Sabatini Art Gallery May 1 - June 12

Commemorating the adventures of a group of friends as they travel throughout the United States and abroad, Constance Ehrlich’s paintings celebrate the freedom and excitement of summer vacation. Come and share their travels at the Sabatini’s 8th Annual Art Exhibition for Children.

Exhibit Programs:
First Friday opening reception and meet the artist
May 1, 2009 | 5:30 - 8:30 pm | Sabatini Gallery

Imagination on Vacation
May 9 and 23, 2009 | 10:00 - 12:00 pm | Lingo Room

Gallery talk with Constance Ehrlich
May 14, 2009 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm | Sabatini Gallery

Alter your expressions: journaling from the ground up
June 4, 2009 | 2:00 - 4:00 pm | The Edge

First Friday
June 5, 2009 | 5:30 - 8:30 pm | Sabatini Gallery

 Exhibit Fun:

Visit the jewel box in the gallery to plot your own dream vacation destination on a map. Find Kansas destinations on a map and read interesting facts about some of the locations depicted in Ehrlich’s paintings.

Download this pdf version of the exhibit’s official brochure for more fun and games and helpful hints to look at art in a whole new way. 

Curator’s statement:
Ehrlich’s series of oil paintings, which show cartoon characters and other popular culture images in authentic vacation experiences, appeal to the young and old at heart. You can’t help but laugh at the descriptions she has written for each painting. It’s this world of the whimsical that makes Ehrlich’s paintings so appealing. rlich’s paintings take us back to our own childhoods when our toys had lives of their own and traveled with us everywhere.

Artist statement:
I have always been an avid collector of “things”. My primary obsession has been toys- bobble heads, sock monkeys, Barbie dolls, Mr. Potato Head, and the list goes on. As a result of this passion, I have created a series of work that use “toys on vacation” as subject matter. In these paintings I document the fun-filled adventures of a group of friends as they travel throughout the United States and abroad. These characters, such as Popeye, Fred Flintstone and Captain Crunch visit historic sites, famous museums, and other wonders of the world. From the maniacal to the mysterious, from the whimsical to the absurd, these images go beyond the ordinary. They become fantasy worlds where inanimate objects come to life.
—Constance Ehrlich