New Thing #224--Art Show

Today I did something that I've wanted to do for a long time when I went to an art show opening.

Last week I heard on the radio that Brother Mel Meyer, who belongs to the Marianist religious order, was celebrating some significant events this year: he turned 80 in June, he’s been a religious brother for 60 years, and he’s been an artist 50 years. Tonight was the opening of his retrospective show.

The gallery is in Kirkwood on the campus of St. John Vianney High School. Over the years I've stopped in the gallery a couple of times when I happened to be at the school. Brother Mel works in metal, handmade paper, acrylic, and watercolors. Some of his art is religious, but some isn't. Some hangs on the wall, some is designed to be set on a shelf, some on the floor, and some pieces are so big they have to be placed outside in the grass around the gallery.

I was really surprised at the number of people who were at this event. There was a tent set up outside the building where they were serving drinks, and folding chairs scattered around. However, the vast majority of people were standing. Tony and I went inside the gallery; it was not as crowded, but it was still difficult to get close to some of the works. I tried to pick out my favorite pieces, but it was really hard. I liked them all!

After we walked through the gallery we went outside and looked at the larger sculptures. There were more than I remembered from my last visit--more than two dozen pieces. Although I was pretty sure we could see a couple more if we crossed the road, it was getting dark and hard to see so we left.