Every year in mid-August, crowds flood SilverStar Mountain Resort for a weekend of fine wine and fine food in the form of the popular annual Mile High Wine and Music Festival.
And, every year, Gallery Odin accompanies the fine dining experience with a selection of fine art. This year, the Mile High Wine and Music Festival runs Aug. 11-12 with Gallery Odin’s special display at the Snowsports School Aug. 11-13.
“Every year since they’ve done the wine festival, we have done the gallery,” said Maria Molnar of Gallery Odin. “People can come up just for one day. It’s different. It’s interesting, and it’s very eclectic. We open for all three days so people who can’t make it to the wine tasting (Saturday) can still see the art. This is the kind of thing we like to do to showcase something different.”
Gallery Odin’s collection of work brings together pieces from several renowned North Okanagan artists, including Doug Alcock, Barry Rafuse, Derek Lynch, Teri Paul, Destanne Norris, Glenn Clark, Jerry Markham, Elizabeth Moore, Lynne Grillmair, Karel Doruyter, and Dawn Piche, each of whom have distinctive and recognizable styles in their respective mediums.
The eclectic display is host to roughly two pieces per artist, ranging in mediums from Alcock’s metalwork, to Rafuse’s bold and unpredictable abstract paintings, to the art-centred ceramic work of Teri Paul, to Lynch’s The Big Black Bear, crafted from fool’s gold-laden soapstone he found in the Monashees.
“He was carving here (SilverStar) and at the Caetani House,” Molnar said of 63-year-old Lynch, who draws inspiration for his carvings from his work as an ESL instructor in Southeast Asia. “He started out with 300 pounds of soapstone, and the bear is about 170 pounds. I thought, ‘Oh jeez. This is a beautiful piece.’”
The three-day art show allows Molnar to exhibit work that she and her husband Kalman wouldn’t otherwise be able to showcase in their private gallery.
“It’s all diferent than the work we have in the gallery,” Molnar said, adding that two to three of the artists on display have not exhibited at Gallery Odin in the past. “There’s just so many lovely artists. I’d love to showcase them all.”
One of such artists is Alcock, whose elaborate metal sculpture work utilizes found pieces and hand forged utilitarian elements.
“We haven’t shown him in the gallery because his pieces are so large,” Molnar said of Alcock. “We like these artists and it’s hard to show more artists in our gallery. All galleries have limited space, but this is a good opportunity to showcase other artists.”
While Molnar enjoys putting on the three-day art show to coincide with the wine and food festival, it doesn’t come without difficulty.
“It’s a lot of work for three days,” Molnar said.
But for Molnar, showcasing North Okanagan talent makes it all worthwhile.
“People can see some different things, and hopefully it will arouse an interest in them for art.”
Gallery Odin’s three-day art show runs at the Snowports School on the Main Street boardwalk in Silver Star village. The exhibition is open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.