SPRINGFIELD — It isn’t every day that the Emerald Art Center (EAC) features a show from an award-winning, international artist like Anne Grgich.
She has shown in New York, France, the UK, Australia, and Canada. It would take pages to list all her national and international shows.
Grgich’s art will be up from Sept. 3-27 with a reception during the Second Friday Artwalk on Sept. 13 from 5-7:30 pm. She will be teaching a workshop Sept. 26-27 from noon-4 p.m. at the EAC at 500 Main St.
“When I first came to Emerald Art Center, and learned about our arts education programs and workshops, I knew I wanted to invite Anne. . . . She had told me of her workshops and I trepidatiously asked if she would be interested in an exhibition and workshop at EAC, said Don Hudgins, director of EAC. “This is my first curatorial outing for Emerald Art Center, and I wanted to do something big and special for the Springfield community. I was so pleased Anne accepted the challenge.”
It might surprise one to learn that the artwork this artist creates is trash.
Or more accurately—it is made from trash.
Grgich’s mixed media collages are bright, evocative pieces that are surreal, at times feel feminine and playful, and at times feel reminiscent of the medieval works of Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights.”
“Her creativity, imagination, and skill are beyond the ordinary description of an artist,” said Dottie Chase, former president and EAC board member.
Anne Grgich’s “The Giver”
In her work, one might find drawings and paintings layered over bits of fabric, cutouts from magazines, jigsaw puzzles, dolls, old books, surfboards, antique photo albums and thrift store world globes to create something new, complete, and original. The composition of colors and textures become a breathtaking sight to behold.
Grgich lives outside Seattle, Wash., but spent much of her life in the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco. She was a self-taught artist born in LA who painted on inner covers of books in her family’s library in the 1960s.
In 1981 at the age of 19, she survived a massive car accident that took the life of her boyfriend.
She was in a coma for two months, the aftermath resulting in health complications, surgeries, and the necessity to relearn everything.
Out of tragedy, she turned to art and drawing as therapy for her grief, her confusion, and exploration of consciousness and identity.
“My early drawings very quickly moved toward what I am most known for, multilayered renderings of human faces that stared into the viewer’s soul,” said the artist. “This turn to art was therapeutic, and it soon bordered on obsession.”
Grgich’s passion for collage came out of practicality, as it was an affordable art supply for a starving artist. Friends and neighbors donated supplies to her cause.
“While still focusing a lot of my work on renderings of human faces, these collage works brought me the opportunity to add layers of mystery and intricacy behind them,” Grgich said. “To me, these layers are reminiscent of human consciousness, and continue to provide further opportunities for representing the mysteries of the human mind.”
The EAC is fortunate to have a new director so well connected to other artists in previous communities where he lived.
“I wanted to give this great opportunity to the Springfield community as a gift of art and introduction,” said Hudgins.
Hudgins would like to curate several exhibitions a year, noting that he is arranging haiku comics artist, David Lasky, in April of 2025 as part of National Poetry Month.
“We are hoping to involve other community venues in this project. One year from now, we will be welcoming Robyn Drake,” he said. “Over the years Robyn has become a great painter and I wanted to share her work with my new friends.”
Sarina Dorie is the arts writer for The Chronicle.
