Among the featured entries in Gallerie Renee Marie’s juried exhibit “The Art of the Book” is Berkeley artist Barbara Maricle’s “Braille Tapestry VI.” Maricle transferred rust to found pages of Braille editions of magazines, then saturated the panels with beeswax, stitched them together and suspended the panels from steel rods. (Courtesy photo)

A celebration of books is underway at Gallerie Renee Marie as the gallery gears up for its third anniversary.    These books, however, are pieces of art which have been altered through collage, entertaining elements and creative interpretations, and they are all part of the gallery’s first juried show.    “The Art of the Book” opened May 11 and runs until June 9.

A Juror’s Talk and Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 19 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. followed by an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  The public is invited to both events.  The gallery is expecting many of the artists who were selected to attend.

Cash awards will be given for the top three winning entries: $100 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third.  There will be a non-cash honorable mention for fourth place.  In addition, all art work on display is available for sale.

“We are thrilled with the number of entries and the high quality of the art submitted,” LorriMarie Jenkins, juror and curator of the show, said.  “We received nearly 50 entries from as far away as Switzerland and Wales as well as all over the United States, ranging from New York to Hawaii.”

Jenkins selected 36 to be displayed in the gallery for “The Art of the Book.

“It was a tough task to select those pieces to be in the exhibit,” she said. “The entries were so well done, unique and interesting.  This has been a remarkable process which I have enjoyed tremendously.”

Jenkins is an internationally known altered book and mixed media artist herself and a member of the Gallerie Renee Marie co-op.  She teaches classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and shares two tutorials a week on her popular YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/lorrimarie2002.  Her work has been featured in several national publications including the April edition of Somerset Magazine which features her altered books.

In addition to the opening reception, the gallery will host a closing Reception and celebration of the end of the show on June 9, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

According to Renee Marie Jordan, co-founder and owner of the gallery, “The Art of the Book” is the first juried show that the gallery has hosted.

“We are delighted with the response,” she said.  “We’ve received so many fascinating art pieces including one in braille. What an exciting way to celebrate our third anniversary and mark the beginning of our fourth year.  We have seen amazing growth as a gallery, and this show is a testament to that growth and the quality of the art we have in our gallery from all our artists.”

Jordan and co-owner Stephanie Gray, both contemporary artists, opened Gallerie Renee Marie in May 2015 within the office space of Jordan Real Estate on First Street.  They invited other artists working in contemporary style to join them in the co-operative.  In addition to Jordan and Gray, the gallery artists are Vicki Byrum Dennis, Laura Garcia, Erika Pazmandi Hagen, LorriMarie Jenkins, Keri Luiz, JoAnneh Nagle, Nancy Truax Narciso, Anne Petty, Nicky Ruxton, and Ken Weichel.

The gallery also is an active participant in Arts Benicia as well as The Galleries of First Street, a collective of eight galleries along Benicia’s main shopping street.

Gallerie Renee Marie is located at 1038 First St. and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.  For more information call 707-480-5501, email galleriereneemarie@gmail.com or visit www.galleriereneemarie.com.

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