John Gaudin, the father of the Argenta Arts District in downtown North Little Rock, is “finally” opening a gallery of his own, in the slender storefronts at 413A and 413B Main St. The inaugural show will be works by acclaimed Northwest Arkansas artist George Dombek. He’s christened the space with the non-ambiguous name Argenta Gallery.

“When I first started buying [property in Argenta] in 2004, I wanted to open a gallery,” Gaudin said. Instead, besides refurbishing downtown buildings and running his business — Argenta Wealth Management — he founded the Argenta Downtown Council, beckoned new business to Main Street, created a development plan for the area, helped found the Art Connection career-focused program for high school students … and more.

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An artist of religious icons himself, Gaudin said he wants to “do some things that aren’t being done” in the gallery, featuring artists not already affiliated with other galleries and shows that may have social impact. He also wants to use the gallery space for fundraisers and special events, such as monthly dinner parties. He will not maintain an inventory of artworks.

The Dombek show will run Sept. 12 through Oct. 1. The Argenta Gallery will be a stop in the ACANSA Arts Festival Gallery Hop Sept. 25, when one wall will be hung with photographs by Heber Springs iconoclast Disfarmer; that exhibit will coincide with the Argenta Theater’s production of Werner Trieschmann’s play “Disfarmer.” 

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Work by Ray Wittenberg will follow the Dombek show, from Oct. 16-Nov. 1.


Now to the closing news: Blue Moon Gallery 
which has been in business in Hot Springs for 17 years, will close at the end of September, at the close of its exhibit of work by Thad Flenniken, owner Pat Scavo informs Eye Candy. She said she has sold the building and does not plan to relocate. Her daughter, Dishongh Scavo, will continue to represent religious artist Randall M. Good.

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Flenniken’s exhibit, “Eve and her Timeline,” opens Friday, Sept. 5, with a Gallery Walk reception from 5-9 p.m. The retired National Park Community College professor has focused on the mixed-media series for the past six or seven years, Scavo says. From a press release:

As an artist, Flenniken remains dedicated to the common origins of man and unity is an ongoing theme in his work. He is currently involved in images that evoke “Eve” and it is often carried through in the images of women and references to DNA that has carried through the generations of the past and will carry the generations still to come. … A family background in archeology has encouraged his participation in the search for minute strands of physical evidence. Two themes frequent his artwork: the mark-making experience and its relationship to our origins as human species.

 

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