It’s an art sale that revolves around anonymity.
The fourth annual Incognito art exhibit and concert is being held this week, and it’s once again designed as a fundraiser for the Langley Arts Council.
All pieces of work on display are 10″ X 10″, and each is being sold for only $100, explained Amy Dyck, manager of the Langley Arts Council.
This time around, there are 20 artists participating in Incognito, with 51 pieces of art up for sale, Dyck said.
But identity of each of the participating artists will remain a well-kept secret until the purchase has been completed. Only then is the name revealed, she elaborated.
The numbers of pieces of art available for sale are up from past, Dyck said, noting each artist could submit a maximum of three pieces for inclusion.
Fifty per cent of the money raised from each piece goes to the artist, while the rest goes towards arts council programs.
A lot of artists – especially those from Langley – appear anxious to help out the Langley Arts Council, Dyck said.
“This year is bigger than the past years,” she explained. “It will be an exciting night of art and music combined.”
The Incognito event is being held this Friday, Nov. 2, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Township of Langley’s civic centre.
While admission to the exhibit is free, those wishing to take in the 8:30 p.m. concert by Langley guitarist John Gilliat (world renowned for his fusion of rumba flamenco and Latin jazz) as well as his guest Rossi Tzonkov will have to pay $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
This is not a new idea. Anonymous art sales are hosted elsewhere, but Dyck remains optimistic this local Incognito show will just keep growing.
There’s a range of styles of paintings included in this year’s show, everything from abstract to realism, to expressionist painting in oils or acrylics. There’s also some collages and altered photographs.
With the flat $100 price range at this art exhibition and sale, she suggests this event is aimed at people who are start-up collectors or individuals looking for gift ideas.
Serious art enthusiasts usually have a few artists whose work they collect, and they don’t typically go looking for work by those artists at fundraising events. But Dyck said, that doesn’t exclude them. Some might be looking to collect works of new or up-and-coming artists.
“A few will be a bit more popular, probably because of colour choice or subject matter,” Dyck suggested. “It will be interesting to see which ones go first.”
