LYNN — The Galleries at LynnArts (GALA) recently unveiled two exhibits for October — Wicked Whimsy and Wonder, and LatinX Heritage and Innovation.
Both galleries will be open until Oct. 26 and include an array of visual art works by local painters, photographers and sculptors.
The call for art for the Wicked Wonder and Whimsy exhibit asked artists to explore the realms where “imagination knows no bounds.”
“When it comes to Whimsy and Wonder, a lot of people go to fairy tale type stuff,” Amanda Masson, GALA secretary said. “We made a conscious choice to include the darker side of it.”
The exhibit is filled with phantoms, pumpkins and abstract creatures for the mind to ponder.
“Work that has a darker undertone to it, or what’s perceived as taboo or spooky, only gets one shot per year. It’s usually during Halloween to get some sort of light shown on,” Masson said.
The LatinX Heritage and Innovation exhibit includes painting and sculptures by Latino artists, which will be displayed during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
“The Latin community is responsible for a lot of innovation, especially in the art world, especially in painting,” Masson said.
She noted the heavy influence of the painter Salvador Dali in many of the paintings and the tremendous use of bold colors.
Masson also noted how several artists hid images in their paintings or used a method of surrealism.
“It’s a very traditional Latin American way of painting,” she said.