OCEAN CITY — The Art League of Ocean City announced a special First Friday art opening for October featuring five new art shows plus a special exhibit honoring recovery from addiction. Patty Buchta will provide live music on acoustic guitar during the opening, and PKS Investments is sponsoring complimentary beverages.
The Thaler Gallery will feature large-scale paintings created by Leo Kahl of Ocean View, De. in a show he calls “Coastal Impressions.” Born in Baltimore, Md., Kahl was exposed to creativity and inventiveness at an early age and attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. He would make use of visualization, design, and technical skills for the next four decades envisioning and marketing commercial and industrial products. After moving to Delaware in 2020, Kahl devoted his full attention to making art, and has won awards for his paintings in Art League shows. The light and wildlife of the coastal regions of Maryland and Delaware are a constant source of inspiration for him.
Studio E will feature Beth Deeley of Ocean City in a show entitled “Wicked Waves.” The artist, who spends several months a year in Costa Rica, is a lifetime crafter and student of macrame but found weaving four years ago. “I love color and nature and try to combine the two in my pieces,” she said. “Each strand, each piece of fabric, is a meditation or a thought or a moment in my life.”
The Sisson Galleria will feature an all-media group show exhibiting abstract art. The judge for the show is Deborah Rolig of Berlin, who will award cash prizes to the winners.
Rolig is also the artisan for the month of October. A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and daughter of regional artist, Richard Harryman, Rolig blends her traditional training with her love of abstract art to create her own unique style. She defines her process as intuitive and loves the “laying down and taking out [which] leaves me with a surface that has history. Each layer, a moment in time recorded, is like a chapter in a book, and I’m never quite sure how it will end.”
The Spotlight Gallery will be home to a special event honoring artists who are in recovery from addiction. The “Art of Recovery” exhibition challenges misconceptions and negativity towards those battling addiction and displays art creates by individuals in recovery from across the Eastern Shore. The Preston Motors “Preston Goes Purple Truck” will be parked in the Arts Center’s parking lot for guests to sign with special encouraging messages. This exhibit is a partnership among the Art League, Wor-Wic Community College, Salisbury University and Worcester Goes Purple.
The Art League also opens two new offsite exhibits in October. Amanda Lind of Berlin will be exhibiting her abstract and mixed media artwork, inspired by pop and modern art, at the Coffee Beanery on 94th St. and Coastal Hwy. Carol Ward of Salisbury, who is president of the Tidewater Camera Club, will display her photographs, including nighttime astrophotography, in the lobby of the Princess Royale on 91st Street.
Arts Center shows will be on display until Oct. 28; satellite shows, until Dec. 31. More information is available at OCart.org or by calling 410-524-9433.