Natural light cascades through the windows, illuminating the work of Barry Rafuse in the small, white room adjacent the primary viewing room at Gallery Odin.
Rafuse’s work is on display alongside pieces from 23 other Canadian artists for Gallery Odin’s 15th Anniversary Summer Exhibition.
Walking from room to room in the private gallery located inside owner Maria and Kalman Molnar’s Silver Star Mountain home, beautiful paintings cover the walls and sculptures, pottery, and scrimshaw catch the eye, drawing viewers through the inviting space.
“Since we opened the gallery 15 years ago, we have grown more and more,” Maria says. “We love art, and that’s why we do it.”
Maria and Kalman bring the guests into their home and guide them through the range of pieces from artists.
“It makes you feel good about your home,” Maria says of having artwork on display.
Each artist has up to six pieces purposefully placed in the gallery, and Maria and Kalman know the story of each artist.
“I don’t think anybody can do it as well as he does,” Maria says as she takes in the breathtaking and colourful Okanagan landscape work of Kelowna’s Rod Charlesworth.
As Maria leads the tour, Kalman is chatting with the gallery’s other visitors during their July 4 opening reception.
On the console table inside the main viewing room sits the pottery of Vernon’s Al Scott.
“He has so much fun with the glazes, it’s almost more art than pottery,” Maria says as she inspects one of Scott’s bowls bearing an intricate, alcohol glaze and design.
Much of the work in the main room depicts Western Canadian nature, but going from room to room, it’s clear that the gallery is open to all themes.
“We never tell our artists what to paint, but living in B.C., everybody does nature,” Maria laughs as she observes the near three dimensional acrylic buildup work of Karel Doruyter.
Over their 15 years running the gallery, Maria and Kalman have exhibited the work from multiple repeat artists.
“We love every one of our artists,” Maria says. “We have fun with it — we meet a lot of interesting people from all over the world.”
And for them, the art and artists is what it’s all about.
“We just enjoy it so much — it’s a work of love.”
To see a full list of artists at Gallery Odin, visit www.galleryodin.com. The gallery is located at 215 Odin Rd. off Monashee Road at Silver Star Mountain. Summer hours are Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 6 p.m. or call 250-503-0822 for an appointment.