The 2016 BRONZE BUFFALO FESTIVAL AND GALA at the Owensboro Museum
of Fine Art, September 29 to October 1, will be highlighted by the announcement of a
major gift to the museum’s collection from Ann M. Kincheloe and the Marilyn
and William Young Charitable Foundation.
Making a guest appearance at the Gala will be the nationally-known Loveland,
Colorado, sculptor, Denny Haskew. Haskew is featured in the museum’s
current RiverArtes II exhibition, a project designed to acquire public art
for the City of Owensboro’s downtown development efforts.
The Gala will feature live and silent auctions, Kentucky cuisine, spirits
and live jazz by Louisville’s Dick Sisto Trio.
Complementing the event is an exhibition of paintings from the annual BRONZE
BUFFALO EN PLEIN AIR PAINTOUT, sponsored by Swedish Match, documenting
Owensboro as it appears in 2016.
H. Dean Jones, II, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.
As a part of the festival, dozens of visiting artists from surrounding
states will visit Owensboro for the BRONZE BUFFALO EN PLEIN AIR PAINTOUT
two days prior to the Gala to render paintings of familiar local sites, its
people and special events. All of the paintings completed in the
competition will be presented in a one-night exhibition and offered for sale
at the Gala. Purchase and Merit Awards totaling $3,000 will be distributed
by the juror, noted Kentucky painter Jim Cantrell of Bardstown, Ky.
Spectacular jewelry will be featured in the Gala’s live auction. Included
is an 18 carat gold bracelet with a bezel set 2.6 cwt fine blue sapphire
with 64 round brilliant cut and marquis diamonds, valued at $25,000. The
bracelet’s gold weight is 7 dwt. Also featured is a white gold and round cut
1.5 cwt blue sapphire and diamond halo ring, valued at $2.500. Silent
auction items include antiques, original art, a weekend retreat in the Smoky
Mountains, University of Kentucky football tickets, and fine wines and
bourbons.
Five artists have been named BRONZE BUFFALO ARTISTS and invited to each
donate a painting to be auctioned as a benefit for the museum. These
artists – Todd Derr, Iris Gentry, Katie Lowing, John A. Medley Jr. and Joe
Overby – will be introduced at the Gala.
The Gala is sponsored by museum patrons Dr. and Mrs. R. Wathen Medley, Jr.
Co-sponsors include Mr. and Mrs. Steve Frey, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners,
Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, Owensboro Municipal Utilities, J’s
Liquors, Ann M. Kincheloe and Mr. and Mrs. Rusty Burton.
Reservations are necessary, and admission is $50 per person. Friends of the
OMFA Foundation receive a discount, and their admission is $40 per person.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.omfa.us or by
phoning the museum at 270-685-3181. Proceeds from the Gala will be
designated to benefit the museum’s continuing education and outreach
programs in the community and region.
The Buffalo theme for the Gala is based upon the museum’s two heroic-sized
bronze buffalo installed in its Ryan Park along Frederica Street. The
bronzes were commissioned to initiate the Bronze Buffalo Trace, a visual
arts documentation designed to celebrate the origins of Owensboro.
Present-day Frederica Street began as a buffalo trace through which settlers
made their way to the banks of the Ohio River to establish the settlement of
Yellow Banks.
The bronze buffalo, Into the Wind and Meadowlands Pair, were gifts to the
museum and the community from Mary Lou Steele and her late husband, Robert
Steele, and Mayor and Mrs. Ron Payne. The bronzes were created by the noted
American wildlife artist, T. D. Kelsey, of Texas.
The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art is located at the corner of 9th and
Frederica streets in Owensboro, Ky., and is open Tuesday through Thursday,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and weekends, 1 to 4 p.m.
Admission is free but donations are encouraged. For more information, visit
the museum’s website, omfa.us or phone
270-685-3181.
