The art gallery at the Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green has been giving artists a place to display their most treasured works for the past 14 years.
Gallery TPC, located in the church’s fellowship hall, is run by the church’s art board, a small group of people who are interested in the arts or who are artists themselves.
According to the church’s website, the art board recognizes “the important role the visual arts have played in personal expression and in religious life through the ages.”
Art board member Diane Simmons, who is also the art board chair, said the board wasn’t formed just to show the work of artists belonging to the church.
“We formed it because we believe creativity is a God-given talent and you need to nurture it,” she said.
That doesn’t mean that church members can’t take part in displaying their art.
“Artists in the church sometimes like to have a members-only exhibit,” she said. “Once in a while, someone will pop up and we are surprised to see their hidden talent.”
Simmons said she began working with the board around 10 years ago with church member Peg Truman.
“I attribute the success of the church gallery to Peg Truman, a well-known local artist who died in 2020,” she said. “Peg was instrumental in establishing the gallery and promoting it.”
Simmons recalled how excited Truman was when artist Holly Oglesbee said she wished to exhibit in the spring of 2020.
“The gallery closed because of COVID,” she said. “Peg asked me to keep in touch with Holly and not to forget her. Later, after Peg was gone, our gallery reopened, and Holly was on our exhibit schedule because of Peg’s perseverance and a promise kept.”
To honor Truman, an exhibit featuring her art was set up in the church’s gallery after her death.
Typically, the art board will meet at the beginning of every year to set a schedule for five to six exhibits, each lasting at least six weeks. Members will work behind the scenes to find artists who want to exhibit their work, and while there isn’t a current exhibit at the gallery, Simmons said plans will be made sometime in February to set this year’s calendar.
Artist’s works are displayed at the gallery through receptions, periodic exhibits and participation in local events, like the Gallery Hop, and while Simmons said they do not exhibit sculptures, they have hung small stained glass pieces.
Common exhibits include Sunny Sixteen in October and November, Pushins Studio in September and October and ArtWorks in December and January. Past spring and summer exhibits have included Creative Quilters of Southern Kentucky and Andee Rudloff.
Rudloff’s exhibit was a particularly interesting one, Simmons said.
“I knew Andee doodled her ideas down before she made her big pieces,” she said. “So I suggested we have an exhibit of her doodles. It was such a fun display. Every year, we try to do something like that, something that’s unique.”
Rudloff said she enjoyed the opportunity to connect with the community through the exhibit.
“The response was exciting and the church went above and beyond for me,” Rudloff said. “It was a very difficult time for me, with the loss of my mom, and the people who attended the exhibition reception comforted me in ways they’ll never know.”
When the Creative Quilters expressed an interest in exhibiting with the gallery, Simmons said finding a time slot that would work for everyone proved challenging.
“After many months, we finally settled on a time,” she said. “At drop-off time, quilts were just coming and coming. We laid them all out on tables so we could organize them for hanging. The quilts were luscious but we had too many.”
Simmons said the largest ones were returned to their owners.
“In my memory, the hanging of those quilts took longer than any exhibit I’ve ever helped hang,” she said. “Because the quilt guild was meeting in Glasgow during the quilt exhibit, we had many daytime visitors to view the quilts.”
Artists who participate in the exhibits can also face challenges preparing 25-30 pieces of art for hanging, Simmons said, adding that frames are expensive, wiring a piece takes time and transporting many pieces can require a van.
She said that artists will sometimes exhibit with a group or partner to reduce the number of pieces and work.
And when Rudloff was working on her display, Simmons said she showed up with several pieces and brought her tool box with her.
“We solved hanging problems on the spot and had great fun doing it,” Simmons said.
Lexington impressionist artist Mary Neely’s exhibit around six or seven years ago was another interesting exhibit which Simmons said was a big deal and very well-attended.
“Mary and her husband hauled down about 40 paintings, and she even sold four of them, so it was well worth the effort,” she said.
The gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., until noon on Fridays and on Sunday mornings, but for security purposes, the main door is locked.
Anyone who would like to see an exhibit can ring the doorbell and someone will guide them to the gallery.
