Through August, Esters Enoteca is featuring a display of vintage art by Gary Polinsky. These pieces depict Polinsky’s favorite scenes from Northwest Native folklore, etched in glass and displayed in hand-made, LED-lit shadowboxes.
Polinsky created the works more than two decades ago, sandblasting historic images into 3/16th glass using reverse imagery. With painstaking skill, Polinsky would “think backwards” with his hands and an Xacto knife to find the layers and release the image. He’s recently restored the pieces with LED lighting, to avoid heating or humming, and illuminate stories precious to him.
The reflective boxes are for sale during the show at Esters, with proceeds from sales to benefit the Fremont Arts Council. A volunteer with the FAC, and a friend of Fremont (“this is my nook,” he recently acknowledged,) Polinsky hopes to find appreciative homes for these art works – while supporting the on-going work of the Arts Council, and bringing more art to the neighborhood.
Find out more by stopping by Esters Enoteca, now through the end of August, 2021. Esters is currently open Wednesdays – Saturdays from 5p – 9p, and visitors are welcome to come in and check out the art. To meet Polinsky, stop by during the Fremont First Friday Art Walk on August 6th from 6p – 9p.