The ART GALLERY (real name) offers one of the most eclectic assortments of fine art in Tucson. They are presently featuring special exhibitions by three well-known Tucson Artists. Unfortunately, these will be their last works exhibited.

Donald Ross Cowan is deceased, Mary Wyant is suffering from final stages of Alheimer’s, and Lawrence Lee, suffering from severe depression, is no longer painting.

Donald Ross Cowan, posthumous show and sale are rare paintings and drawings from the artist’s own collection. Exhibit opened Nov. 21, 2009 and runs through Jan. 2, 2010. His  life’s work has included murals, paintings, sculpture, stage design,  masks and theatre costumes and is in collections throughout the world.

A very limited number of Mary Wyant’s paintings are also on view during this time.  The success of her work is seen in the attention to details. Using acrylics she captivated images of the Southwest including pueblos, pottery and Native American women wrapped in traditional clothing. Her work has been featured numerous times in Southwest Art Magazine.

Lawrence Lee worked in various media and subject matter but is best known for his solitary and incredibly strong American Indians painted in the vibrant colors of the desert sunset. Most all reflect an expressive yet weathered face evoking the feeling of their spiritual strength and integrity.

The remainder of the massive gallery features work by a number of well-known and emerging artists.  Everything from original hand carved miniature ceramic gargoyles by Miles Thompson to a large hand carved contemporary wood sculpture by Kirk McCoy to a large African Fetish sculpture by the Bamongo tribe of the African Congo.  Pictured below is just a small sampling what is exhibited at the ART GALLERY.

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In addition to the enormous eclectic mix of fine art exhibited in the main gallery there is an attached gallery called Holy Joe Gallery that is curated by Marc David Levitron, professional artist and art professor at Pima Community College. It features special exhibitions more on the “edgy side.” This is art you probably will not see in any other gallery in southern Arizona, as it “definitely will not go with the carpet.” It is great art that will make you love it or hate it but will create a reaction from the viewers.

The ART GALLERY is owned and operated by Steve and Maxine Murray who have been in the art business at different locations for many years. They have owned this gallery building for about three years at 1122 N. Stone Ave. (Just north of Speedway at Stone).

The couple is very community conscious and is holding the 14^th annual BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Action and Salvage) —Annual Art Auction fundraiser and celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 6. More details can be found at: http://www.bicas.org/

This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 3:03 pm and is filed under arts, Tucson Art. Tags for this post: ART GALLERY, Bicas, Donald Ross Cowan, eclectic art, Lawrence Lee, Mary Wyant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.