For a visual artist, Christine Kashuba sure knows a lot about baseball.
And so she should. Her family is immersed in the sport. Her eldest son, Michael, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1998 and her other son, Jon, plays ball professionally in Austria.
The well-known Vernon artist is currently showing her new series of artwork on the theme of spring training and baseball in the exhibition, Off the Hill, in the Main Gallery at Vernon’s Brew Gallery.
“For such a recognizable subject, these large artworks on paper have a surprising abstract quality due to the custom printing technique devised by Kashuba,” said Brew Gallery curator River Lewis.
With titles such as Knuckle Ball, Chin Music, and Rain Delay, Kashuba has captured baseball stitching and textures onto the paper, which makes for a special reveal to the viewer upon investigation, he added.
Kashuba adapted her rules for making her one-of-a-kind baseball monoprints through trial and error and study to deliver a very unique style of art. And it didn’t hurt that she had her sons to use as a reference.
Also opening at Brew Gallery are Small Works by Lewis, a mini exhibition of drawings and paintings in the Fireside Room.
“The artworks represent mental landscapes influenced by local landscape,” said Lewis, adding that he works strictly from memory and the feeling of place and time to externalize his art making.
Off The Hill and Small Works are on display at the Brew Gallery, located in the Bean to Brew Coffee House on 31st Avenue, next to the Vernon Public Art Gallery, now to April 12. An opening reception will be held at the gallery Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m.
