This month at the Loading Dock Gallery there is a show of new portrait work by Western Avenue artists Wendy Janes and Katren Cleo. Face to Face runs from March 1st to March 26th with an opening reception March 4th from 3pm-5pm. This show invites you to experience the intimate, vulnerable, and complex visual experiences of others.

An important element of life at Western Avenue is the many artists that inspire others and kick ideas around while being open to those interactions changing the course of the work they themselves have in progress. Face to Face is a show of portraits, some playful, some challengingly direct, in the differing styles of these two skilled artists. Because both artists spend most of their time at Western Avenue, some of the portrait subjects are the same people shown in different ways.

After decades working as a portrait photographer, Cleo made a significant change in her practice three years ago and began to draw portraits instead. She finds that the community at Western Avenue has been a huge boost in her artistic growth as she courageously made the choice to go with what her heart was calling for and work in a new medium instead of one she was already skilled in. Her gamble has paid off and her spare charcoal drawings with immediate gestural quality easily evoke a shared connection of emotion and humanity.

James is a multi-disciplinary artist with a long history at Western Avenue who finds joy in small in-between moments and the details of mundane experience, always looking to find a new way to present layers of meaning. Her portrait work combines people, objects, and stories to create rich viewing experiences. In this show her brightly colored acrylic paintings depict people holding objects of great meaning to them. Viewers are invited to listen to recordings of each portrait subject speak in their own words about the importance of the objects they hold.

Meet the artists Katren Cleo and Wendy James during the opening Saturday March 4th at the Loading Dock Gallery as they host Face to Face. But don’t stop there! At Western Avenue there is always an amazing array of art waiting to be explored.