tommy Cooper, and Yvonne Fallo.

Dates: March 1st – 28th, 2019

This March, the Mobile Arts Council will feature works from the Central Arts Collective, Ian Glass, and R. Warren Goler. The Central Arts Collective (also known as the Central ArtSanctuary), is an exhibition and performance space in midtown Mobile that currently hosts 15 artists-in-residence. Of these artists, our exhibition showcases works by Jeff Johnston, Lisa Warren, Ardith Goodwin, Susan Downing-White, Nancy Goodman, Sharon Heggenman, Kathleen Kirk Stoves, Stephanie Morris, Janie Holland, Anna Marie-Babington, and Karen Bullock. The Small room features a new experimental painting series, “The Final War,” by Ian Glass. The Danielle Juzan Gallery features paintings and mixed-media works by R. Warren Goler, which are intended to enlighten the spirit and mind.

MAC’s exhibitions will hang from March 1st – 28th, with a special reception from 5 – 9 p.m. on LoDa ArtWalk night, March 8th. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays. The gallery will be closed on March 4th and 5th for the Mardi Gras holiday.