“The Flowering” by Resa Blatman will be exhibited at the Nave Annex’s first show.

By Cathleen Twardzik

From January 25 to February 8, the Nave Gallery Annex in Davis Square will hold its first exhibit, called PICNIC.

An opening reception will be held on January 25 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dan Blakeslee, Audrey Ryan and Tom Janovitz will perform at the event.

The gallery event is being sponsored by Cuppow (www.cuppow.com). The first 25 visitors to arrive at the event will receive a gift from Cuppow.

The exhibit was entitled PICNIC because, “We wanted this exhibit to take people’s minds off the discomforts of winter. We chose PICNIC as the exhibit name because having a picnic is the epitome of a perfect summer day,” said Jenn Harrington, Organizer.

“Jenn Harrington, one of the Nave Gallery’s most innovative curators, proposed the idea of PICNIC, a celebration of summer during the dark, gray days that make up January in New England.  Just the idea and the excitement behind the idea was enough to convince us to start the Nave Gallery Annex,” said Susan Berstler, Organizer.

PICNIC found a gallery space when Michael Ahern, owner of the building in Davis Square, which was used for the exhibit, came to the event’s organizers about holding it in that venue.

Ahern is an artist, and he had long had a keen desire to provide a gallery area in his building.

The artists, all of whom will take part in PICNIC, include: Resa Blatman, Adam Gooder, Charles Daniels, Sarah Meyers Brent, Marja Lianko, Brooke Mullins Doherty, Zach Horn, Brett Henrikson, Julie Martini, Laura Miner, Sophia Sobers, Cathy Moynihan, Anne Siems, Liz Nofziger, Neil Wyatt and Jesse Stansfield.

The exhibit will display paintings, photography, sculpture, video work and installations.

Resa Blatman’s artwork “is a throng of butterflies floating in bloom,” Sophia Sobers’s contribution showcases “growth” in an unanticipated area, and Charles Daniels’s photographs depict dancers, all of whom are entangled in trees.

“The entire collection is alive, teeming with color and movement. In fact, the “Preserving Summer” project, where we have asked the public to preserve summer in a mason jar, will actually grow over the course of the exhibit, as submissions are encouraged throughout the time of the show,” said Harrington.

Blatman has been an artist for her entire life.  The surfaces on which she creates paintings and the materials which she utilizes span a wide range. “My paintings verge on sculptural installations,” she said.

“My work is inspired by nature and environmental issues, and how our thirst for fossil fuels affects our landscape and our natural resources,” said Blatman. “I always knew that I wanted to be an artist, even when I was a small child.  And I make art because it gives me a purpose in life and makes me happy.  I can’t imagine doing much else.”

Additional information about Blatman’s  “concepts,” as well as her artwork may be found at www.resablatman.com.

The closing reception will take place on February 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To ensure that this new gallery location remains vibrant, there will be an auction that will be comprised of the work that was included in the PICNIC exhibit.

Pie will be served and, as at the opening reception, the first 25 visitors to the closing reception will also receive a gift from Cuppow.

For additional information, interested individuals may log onto https://www.facebook.com/events/423990814337723/.