What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1141216
JULY 14-20, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 9 fish, landscapes, as well as architecture pieces. Robert and Susan have a company called Woodzy, and they make these beautiful pieces of furniture from found wood — so unique and so high quality. Susan also finds driftwood and other sorts of gnarly pieces of wood and makes these beautiful sculptures out of them. Hilka [Irvin] is a self-taught artist — her talent blows my mind. She does a little bit of everything: acrylic, oils, watercolor. Her stuff just flies out the door, and she's so prolific, too. Her work is very emotional — you just look at it, and it gives you these feelings. Her husband, Rigdon, does this abstract work, and he is mostly acrylic. Very colorful work." DeVito creates works on barn wood and canvas that are whimsical, sweet and nostalgic, as well as mixed media "intention bowls" that are meant to hold "hopes, dreams and wishes." Currently, the gallery is open Thursday through Sunday, and, because it's staffed by the artists, visitors will have the opportunity to meet the talent behind the art and, possibly, watch them work. "We have a studio there, so the artists are also in there, painting," says DeVito. "It's so great for us — we can continue [creating] while we work. People really love to come in and watch us paint." Rogers Art Collective 228 S. First St. James Forman, owner of the Art Collective art gallery in Rogers, has lived in major urban hubs around the country, including New York and Los Angeles. When he settled in Northwest Arkansas, the art lover says he noticed right away that something was missing. "We're trying to bring some contemporary art to the area that we felt was lacking," he says. "So far, the response has been awesome — we're getting a lot of traffic, and the people who have come in have been amazed at the quality of the work and the space. It's all been quite positive." Forman, who is a professional illustrator and graphic designer, says he wanted Art Collective to represent not only local artists, but also artists from across the country and around the world. "Locally, I have people like Sara Birch and TigerSasha," he says. "He is tremendous. He could be a national figure in a matter of years. We also have a pop-up room in our gallery, and we change those artists out every two weeks. Primarily, it's local artists. Right now [we're featuring] Ruth Lawlor, a local artist who does black-and-white abstract work. She's highly spoken of in this area. "Outside the area, I have Victor Rodriguez from New York — a tremendous talent. He does large, realistic portraits of people and juxtaposes them against other objects. He's super talented." See Galleries Page 40 Courtesy Photo The collectible cars at Art and Hazel's Museum Antiques offer a comprehensive lesson in the history of automobiles. Courtesy photo New York artist Victor Rodriguez is one of many artists — from around the world as well as here in Northwest Arkansas' own backyard — whose work is displayed at Rogers' Art Collective. Courtesy photo Artist Teresa Pelliccio and four other notable area artists show and sell their art at Studio 34 in Eureka Springs. "We're all having a blast," says Pelliccio of the venture. "It's a dream come true."