March First Thursday: Niehues, Speer, Randall, Studio Artists

Join us First Thursday March 3rd from 5-8pm at the Fayetteville Underground for another exciting month of all new exhibitions! Leon Niehues will be featured in the E Street Gallery. Painter, Josh Speer, from Tulsa Oklahoma will be in the Hive and the paintings of Fayetteville Underground studio artist Doug Randall will be in the Revolver. The Fayetteville Underground studio artists will be featured in the front and back Vault.

We are very pleased to introduce the work of Linda Sheets, a new studio artist at the Underground during the month of March as well. She is a welcome addition and we can't wait for you all to get to know her and her work.

Leon Niehues

Leon Niehues
E Street Gallery

I have been making baskets as a full-time studio artist for thirty years. Working alone I complete each step in the process myself using traditional splintmaking techniques to prepare splint materials. Often I use natural dyes to darken the wood. I combine the techniques of knife and splitting work with new construction methods, innovative ideas and new materials. Lately I have been working on mixed media sculptural pieces, using diverse materials such as miniature brass and stainless screws, paint, and emery cloth for a textured skin. I work on many pieces at the same time, giving each piece the time it needs, building step by step, until the project is complete.

Josh Speer

Josh Speer
Hive Gallery

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he began art lessons with Ross Myers at his School of Fine Arts at the age of 9. Speer received his B.F.A. in painting from the University of Tulsa. Having cut his artistic chops on the youth poster contest grind, he has worked closely with Family and Children’s Services. Speer misses being teacher’s assistant in Youth Art Education programs at Philbrook Museum of Art. He creates commissioned work from portraits to non-objective abstractions, and is always excited to try something new.

Douglas Randall

Douglas Randall
Revolver Gallery

I was born in upstate New York in 1946. As a child, I first became aware of art, seeing other artists painting the vivid New York landscapes. I call my paintings, “Mindscapes”, because they come from my imagination, but are part of my life, here in the Ozarks. They are not real places, but a composite of place and experience, perhaps somewhere we would all like to be. My work can be somewhat abstract, impressionist or a more traditional style. Whatever the style, I love color and use it to create illusions and emotions. I have no formal training in art, but was introduced to it when my wife Suzy, gave me an oil paint set in 1974. I later enrolled in the Holden School of Art in Charlottesville, VA. Although, painting was a love of mine, it was put on the back burner, and building a family and home took priority. In 1993 I started to paint again I have sold and exhibited my art in many local galleries, including my own, The Rocky Creek Art Gallery. The pinnacle of my career was sharing a 2 person show at the Off Broadway Gallery in London England, with fellow artist Sherna Cockrill in 2003. I still continue to paint and express myself in my work. It gives me great satisfaction to create my feeling on canvas, and if someone else can also appreciate it, I am fulfilled.

This will be Doug's first featured exhibition since joining the studios at the Underground.


Fayetteville Underground Studio Artists
Vault Gallery

The studio artists will take over both the front and back vault during the month of March. You can expect a wide range of styles and mediums by all the current studio artists.

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As always there are open studios to tour, work in progress to see, and artists to meet. There will be new work by the talented underground studio artists in the back Vault gallery and the fine crafts you have come to expect in the E Street Gallery.

Once again this is all a part of the cultural amenity that is the visual arts on the First Thursday of every month at the Fayetteville Underground on the Fayetteville Square from 5-8p.m. After the reception be sure to come back and visit the galleries during our regular business hours of W-F 12-7 and Sat 10-5.

Tell your friends and see you there!
The exhibitions will remain up through April 2nd.

The Fayetteville Underground
Basement of One East Square Plaza
East side of the Historic Fayetteville Square.
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Gallery Hours W-F 12-7pm
Saturday 10-5pm
4 galleries: Open Studios
www.fayettevilleunderground.com
www.fayettevilleunderground.blogspot.com