Alberta House to host artist retrospective through March

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT AREA ARTS COUNCIL

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Gene Usimaki retrospective exhibition March 1 to 31 in Alberta House

Reception Saturday, March 5 from 1 to 3 p.m.

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - Gene Usimaki was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, the oldest daughter of well known Sault photographer Walter Materna. 

She zeroed in on art early in life, earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education from Northern in 1953, and went on to paint, to teach and to work with and organize other artists her entire life. 

She settled on water media early in her painting career, but was not confined to it. 

Though the bulk of her work was in watercolour and acrylics, she was also adept in pen and ink, collage, coloured pencil and more, and some of her collages contained her own hand made paper.

Highlights in her many honours include two Painting Awards in the Sault Summer Arts Festival (1975 and 1977) as well as one banner year, when she swept the Sault Summer Arts Festival awards, taking Best of Show, the Aarre Lahti Design Award and the LSSU Purchase Award (1986). 

That same year she also took the award for the Best Portrayal of Light in the Algoma Fall Festival where, the previous year, she had taken the Algoma Fall Festival New Discovery Award. 

In 1988 she took the Sault Summer Arts Festival award for the Best Use of Colour.  

In 1996 she took Best of Show in the Olive Craig Gallery’s Juried Lake Superior Exhibition.

Gene Usimaki died last fall. 

This final retrospective includes recent paintings as well as older ones, some for sale and some not. 

Subject matter varies widely. 

The exhibit reception is Saturday, March 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. and all are welcome. 

Alberta House is located at 217 Ferris Street (in Sault Michigan), just south of the Soo Locks Visitors Center. 

Regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free.

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