Kudzu's New Show Features Special Collaborative Work

One lucky guest of Kudzu Art Zone’s August exhibit, “Three Women, Three Friends, Three Artists: A Kaleidoscopic Approach,” will win a special collaborative painting created by three award-winning artists. The show kicks off with a summer-themed opening reception on Aug. 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. and runs until Aug. 27.   

The collaborative painting, “Nature’s Symphony,” is valued at $1000. To win, all you have to do is visit Kudzu while the show is running and sign their guest book. The winner will be picked at random and announced at the end of the exhibit.

The three artists, Kathy Kitz of Norcross, Anne Labaire of Duluth and Gwen McDonald of Lilburn, passed “Nature’s Symphony” around to each other twice.  “Each of us took it home and then we would talk to the others about what we needed because one change always led to another," Labaire explained. "But I was told one day it said, ‘I’m done.’”  

They came up with the name for the landscape painting based off the idea that a symphony is different voices and instruments coming together as one. “So, this is the same kind of thing,” Labaire said.

The three women, who have been friends for many years, each produced a body of work especially for this exhibit, and also painted in their preferred medium for “Nature’s Symphony.”  “It was a unique challenge because Kathy works in watercolors which are not permanent,” Labaire said. “I was terrified that I would mess up what she had done doing what I did on top of it, but it all worked out.”

Labaire’s preferred medium for the painting was acrylics and McDonald, a collage and mixed-media artist, used bits of photograph, ribbon, tissue and other various papers to add texture. So although the painting is behind glass, it’s not actually flat.

You can see all the interesting textures much more clearly in person than you can in the attached photograph. “It really does have unique fixtures. You’re just gonna have to come see it,” Labaire said.

The idea for the three-woman show was opened up to the general Kudzu membership about a year ago when the management council began organizing this year’s shows. The three friends looked at each other and said, "that would be fun," and the've been preparing for the exhibit ever since.

Since this show is a departure from Kudzu's customary member’s shows, they decided to do something special for the opening reception. “We found some musicians who will play for art,” Labaire said. They are an acoustic husband and wife named Mixed Genes. 

They plan to decorate the gallery with a special combination of summer barbecue meets the Caribbean theme. They’ll have fun-foods and Sangria instead of just the customary wine. “We’ll make it a party,” Labaire said.  

If you can't make it to the opening reception, regular gallery hours are Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and by appointment.