A public reception from 2 to 4 p.m. March 3 marks the opening of three new exhibits at the Buchanan Art Center, 117 W. Front St. in Buchanan.
R. Michael Beatty’s “Changing Keys” is displayed in the Roti Roti Gallery, Mark Wagner’s “A Worn Flannel Birdhouse in a Heavily Starched World” is in the Show Place Gallery and “Buchanan Homes, Haunts and Habitats: An Invitational Exhibit” is in the Hess Gallery. The exhibits are open now through March 30.

Beatty
Born and raised in Michiana, R. Michael Beatty grew up with the influence of farm fields and “the big lake.” Beatty’s show “Changing Keys” explores the artist’s work with photography as tool. The majority of the images in the exhibit are new encaustic mixed media work which grew out of studying the work of many artists including Jasper Johns and Mark Rothko. The encaustic medium provides depth and changes to the image as the viewer moves in front of it. The exhibit offers questions about changes to an image when it is manipulated, as the viewer takes part in the creative process. The most current manifestation is looking at “images of light” with light and as light. Work in this show is inspired, by observations of Michigan, Indiana, New Mexico, New York, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and the French countryside.

Wagner
Growing up in Minnesota, artist Mark Wagner began his lifelong passion for the outdoors and simple, rustic beauty.  Drawing upon life styles of earlier times, he noted the emotional deficit of so many birdhouses and birdfeeders we live with today … the lack of eccentricity, whimsy or ornamentation … important statements of one’s uniqueness.
In 2001, he began creating handcrafted works from objects found in his many travels and turning them into one of a kind, artistically unexpected versions of the familiar birdhouse.

Hess Gallery
In the Hess Gallery, will be “Homes, Haunts, and Habitats: An Invitational Exhibit,”  artwork representing one or more homes, haunts or habitats, located in and around the Buchanan area. Multiple works in a variety of mediums will be represented. Local artists showing include Thomas Fehlner, Janice Lampos, Catherine McCormick, Sandy Pethick, and Shirley Roti Roti.

Call (269) 697-4005 or visit www.buchananartcenter.org.