Members of the Group Ten Gallery in downtown Kent will be sharing the space with a total of 30 artists until March 24 for their biggest Members and Friends show to date.

The Members and Friends show is setup to where each of the 15 members of the gallery invite one friend each to exhibit some of their work for six weeks.

Considering the wide range of artists that act as members of the gallery, the addition of outside artists brings in more uses of different types of media to be displayed.

Dan Lindner, a member of the gallery and engineer by trade, anticipates that patrons will be pleased to see works from different artists and the diversity in theme and medium between them.

“The quality in this show will in the variety of art,” Lindner said. “To me, its a piece for the eyes, there will be something there for everybody. Some of it might surprise you and make you look into what will do in the future.”

Lindner, is showing his painting, “Time Machine,”; the inner coils of a pocket watch made in 1988 by a watch making company in Canton, Ohio. Linder said the inspiration for this piece came from his background in engineering and his interest in how mechanisms operate.

One of the friends invited, Richard Carissimi, said that this was his first time having work exhibited in a invitational style show.

“It’s a very enjoyable way to display your work and to be shown in a gallery,” Carissimi said.

“It’s not a juried show. It’s work that you have that you feel is something you would like to show and that other people might like so there is less stress in that sense.”

Carissimi said that having his paintings displayed with so much difference in art is intimidating but also just as inspiring.

“You learn something from every piece that you look at and you study it. It helps you put things into perspective.”

Carissimi will be displaying two of his paintings that were inspired by his trips to northern California and Italy.

Another member of the gallery, Carol Tomasik, specializing in 3-D works, will be showing her pieces titled “Rust Belt Muse” and “Head in the Clouds.” “Head in the Clouds” is a woven paper piece colored with acrylic paint, colored pencil and threads, a medium she doesn’t usually use until people said that they enjoyed her style.  

Group Ten Gallery is located at 201 E. Erie St. in downtown Kent. The Members and Friends show can be viewed Monday-Friday 9 a.m-5 p.m and Saturday noon-5 p.m.

Jarett Theberge is a visual arts reporter. Contact him at [email protected].