New exhibits, receptions mark Gallery Night

Downtown Racine will host the third of this year's Gallery Nights on Saturday, July 18, from 6 to 9 p.m., as 14 galleries along Sixth Street, Wisconsin Avenue, and Main Street celebrate summer and the fine arts,

Galleries will present new exhibits while offering refreshments and entertainment. Gallery Night is a free event, open to the public. Maps detailing gallery locations and exhibits are available at all participating galleries, as well as the Downtown Racine Corporation office at 425 Main St.

This month's participating galleries are:

Artists Gallery: A reception featuring photographer Robert Schnack will be held from 6-9 p.m. Photography was an escape from corporate pressures, but Schnack soon found enjoyment in recording the people and places he visited. His digital photography captures the vibrant colors of nature as well as the form and light of everyday subjects. Food and refreshments will be served, along with the opportunity to meet Schnack and other artists. 401 Main Street.

Art Metals Studio: Spring preview of exotic metals combined with diamonds and gemstones in wearable artwork created by Christopher Sklba and his staff. 332 Main Street.

Avenue Gallery & Frame: Large selection of artwork by local and nationally recognized artists. 402 Main Street.

Cobblestone Ltd.: The work of Sherman Groenke, along with many other artists. Also, check out "The Dance Studio Downtown" inside Cobblestone, Racine's newest form of art, ‘The Art of Dance!’415 Sixth Street.

Elements: Dr. Gaylund Stone will exhibit his landscape paintings, while Alex Mandli will show his newest ceramic works.409 Sixth Street.

Funky Hannah's Beads & Art: 'New Visions' from Marj Lacock. Meet the artist and see her new series of paintings. Also, Chicago artist Rick Smith, Bill Reid's witty sculpture and blown glass by Funky’s owner Amanda Paffrath. 324 Main Street.

Hot Shop Glass Studio & Gallery: Glass blowing demonstrations; watch as molten glass becomes art. 239 Wisconsin Ave.

Mathis Gallery and Conservation Framing: A new show titled ‘Indelibly Stamped,' featuring original rubber stamps and poems by American artists from the 1970s including Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Tom Wesselman, Marisol, Allen Ginsburg and others. The edition was never completed making this group of works rare. 328 Main Street.

Monfort’s Fine Art Gallery: Hand crafted musical instruments by Nathan Mortensen; meet the artist and listen to him perform on instruments he created.Through building instruments, Nathan feels he is expressing creativity both visually and musically. 430 Main Street.

Northern Lights Gallery: A reception for Kenosha artist Joan Stanich from 6 to 9 p.m. Stanich, primarily an oil painter, prefers an impressionistic style, right, and uses vivid colors for a touch of realism. During the reception, music by classical guitarist Andrew Lardner. 423 Main Street.

Photographic Design: Mosaic artist, Tammy Easton, will be featured, with a reception from 6-9 p.m. Using colored mirror glass, jewels and sawed marbles, she creates garden stakes, gazing balls, wall pieces and windows in a variety of themes--lighthouses, dragonflies, flowers and abstracts. Also, images by Carol Hansen and Brad Jaeck. 411 Sixth Street.

Plumb Gold Ltd.: Jewelry designed by Judy K. Olsen. On gallery night, a one-of-a-kind 97 carat boulder opal will be displayed. 322 Main Street.

Racine Arts Council: Barb Pelligrino will be the featured artist, along with works in progress by the Main Gallery Youth. 316 Sixth Street.

Racine Art Museum: Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey, larger-than-life ceramic figures, some up to 12 feet tall, of sculptor and painter Viola Frey. Much of Frey’s work is autobiographical – telling the story of her friends and family. 441 Main Street.