Juried art show draws crowd

HOT SPRINGS – There was barely enough room to maneuver inside of Wall Street Place as artists and interested locals jammed into the spacious building in downtown Hot Springs. 

The large crowd had turned out on  a very pleasant Saturday night on May 17 to view the works of art on display for a juried art show entitled On the Wall Gallery.

The show was held in the Wall Street Place building, which sits on the corner of Main Street and Wall Street. The building boasts well lit rooms and an expansive foyer perfect for the evening’s art gala. 

The juried art show was put on by the Hot Springs Artists Society and featured works of art from around Montana and surrounding states. 

Forty-four different artists entered the show and over 120 individual works of art were on display during the artists’ reception for the enjoyment of the Hot Springs community. 

“There are some great pieces and a lot of variety,” Marla Brown Robbins, president of the Hot Springs Artists Society, said. 

Robbins noted the array of works and different themes adding she was glad the society had added extra categories for this year’s show.

“Part of that is I enjoy giving out ribbons,” Robbins said with a laugh. 

The society’s president explained the show had several different categories for artists to showcase their skills. These included portraits, landscapes, an experimental field which as its name suggested was open to artist interpretation, drawings and a field for art focusing on wildlife and one for domesticated animals. 

A western life category was also added for this year’s show. 

The wildlife works were impressive with crocodiles, mountain bluebirds, mountain lions, and otters being the subject of some of the paintings on display. 

There were also some impressive landscapes, both realist and surreal documenting the terrain of western Montana and the heights of Glacier National Park.

According to Robbins, the spring art show normally has a theme but this year it was left open with contestants only constraint being the category of their work.

The judge for the art show was award winning artist, Mary Kelly of the Sandpiper Gallery in Polson. 

However, Kelly was not the only one serving as a judge for the evening. The Artists Society also ran a people’s choice award in order to determine which piece won the hearts of the guests at the event. 

The reception ran from 6  p.m. to 8 p.m. and food, refreshments and baked goods were on hand for attendees to enjoy as they viewed the works of art on display throughout the building. 

As the event drew to a close and Robbins prepared to announce the award winners she noted how thankful she was with everyone for coming out and supporting the Artists Society. Robbins also spoke of how impressed she was with the quantity and quality of works on display during the evening.

“Thank you to all of our wonderful artists. It has been a great show and I would’ve hated to be the judge,” Robbins said.