Gallery Walk opens downtown

For artist Susie Gregory, attending IU basketball games, swimming in Lake Michigan and taking ballet classes are hallmarks of a Midwestern childhood.

Gregory’s exhibit of new impressionist paintings, titled “From Ballet to Basketball,” focuses on childhood in Indiana and is reminiscent of her own past.

The exhibit is on display at the Venue Fine Arts and Gifts as part of this month’s Bloomington Gallery Walk.

The Venue Fine Arts and Gifts has been part of the gallery walks for about five years, curator Gabe Coleman said.

Coleman and Gregory worked together last year on a painting about IU’s game against the University of Kentucky. After seeing her other work, Coleman invited Gregory to participate in this Saturday’s gallery walk.

The first Bloomington Gallery Walk of 2014 was held Saturday in downtown Bloomington and featured eight different local art galleries.

Each of the eight galleries showed a new exhibit, which was open it to the public from 5-8 p.m. with food and an open reception.

“The Gallery Walk creates a stir and represents collaboration with art galleries and artists with the community,” Coleman said. “The goal is to provide fresh and exciting artwork for the Bloomington community.”

By Hand Gallery, which has been part of the Bloomington community for more than 30 years, was a participant in Saturday’s gallery walk, which brought about 400 people out to downtown Bloomington. 

The gallery has also been part of the walks since they first started about four or five years ago, Halvorson said.

By Hand Gallery exhibited the work of Jim Kemp, a potter who died toward the end of last year. The show commemorated Kemp’s life and work as an artist and celebrated his life, Halvorson said.

Other galleries that participated include Blueline Creative Co-Op and Gallery, gallery 406, Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center, Pictura Gallery, Gallery Group and Royale Hair Parlor. 

Each venue exhibited fresh artwork ranging from etchings, banners, paintings, photography and ceramics.

The next gallery walk is April 4 and will include new exhibits and artists from the Bloomington community.

“It helps to get people out on a Friday night,” Jim Halvorson, By Hand Gallery partner, said. “It’s nice to get people wandering around downtown to explore the different galleries.”