“Art Throb!” Exhibit plus a Solo Exhibit by Kathi Packer

“Art Throb!” is a heartfelt Valentine’s Day celebration presented by the membership of Canton Artists’ Guild. Immerse yourself in pulsing creativity with this exploration of the many facets of relationships and human connection. The artists use a wide range of media including painting, prints, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics and mixed media to represent the emotional intensity, joy and complexity of love, all perfectly timed for the season of Valentine’s Day.

In the upstairs Gallery, Kathi Packer has a solo show, “Another Tale.” Packer notes that a friend's casual invitation to go on safari in 2008 substantially changed the direction of her artistic journey. A years' long exploration of the Serengeti landscape and animals was seminal in a gradual shift towards abstraction, and this exhibit represents the fifth body of her work inspired by travels in the Rift Valley. In the imaginary world she creates, natural color is disassociated from the object and replaced with a palette inspired by the intense hues of African textiles. This distortion allows her to play with endless interpretations of a world within a world.  

Over the past 40 years Packer, a graduate of the Hartford Art School, has had 26 solo exhibitions and 50 selected exhibitions. During the late 80's into the early 90's, she explored self-portraiture within the world of magic realism. According to Douglas Hyland, former Director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, Packer's "whimsical paintings are replete with self-referential, biographical explorations.” Her work is in the permanent collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Galeria Nacional in Costa Rica.

The artist continues to exhibit regionally and has been represented by First Street Gallery in New York City since 1999. A former member of Gallery on the Green in the 90's and early 2000, the artist has recently rejoined.

An opening reception is on Saturday, February 15th from 6:00-8:00 pm and will include refreshments. The show and reception are free, and the public is warmly invited.