MAGallery in downtown Madison has announced the opening of two special shows on Oct. 18. The first will feature the handpainted canvas rugs of artist Molly Lesnikowski, and the second will feature the Madison Artists Guild’s annual Holiday Market.
The evening will kick off from 6-8 p.m. with a reception catered by The Caboose, featuring live music by MaCayla Cook Hodges, and a meet-and-greet session with Lesnikowski, fresh off an annual trip to her Martha’s Vineyard hometown.
Lesnikowski grew up in “a household that valued art and where there was always the interest to talk about, admire, and create art,” she said.
After being educated at home and Connecticut College before studying at the Art Students League in New York City, Lesnikowski has pursued art throughout her life and brings more training than most to the medium of painted canvas rugs.
Painting out-of-scale objects on oversized canvases adds whimsy to her work, which she finds refreshing. Hand-painted canvas rugs combine original art with practicality and durability, making them an art form that is both accessible and affordable. MAGallery is honored to have Zant Medical Team sponsor the exhibition, which runs through Nov. 16 at MAGallery.
Meanwhile, the Guild’s Holiday Market features handcrafted work from 32 artists, providing a wide variety of original gifts for the upcoming holiday season. All works will be offered for sale, and there will be no shortage of handcrafted, affordable gifts for the holidays at the 6th annual MAG Holiday Market.
Functional and structural ceramics, pottery, fused glass works, jewelry, elk-horn bottle stoppers, recycled metal sculptures, knitted and woven items, paintings and puzzles featuring the work of area artists, and seasonal ornaments are among many more items available for decorating and gift giving. New items will be added weekly to encourage return shoppers.
Thirty-two artists were selected for the 2024 market, with 17 new to the MAG Holiday Market, which runs through Dec. 31 this year.
Both shows support the Guild’s mission to encourage artistic endeavors in its community. MAGallery, a retail art gallery, hosts rotating exhibitions of established and emerging artists and showcases the original work of local and regional artists and authors on an ongoing basis.
The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, at 125 W. Jefferson St., Madison. For more information, visit online at TheMadisonArtistsGuild.org or call 706-342-9360.