Art Chase at galleries broadens artistic horizons

PROVO — April's downtown Gallery Stroll marks the beginning of a new annual event — the Art Chase.

People on the Art Chase pick up a postcard at participating galleries and then visit each listed gallery to find the pictured art and have their card stamped. Once stamped, the cards are put in a bin for a drawing, with various businesses, mostly galleries, furnishing the prizes, said coordinator Raquel Smith-Callis.

Some 15,000 postcards were printed with 9,000 sent to Provo elementary schools, she said.

Winners were Marcie Glad, Cristiano Cinelli, Pamela Appleton, Scott Egan, Anna O'Bryan, Lyle Durland and Stephen Fremming. Free food and live music lent a festive air.

"I loved seeing the works on fabric by Noelle Olpin at Gallery OneTen. They inspired me to go home and work on my art projects," said Appleton.

"Many of the Art Chase attendees didn't know Provo had a Gallery Stroll until now, others knew there was a stroll but had never made it to all of the galleries. The Art Chase provided an opportunity and incentive for people to broaden their artistic horizons," Smith-Callis said.

"(I) enjoyed greeting so many people and making new friends. It was so great to have so many people visiting our exhibit at the Health and Justice Building, especially during such a great exhibit by Don Allan and Betsy Baird. This event definitely gave the galleries more exposure, said Naomi White, president of the Utah County Art Board.

Cinelli said he happened upon the Art Chase when he saw so many people going into the Freedom Gallery.

The free First Friday stroll on May 4, from 6-9 p.m., features a variety of artists, including a "Bon Voyage Exhibition" by Peter L. Myer, a retired Brigham Young University art professor. He is selling a lifetime of work in silent auction at Freedom Gallery, 230 W. Center, before he departs on a mission for the LDS Church.

Other participating galleries include:

• Gallery OneTen and the Art Seminary, 110 S. 300 West. The main gallery features paintings by Chris Petersen and Mark England. The front gallery has paintings from a Wasatch Elementary second grade class and "Vice Versa" boxes by Provo High students Jessica Li and Haliegh Ashby.

• Utah County Gallery, 151 S. University Ave., is having its annual juried spring show.

• Coleman Studios, 117 N. University Ave., features gouache and watercolor illustrations by Nick Alder, Rhode Island School of Design graduate.

• Anderson Gallery at Provo City Library, 550 N. University Ave.

• Terra Nova Gallery, 41 W. 300 North, features "Trees" — oil paintings by Barbara Lyman.

• Storefront Galleries, 250 W. Center, 273 W. Center and 48 N. 300 West, features art by Amy Robinson, Byron Stout, Rochelle Wise, Jen Harmon Allen, Rebecca Cooper, Ruel Brown and Ryan Neeley.

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