Scene & Unseen (October 2023)

SCENE & UNSEEN, with watercolor and mixed media by Barbara Sullivan and charcoal drawings by Jennifer Austin. On display October 4-29, 2023

JENNIFER AUSTIN
”I fell in love with charcoal as it allows for dramatic, expressive images and incredible depth. My current work is a collection of drawings that capture and interpret the beauty and uniqueness of the natural world around me.”

Jennifer Austin was born and raised in Lincoln, NE. She earned her bachelors degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and also studied fine art. Jennifer has always been passionate about art and loves to spend time drawing with charcoal and painting with oils.

BARBARA SULLIVAN
“My paintings are most often colorful watercolor and mixed media landscapes. I spend considerable time visually exploring my subjects and strive to create works that intrigue the viewer and give a sense of time and place. I combine my love of drawing with the transparency, purity of color and richness of watercolor.” 

Barbara Sullivan is a Signature Member of the Kansas Watercolor Society and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and a Master of Arts in Education, with a Museum Education Emphasis from the University of Nebraska Kearney. 

July Invitational (July 2023)

Our annual Invitational show, with work by gallery members and an exciting group of guest artists.

On display July 5-30, 2023

Guest artists (subject to change): Larry Buller (ceramics), Patty Gallimore (mixed media), Simon-Jane Robrock (digital art), Valerie Knobel (watercolor), Kori Abdouch (painting), Ron Macintosh (mixed media), Marc Kornbluh (glass), Diane Staver (digital art), Leyna Wicherski (mixed media), Susan Moore (painting), Murial Oakeson (basket weaving), PJ Peters (painting), Chad Petska (photography), Virginia Belser (paintings), Gabriela Vlad Moscu (painting), Adria Chilcote (ceramics), John Robrock (pen & ink), Greg Spalding (painting), Debi Smith (ceramics), Madison Sparks (mixed media), Ron Macintosh (mixed media), and Abi Denton (jewelry).

BIRDS & Bs, FLOWERS and TREES (May 2023)

Photography by Patrick Grewe and ceramics by Larry Pelter. May 3-28, 2023

PATRICK GREWE
My journey in photography began in 1979 when I bought a 35 mm film camera.  I have been taking pictures ever since.  My subject is anything that I find to be interesting or beautiful.  Most often, that will be something in the natural world like flowers, trees, birds, and butterflies, which ties in perfectly with Gallery 9’s May theme of “Birds and Bs, Flowers and Trees.”

LARRY PELTER
I grew up in Newman Grove, a farming community on the banks of the Shell Creek in north central Nebraska. I have had a diverse upbringing experiencing, at times, life as a sheepherder, cowboy, railroad gandy dancer, truck driver, anti-submarine warfare specialist, electrical engineer, barista, and Zen practitioner. Throughout my life, I have maintained a passion for the arts, having studied classical and blues guitar, painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and ceramic art with a variety of teachers. My current work is an exploration of pottery forms , masks and sculptural pieces related to aboriginal and indigenous peoples as well as early Neolithic European cave art.  I like this work for its purity of form and connections to the earth.

WITHIN & WITHOUT (April 2023)

Paintings by Jan Lang and photography by Merle Henkenius. On display April 5-30, 2023.

ANIMAL, MINERAL VEGETABLE (March 2023)

ANIMAL, MINERAL, VEGETABLE featuring paintings by Nancy Hagler-Vujovic and ceramics by Su Harvey. March 1 - April 2, 2023.

MINIATURES (February 2023)

An all-member group show featuring small art, tiny subjects, and other takes on the “miniatures” theme. February 1-26, 2023

HOLIDAY SHOW (December 2022)

In December, Gallery 9 featured our annual Holiday Show, with work by all of our member artists. November 30, 2022 - January 15, 2023.

JULY INVITATIONAL (July 2022)

In July, we featured our annual Invitational Show, with work by gallery members and guest artists.

On display June 29 - July 31, 2022

Guests include: Angela Behrends (Sculpture), Danny Reneau (mixed media), Deb Monfelt (paintings), Elijah Swanson (paintings), Heather Brandt Ladman (painting), Hannah Demma (handmade paper/printmaking), Jane Chesnut (paintings), Kelly Axmann (mixed media), Linda Benton (painting), Matt Steinhausen (photography), Nick Brown (airbrush/mixed media), Patty Gallimore (paintings), Randy Mittan (photography), Sara Kovanda (paintings), Peg Pelter (over painting on porcelain).

IMAGES FROM THE ROAD (June 2022)

IMAGES FROM THE ROAD, featuring photography by Merle Henkenius.

On display June 1-26, 2022

Merle Henkenius | Artist Statement
Nothing said about a work-of-art ever improves it, but sometimes a little history can make a wider pathway into it. Most of these photos are straightforward, but a few are so peculiar that a little story to flesh them out. All of these photos were found along roads, which make them, Images From the Road

Speaking generally, my goal is to render art from artifacts. I often favor homely artifacts, especially those which can serve up a little irony, or whose placement helps us know something about the person who did the placing. The Gallery 9 example here is the image I’ve entitled, “The Exact Spot Where Farming Failed in Sheridan County.” We can see at a glance that the sand beneath that row of implements could never have earn a farm income. It’s as if that farmer defiantly parked the last tangible remnants of his failed dream, and rode away on a draft horse, which likely wore blinders.

The two images entitled Whimsical Crucifixes #1 and #2 are of sculptures made by New Mexican artist, Ken Wolverton, who used scrap lumber and backlot detritus. He’s also a decent painter, who does not use galleries for their display. He hangs his many paintings and found item-sculptures on his horse corral fence, which is just a few feet off the road, where they weather. He sells a few this way, and if they don’t sell, he enjoys watching them deteriorate, to return to their elemental components.

And check out those mortar and chicken wire folks, which were crated by a self-proclaimed Native American shaman. Their creator was a WWII vet who was badly burned in a tank battle in Northern Germany. Back home, he underwent months of excruciating recovery. He emerged believing he acquired a specific wisdom with native overtones.  He then purchased five acres in the Nevada desert, took the name Rolling Thunder Mountain, which as a name, is precisely two syllables too long.  He then set about building a phantasmagorical spiritual compound. One befitting a shaman.  He built numerous effigies and structures out of mortar and chicken wire. In time, especially in the 1960s, many seekers found their way to the compound, where they sat at the shaman’s feet and sussed out his pain-tinged wisdoms. When his health began to fail, the shaman shot himself. Only some the mortar remnants survive today.

TURNING COLORS (May 2022)

TURNING COLORS, featuring turned wood/epoxy bowls by Mark Entzminger and paper collages by Meghan Stratman.

On display May 4-29, 2022

SHARON LACY CECH & PRAIRIE MILE TILE Retrospectives (April 2022)

In April, Gallery 9 showcased the work of Sharon Lacy Cech and Prairie Mile Tile.

Sharon Lacy Cech, who passed away in December 2021, was a member of Gallery 9 for 20 years and her distinctive, colorful paintings always brought joy our walls. Join us in celebrating Sharon's wonderful spirit through this retrospective of her art.

In addition to our main featured show, we will also be showcasing ceramics by Su Harvey/Prairie Mile Tile through the month of April. Su has retired from ceramics so this will be your last chance to take home one of her great tiles or ceramic sculptures.

On display March 30-May 1, 2022