Art Bar’s New Show Draws a Crowd

Art Bar. Photo by Rose Balistreri.

Friday, November 7 drew a packed house to the Art Bar at 722 E. Burleigh Ave. in Riverwest, for a show of tiny art at tiny prices.

This year’s edition of the bar’s annual “Mini Show” featured more than 100 local artists, the most ever presented. The show has been growing since it first started in 2007.

Don Krause, owner of the Art Bar, said it has also become an annual tradition for families and friends to exchange art work purchased here as holiday gifts.

All work is priced under $100 and the image must be no larger than 8 inches by x 8 inches. Some work is framed, some not, but all look “finished” and ready for hanging.

Krause said the exhibit is fun for artists because it gives them a chance to work on a very small scale and experiment in ways that larger works do not.

There are about 675 pieces of work in this years’ show. But there are still 500 yet to be displayed! The show, which will rotate the works, continues until just after Christmas, giving you plenty of time to find that unique gift for a friend (or yourself!).

Krause has run the Art Bar since 2002, and renovated a building some thought was “possessed” to create a haven for artist and arts lovers. The story behind the bar’s creation was told by Nastassia Putz, in her story “Art*Bar Is a Painters Paradise.”

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