The coronavirus pandemic has meant fewer big art shows at Cordova Historical Museum. However, these scheduling gaps open up room for local art shows like “Quarantine Dreams,” showing at the museum gallery from Dec. 4-Jan. 30.
Upcoming local shows will include an exhibition coinciding with Shorebird Festival. Interested artists, including artists who haven’t previously participated in art shows, are welcome to get in touch about making submissions to future shows, said Paula Payne, cultural program leader for the museum. Payne can be contacted at paula@cordovalibrary.org.
“Any title that we assign the show is just a jumping-off point,” Payne said. “Like they say in ‘Pirates of the Carribean,’ it’s just a guideline.”
The Quarantine Dreams art show included around 55 artworks from local artists, as well as a collection of Zen rock art from the Rev. Kelly Weaverling, leader of the Pathless Way Zen Community. Seventy percent of the proceeds from artwork sold go to the artist, and 30% to the Cordova Historical Society, which maintains the museum gift store and gallery.
High-ticket items included a $500 seascape painting by David Rosenthal. Payne contributed a series of paintings featuring bears wearing anti-coronavirus masks, and artist Karl Becker submitted a series of lightly satirical watercolors. One of Becker’s watercolors featured a version of Edward Hopper’s painting “Nighthawks,” reworked to include face masks.
“I hope everybody can find something that they relate to here,” Payne said. “That’s why I like the show and why I like all the different artists here in Cordova. There’s such a wide variety and I feel that there will, hopefully, be something for everybody to relate to and be inspired by.”
