As the holiday season approaches, the staff of the FRANK Gallery is encouraging the community to shop local at its holiday exhibit.
The holiday exhibit opened Nov. 12 and will run until Jan. 4, with an opening reception occurring on Friday, Dec. 6, from 6-8 p.m. The exhibit is highlighting the work of both members of the FRANK and new artists to the gallery.
Gallery Manager Natalie Knox said one goal of the exhibit is to provide art at reasonable price points to encourage members of the community to buy art as holiday gifts for family and friends.
“This show is highlighting work of all our member artists, so about all 21 of our member artists and some of our guest artists that are returning and new,” Knox said. “We wanted to pack the gallery full of art of different mediums and different price points for the holidays.”
The FRANK only displays North Carolina artists to support local talent. For the holiday exhibit, most of the artists come from Chapel Hill and Durham, Knox said.
“We always like to emphasize the fact that we’re local artists,” Knox said. “There are so many artists just in Orange County alone, as we like to be a place where people can come, and you don’t always have to buy things, but just coming in here to look, and seeing the work of local artists is kind of eye opening — there's a lot of talent in the area.”
One of the featured artists is Emily Booker, who runs the company Ursa Metals. She graduated with a degree in studio art from the University of Vermont, but recently returned to the Triangle, where she’s originally from, to grow her business.
“I work mostly in sterling silver and 14 karat gold, and a lot of my inspiration comes from patterns and textures that are found in nature,” Booker said. “I do these bird cutouts and a lot of reticulation that mimics lichen or stone texture, and I incorporate those different things with different shapes or patterns.”
Through jewelry, Booker said she hopes she can inspire confidence within the wearer, as it does the same for her.
