Alliance for the Arts Presents IT MAKES ME WONDER

Alliance for the Arts Presents IT MAKES ME WONDER

The January Gallery by Kim McAninch will be on view January 5-27

FORT MYERS, FL (December 22, 2023) – The Alliance for the Arts invites the public to its opening reception for IT MAKES ME WONDER on January 5 from 5-7:00 p.m. The free event features the works of Kim McAninch as well as light refreshments provided by Jayne Baker. The exhibit will be on view from January 5-27, 2024 at 10091 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers.

Kim McAninch is a Sarasota-based painter. She earned a B.F.A. in surface pattern design from Miami University, Ohio in 1982. Her 20-year career as a wallpaper, fabric and interior designer laid the groundwork for her unique painterly style.

Her process begins as pure fiction, allowing limitless possibilities. Fueled by wonder and curiosity of what may emerge, she employs multiple tools and media. It is through this process that she extracts order, creating the exact balance between figuration and abstraction. Without a premeditated outcome, the compositions naturally emerge. She seeks harmony of color, rhythm, depth and energy, and most important to her goal, offers a visual invitation to enter. Each painting is an opportunity to be immersed in a personal moment. The color and energetic and gestural markings intentionally offer more information with less detail, leaving just enough space in which a viewer may wander.

IT MAKES ME WONDER will include paintings from each of her series, on which she has simultaneously worked for the past 14 years. Her work aims to convey a positive world.

Kim is an award-winning member of the National Association of Women Artists. Her artwork is in select galleries and is collected worldwide. Learn more about the artist at https://kimmcaninch.com/

In the Theatre Gallery: Everyday by Anna “Forrest” Fischler

This exhibition holds a year’s worth of experiences in small glass frames, and Anna’s hope is that visitors will walk away with a new appreciation for tiny, beautiful moments, feeling inspired to dive into their own daily practice, art-related or not. Everyday visually attests to a practice of persistent presence. It is a compilation of moments discovered by slowing down to investigate the magic in the mundane.

More information about Anna’s work and process is available on her website at annaforrestart.net and on her Instagram at @anna.forrest.art.

In the Member Gallery: Keith Chamberlain and Pat St. Onge

Armed with a degree in physics, Keith Chamberlain has held a number of senior management positions during his 50-year career in the aerospace investment casting industry. Keith and his wife, Hennie, followed his career to New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and southern California. The final move was to Florida in 2012, where he started a consulting business. During the COVID lockdown, Keith explored other interests. His love of science, manufacturing and design made painting a natural outlet. With no formal training, Keith found plenty of guidance and inspiration in books,

magazines and museum visits, along with lots of practice.

Since relocating to Fort Myers in 2016, Pat St. Onge experimented with incorporating fluid art and traditional brushwork in acrylics. She finds that pouring challenges and delights her imagination to combine something abstract with something familiar. She particularly enjoys creating unique portraits of wildlife. Pat ties the textures and patterns created by the pouring process with the patterns in fur, feathers and environmental textures in her paintings.  She strives to engage viewers’ imagination as well as their vision.  

Receptions are open to the public and do not require tickets or reservations. While gallery admission is free, a $5 suggested donation keeps AFTA programming affordable and accessible.

About Alliance for the Arts

The Alliance for the Arts is a nonprofit community visual and performing arts center located in the heart of Fort Myers, Florida. Since 1975, the Alliance has been committed to transforming lives and improving community through the arts. The Alliance campus and galleries are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Located at 10091 McGregor Boulevard just south of Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. For more information, please call 239-939-2787, visit us at www.ArtInLee.org, find us on Facebook and Instagram.