By Karina Martinez-CarterThe Daily Northwestern
A man about a foot tall stood in a small alcove, poised to jump into the vegetables and dip sitting on the table below.
The staTuesday, titled “The Leap” by artist Steve Rebora, is one of 129 pieces on display and for sale at the Evanston Art Center, 2603 Sheridan Rd.
The displayed pieces are part of the center’s Spring Benefit Art Auction, which opened Sunday. The silent auction runs through the night of May 12, when the culminating gala takes place.
The pieces, which include photography, jewelry, vases, paintings and other media, were donated to the Art Center by Chicago-area artists, said Alan Leder, the center’s executive director.
“The auction is really wonderful because by default, it’s an exhibition,” Leder said.
The Spring Benefit Art Auction is the center’s major fundraiser, and the proceeds, which Leder said he expects to be around $30,000, will fund the center’s operations including its art classes and outreach programs.
Chuck Eby, a retired Evanston resident who graduated from the Kellogg School of Management, had a black-and-white photo on display for bidding.
“My daughter got her Master’s in photography and she passed the genes up to me,” Eby said with a laugh.
Eby is a student in one of the Evanston Art Center’s classes and has been featured in the auction for the past six years.
“It’s really interesting to see people’s reactions to your work,” he said. “It’s all about seeing if it resonates with someone else.”
Eby pointed around the gallery in which his photograph is displayed, commenting on how the works, some of which were done by his classmates, always surprise him.
“I love to see the marvelous variety and ingenuity in all of the art and images,” he said. “It’s just marvelous.”
Lelde Kalmite, the center’s director of development and public relations, said the eclectic art is what draws people to the benefit. But it can be a challenge to display the many types of art.
“This year it was really a lot of work to hang all of the art and make a harmonious installation, because you have so many different visions from all of these talented artists,” Kalmite said.
As part of the closing event on May 12, for which individual tickets are $100, the center also has selected a number of pieces for a live auction.
“Closing night and live auction night is when it heats up,” Kalmite said. “It’s people’s last chance to place bets, and it can be quite a wild evening.”
Reach Karina Martinez-Carter at [email protected].
