17 Toledo galleries, studios partner for a browsing tour

10/8/2009

Meet and Greet 9, a browsing tour of 17 downtown and near-downtown galleries and studios, will be 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 16. A free shuttle bus will loop continually between venues. Much of the art is for sale. Information: 419-254-2787 and acgt.org.

Opening party for Variety Show will be 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 16 at Space 237, 237 North Michigan St. Featured will be the work of 14 artists, refreshments, music by Murrow’s Boys, and poetry reading by Robert “Fletch” Fletcher. The show continues through Jan. 2. Information: space237.com.

The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting Along the Normandy Coast, 1850 to 1874, will open Saturday and continue through Jan. 3 in the newly expanded University of Michigan Museum of Art. Organized by museum staff, it includes paintings by Gustave Courbet, douard Manet, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas and pioneering photographers such as Gustave Le Gray and Henri Le Secq. The subjects are beach scenes, seascapes, fishing villages, and resorts, combined with archival materials related to early tourism and French nationalism. It examines the impact that the then-new medium of photography had on ideas about painting and the rise of Impressionism. Lending art is the Mus e d’Orsay and the French national library. Information: umma.umich.edu.

Beautiful original paintings made for children’s books by artists including Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Arnold Lobel, and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), will be displayed in Storybook Stars: Award-Winning Illustrations from the Mazza Collection. The exhibit of 75 illustrations opens tomorrow through Jan. 31 in the Works on Paper Galleries on the main floor of the Toledo Museum of Art. The illustrations are borrowed from the renowned Mazza Museum at the University of Findlay.

The fanciful art of Mo Willems, a former animator and writer for Sesame Street, will be on view Oct. 17 to Dec. 26 in the Children’s Library at the Main branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, 325 North Michigan. An opening celebration will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 17.

Bill and Kathy Oblinger’s paintings of landscapes and florals are displayed at Downtown Latte, 44 South St. Clair St. through the end of the month. A reception will be noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 17.

The charming Kirwen Art Gallery in an old Episcopal church in Elmore will host its sixth Fall Exhibition, 4 to 10 p.m. Oct. 17. Featured will be the art of Maureen Kirwen, Rebecca Osborne, Erica Hartmann, Edna Floretta, Joe Huerta, and Shawn Burmeister. Music at 8 p.m. by Elmore Fudd. The gallery is at 428 Rice St. Information: kirwenart.com.

An open reception for the work of Erika Brodie will be 6 to 10 p.m. at Trend 440, 440 Monroe St., in Monroe, Mich. Music will be provided by John Ackerman, and astrology readings by Janet Amid.

The Wassenberg Art Center presents its 32nd Annual October Photography Exhibit through Oct. 30 with 204 photographs in a wide range of categories. The center is at 643 South Washington St. in Van Wert. Information: 1-888-238-3837 and vanwert.com/wassenberg.