Even though “Bat Country Revisited” is the name of the new exhibition at You Are Here in Jeannette, the art space won’t look entirely like a Halloween store.
Some of the artwork will include bats and other fantastical, Halloween-adjacent creatures, but some of it will use the bat theme metaphorically, said gallery co-founder Mary Briggs.
“It’s about ‘going batty,’” she said.
The show is an opportunity for the artists to take flights of fancy with their work and to express themselves in a whimsical manner, said curator and exhibiting artist Natalie Condrac.
“There are twinges of the scary, the goofy and everything on the spectrum,” she said.
“We call it ‘creepy cute,’” said exhibiting artist Kepi Ghoulie.
“Bat Country” opens with a free reception from 2-6 p.m. Saturday at the gallery at 406 Clay Ave. Continuing through Oct. 31, the show will include works by five individual artists and one artist duo working in media including print, paint, ceramics, papier mache and mixed-media.
Condrac’s mixed-media works range from detailed miniatures and found-object collages to immersive art installations. She says that she is fascinated with “all things mysterious and frightening,” and that all her works have a story and a hidden narrative.
Ghoulie, a California-based artist and musician, creates acrylic and watercolor paintings that contain themes of cryptozoology and unsolved mystery.
Other featured artists are:
• Kara Zuzu, a Pittsburgh-based ceramicist who makes small, functional pieces such as hand-embellished mugs, along with large sculptures. Her work is inspired by animals, women and her life experiences.
• Chris “B-Face” Barnard, a Boston-based outsider artist and musician whose work, including shirts and art cards, is well-known in the punk underground.
• Beth Yadamec, a librarian at Jeannette Public Library.
• JaM, an artist duo offering “a decidedly unique take on face jugs and mugs.”
In conjunction with the reception, Ghoulie and Barnard will play music at 3 p.m. Saturday at the amphitheater near the gallery, at 501 Clay Ave.
Ghoulie also will give a free, family friendly concert at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Jeannette Public Library, 500 Magee Ave. Founder of the pop-punk band the Groovy Ghoulies, Ghoulie also creates and plays country, folk and children’s music.
The gallery also will host an Oct. 16 public workshop, during which people will be able to help create large masks and puppets that will be featured in Jeannette’s Halloween parade.
Details: yah406clay.org
