Two generations of artists at new Kearney art exhibit
McCook Gazette Nov 02, 2021
Joe McHale and Sondra Jonson, with Jonson’s sandhill crane bronze at the south entrance to Kearney.
KEARNEY, Neb. — The Brickwalk Gallery in downtown Kearney invites the public to a reception on Nov. 5, from 7-9 p.m. for ACROSS GENERATIONS, a unique art exhibit by two Nebraska artists from one family. The Brickwalk Gallery is located at 2008 Ave. A, in Kearney. This unusual collection of paintings, sculptures and mosaics showcases two distinctly contrasting yet complimentary styles of art. Emerging artist Joe McHale studied at Creighton, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and graduated from UNK. He creates abstract paintings that intrigue the viewer with portrait and figurative imagery woven into brilliantly colorful canvases. Through his compositions, McHale penetrates some of the greatest relationship challenges most people experience in their lives: love, loss, longing, faith and prayer. Joe McHale has exhibited paintings at the Nebraska Arts Council’s Fred Simon Gallery in Omaha, as well exhibits in Lincoln, Sacramento, Denver, Texas, North Platte, McCook and Kearney. Having travelled to visit museums in the U.S. and in France, one can easily see the influence of classical art in Joe’s sensitive charcoal drawings. Veteran artist Sondra L. Jonson has made a successful career in classical bronze sculpture while raising her three sons. Jonson, who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Bryn Mawr College and the Frudakis Academy of Art, has installed over 100 large sculptures throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the larger-than-life sandhill crane bronze at the south entrance to Kearney by Kwik Stop Station #11. Jonson’s mosaic art was featured in the Nebraska Arts Council’s 2020 “Studio Clips” project and on NTV’s “All in a Day’s Work” series. Her distinctive portraits and finely detailed life-size sculptures have gained her a solid reputation in realistic art and inspired her guidance and instruction to younger artists, including her son Joe McHale. ACROSS GENERATIONS debuted in 2018 at the Prairie Arts Center in North Platte, then was shown at the Wrightstone Fine Art Gallery at McCook Community College, and now will be on display at the Brickwalk Gallery through November. This exhibit offers a unique opportunity to experience two diverse worlds of fine art and to explore the reciprocal relationship between the abstract and realism as demonstrated by these exceptionally talented artists who represent two generations from one family.
Link to Original Article
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