Art and the fine art of clowning around will be on display Friday evening at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center in Iola.
The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a reception and talk, “Generations of Marta,” featuring art from three members of one family over several decades. The exhibit is free and available during regular hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday, beginning Friday until Feb. 10 at the Mary L. Martin Gallery.
After the artists’ reception Friday, comedian Ananda Bena-Weber takes the stage at 7 p.m. in the Dale P. Creitz Recital Hall. Her performance, which she calls “Fancifool!,” merges comedy, drama, dance, impressions and more.
Generations of Marta features art in various mediums including watercolor and acrylic landscapes, portraits, cartoons and more. The art was created by a father and two of his daughters.
Raymond J. Marta worked 40 years as an artist and graphic arts director for the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune newspaper. His work includes a wide range of styles, including cartoons, courtroom drawings, portraits and editorial illustrations. He died in 2006 but left a wide body of work. Two of his four daughters continued his artistic legacy.
California artist Michelle Marta-Drake works in a variety of art fields, including fabric and stationary design, mural and decorative art commissions, illustration and teaching. She currently explores and celebrates the diversity of California landscapes.
Denise Marta-Burch recently moved from California to the Ozark mountains where she is surrounded by wildlife and woodlands. She creates watercolors and acrylic paintings inspired by nature. Her work has appeared in various corporations, including Saks Fifth Avenue, and in private homes, schools and fitness clubs.
“Fancifool! – Wit, Wiles & Whimsey” aims to leave the audience feeling uplifted, energized and filled with hope for the future. Ananda Bena-Weber portrays a diverse cast of characters to reveal life in New York City in the 21st century. She sings, she dances, she mimes, she does impressions — and she can get a little bit dramatic, too.
The inspiration for her characters came from the streets of New York as she met people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and ages, Bena-Weber told a San Francisco newspaper in 2015. She described her portrayals as “clown work.”
She also works as an actor and voice-over artist, provides workshops and training, and is an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College and a teaching artist for the Dance Theater of Harlem.
Tickets for Fancifool! are $12 plus tax. Student tickets are half price.
PICTURE — Ananda Bena-Weber will bring “Fancifool,” a one-woman show incorporating comedy, drama, dance, impressions and more to the Creitz Recital Hall Friday at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
