Collage Gallery opens new exhibit

Downtown Bigfork’s Collage Gallery of Fine Art, Antiques and Collectibles will open “Interpretations of Water Media” Friday with a free reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The exhibition features local artists Karen Leigh, Gorden Zuelke and Lars Eric Pointer, and will remain open through June 26.

Leigh is a professor at Flathead Valley Community College whose watercolor paintings and sketchbooks were recently the subject of a retrospective exhibit at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell. A fourth-generation Montanan, Leigh grew up in Great Falls and moved to Kalispell in the 1970s. Leigh’s works often highlight her world travels, from small Montana towns to European metropolises.

Zuelke is a past president of the Montana Watercolor Society who has taught high school art for 35 years. A graduate of Montana State University, Zuelke has been chosen to jury a number of local and national art shows during his career. He is a watercolor painter who frequently features classic cars in his work, along with what he calls “made up landscapes.”

Pointer is a painter and songwriter in Bigfork who has been painting for 15 years. His works in this show are acrylics featuring colorful abstract landscapes, paying homage to the styles of Cubism and Pointilism.

The Collage Gallery is located at 571 Electric Ave. in Bigfork. Regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.