
DATE: Thursday, November 20, 1997           TAG: 9711200710

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   86 lines

PORTSMOUTH'S GALLERY ART SHOW GROWS

THE GALLERY Art Show in Portsmouth, a three-day sales exhibit sponsored annually by Ports Events, gradually has grown into a downtown celebration that this year will encompass six Olde Towne galleries and 10 antiques and gifts shops that will have open-house receptions Friday.

The galleries and shops also will be open Saturday and Sunday.

Ports Events director Linda Lamm said the Gallery Art Show has attracted so many people downtown that she felt it should be expanded to give patrons more activities on Friday night.

``It makes going to the show more fun and gives people more places to do their Christmas shopping,'' she said. ``It also gives the galleries and other shops good exposure.''

The Gallery Art Show, now in its fifth year, will feature a variety of work by 24 regional artists displayed at Trinity Episcopal Parish House. The show will be open 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Admission to the show is free, but patrons will be asked to make a contribution to the Joy Fund.

The items for sale will include paintings in a variety of media, jewelry, pottery and sculpture, decorative frames, hand-painted trays and plates, wreaths and swags, baskets and angels.

Trinity Church occupies one corner of High and Court streets. Art shows also will be open to the public on the intersection's other three corners:

The Portsmouth Arts Center in the 1846 Courthouse will stage opening receptions Friday night for ``Curse the Darkness,'' a collection of illuminated sculptures by high school students from the Governor's School for the Arts, and ``Boundaries,'' a large-scale installation work by Marcia Brown, a graduate student in the master of fine arts program jointly run by Old Dominion and Norfolk State universities. In addition, ``The Door of Good: A Fairy Tale,'' which is a show of paintings by Jean Peacock and puppets by Matthew Bernier, will continue on exhibit in the main gallery on the center's second floor.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Bernier will perform a vignette with character puppets from the show with a theatrical narration by local actor Bentley Anderson.

The Visual Arts Center of Tidewater Community College will present ``Open Portfolios: Faculty, Student and Collected Work to Buy,'' a show from which patrons can purchase work off the walls on a cash-and-carry basis. Among the works for sale will be six pieces contributed by NationsBank from its corporate collection. In addition, a preparatory oil painting of Princess Diana by Portsmouth native Ralph Cowan will be displayed, and Cowan will paint a portrait of the highest bidder in a silent auction.

The TCC center also will feature 10 of the school's faculty members in ``Preliminary Work: The Mess in the Kitchen.'' Their sketches, notes, rough drafts and sources of information will be exhibited as a study of how artists approach their work.

Olde Towne Gallery on the fourth corner of High and Court streets will have its usual eclectic display of works by various artists but will feature basketry art by Robbie Schiff and David Riley.

Other galleries on High Street also will have special exhibits. At Art Atrium Gallery II, 629 High St., paintings by Ken Wright of Chesapeake will be featured. Potrafka Gallery, 728 High St., will show new raku works by Wayne Potrakfa and a special group of low-relief sculptures by Nannie Williams. WesTreasures, 325 High St., will have a new selection of West Indian and African art and fashion.

In addition to the art exhibits, these High Street shops with arts and crafts for sale will be open Friday night: Anderson-Wright Rooms and Gardens, Antique Adventures, LeBlanc's Art and Antiques, Okra Stewdios, Olde Towne Flower Market, Miss Pittypat's, Pfieffer's Books and Fine Wines, Prison Square Antiques and The Ship's Store. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

ARTS CENTER OF THE PORTSMOUTH MUSEUMS

``Boundaries'' is a large-scale installation work by Marcia Brown on

exhibit in the Portsmouth Arts Center in the 1846 Courthouse.

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

What: Gallery Art Show, sponsored by Ports Events

Where: Trinity Episcopal Parish House, corner of High and Court

streets

When: 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Admission: Free but a donation to the Joy Fund is requested.

Also: Olde Towne Arts Festival and Open House, with new shows at

seven downtown galleries and arts and crafts displays at 10 shops, 7