If you’ve walked into The Art Base in Basalt any time in the last month, you probably haven’t seen many finished works in frames.
That’s the whole point of “Art in Process,” a show coordinated by local artist Reina Katzenberger to encourage creatives to spitball ideas, get advice from their fellow artists and experiment with new work.
The exhibition wraps up Friday with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. and an artist talk at 5:30 p.m.
Katzenberger designed the space as a “blank slate” this year that takes away the pressure of a final product from the artists she invites into the gallery-turned-studio.
“I think being able to kind of meet each other in a space where we can be vulnerable and have conversation about our own creative process and see if anything comes of it is awesome, there's no expectation, again, on finished product,” Katzenberger said.
The artists have been “exploring different techniques and exploring different topics,” while also receiving feedback and sharing new ideas, Katzenberger said. According to her, it isn’t an opportunity creatives often have while making art on their own.
Anyone is welcome and encouraged to come in and make their own art, or to have a conversation with the creatives hunkered down for a few minutes or several days.
Creating art in a public setting that’s open to passerby “highlights a little bit more of a vulnerability in the process,” she said.
“I don't know what's going to happen, and I don't know if anything interesting is going to happen, or if I'm going to like it,” Katzenberger said. “But I have grown to really trust that situation. … I think honesty is a big part of that. No matter what, if those ingredients are at play, something worthwhile happens that's worth, for me, exploring further.”
“Art in Process” may end Friday, but Katzenberger will continue to foster a sense of collaborative creative expression.
The artist also runs “The Project Space” in Carbondale in an effort “to facilitate creative expression for anyone who’s interested in sharing their voice,” Katzenberger said.
