In a conference room where luncheons and meetings are typically held, local watercolor artist Ashlee Oliver-Frey begins to hang up work for her first solo show. Thirty-nine depictions of wildflowers, ravens, sea otters, mermaids and more line the walls of the Kenai Chamber of Commerce for the show “Flora, Fauna, and Fantasy.”
Some of Oliver-Frey’s work was created from locally produced pigments, foraged from natural resources on the Kenai Peninsula. She says many of her paintings in the exhibit have never been displayed in a public setting.
“I stream my paintings and things on Instagram and TikTok, so I have a few people who look at it from afar, but having a place where you can bring a collection of your work for people to view, I don’t know if I can express how thankful I am to have that,” Oliver-Frey said.
Oliver-Frey formerly worked in the veterinary field, and draws much of her artistic inspiration from her career. While she’s always had an interest in art, she didn’t begin painting seriously until two years ago when she developed a neurocognitive disorder. Although the disability damaged the logical side of her brain, Oliver-Frey says that her brain’s creative side has taken over, and that art is now her therapy.
Displaying art in a gallery setting is something new for the chamber, as this is only the third time the organization has done so. Inspired by other local art galleries, the chamber now has exhibitions and First Friday events scheduled through September. The gallery space allows artists to connect with other artists and the community.
Kenai Chamber executive director Samantha Springer says the space is open to anyone interested in displaying art, not just professional artists.
“There’s quite a few artists, including Ashlee, that I hadn’t heard of previously from other art shows," she said. "What was really fun was I believe that the majority of artists that are in this year haven’t been featured in other places.”
A wintery walk or warm drive two blocks away, the Kenai Art Center is installing a new exhibition of its own. The gallery transports visitors to a medieval forest, this month’s theme. The 36 pieces on display range from paintings of the forest to medieval-looking ceramics, and everything in between.
“Even though it’s a medieval forest theme, it really can be anything that has to do with a forest, or anything medieval,” said Charlotte Coots, Kenai Art Center executive director. “We know that some artists were a little concerned that it was a little bit narrow of a topic, but as you can see we have a lot of different interpretations of that theme.”
One interpretation is a photograph taken underneath a Japanese maple tree in a cemetery near Boston. The shot is not your typical foliage photograph; something about it just looks different. Susan Johnson photographed that maple tree years ago.
“I want them to look at and say ‘how did that happen?’ A lot of people look at that and don’t understand it because they can’t figure out how I did it,” Johnson said.
The show’s theme also serves as the backdrop to the Treefort Theatre’s latest production “Marian (or the True Tale of Robin Hood).” The play, which will be performed at the art center throughout the month of March, tells the Robin Hood story through the eyes of Maid Marian, Robin Hood’s muse. This is the first time a theatrical production has been held at the art center.
The idea for the exhibit came from the play’s director. Coots hopes the accompanying exhibit brings the community a feeling of tranquility.
“I hope when they come and they look at things, they will feel like some of the paintings refer to a reverence of the forest," she said. "Some paintings refer to the majesty of the wildlife in the forest, one piece of work refers to the sustainability of resources, and some people just have beautiful work.”
Artists highlighted in both galleries feel winter is a perfect time of year to display art that depicts vibrant greenery and active wildlife.
“I’m very grateful that places like this exist, and give everybody a chance to put up their work," Johnson said. "Maybe it’s not a high level of art, but it doesn’t matter, it’s art. Somebody created something, somebody had an idea, put it on paper and displayed it.”
Both art exhibits will have their opening First Friday receptions this Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: Hunter Morrison has work on display in the Kenai Art Center’s Medieval Forest exhibition.
