Proof of Attendance: Artomatic Show

For the whole month of October, Jefferson County has it's own art spotlight with the opening of the Artomatic art gallery.  Located in Charles Town at the old Rock & Tile building, the gallery features local artists from around the area ranging from photographers, sculptors, painters and musicians and is open to the general public free of charge, which is why I decided to swing by. The Shepherd University art department also had a presence there with some pieces by students and professors so that was another reason to go.

I went to the Emerge art show earlier in the day so art was still on my mind and I was ready to see some local work and compare works and compare I did.

While I did enjoy some of the works at Artomatic, mostly the Universities' pieces, I felt a definite change in atmosphere in this art environment compared to Emerge and not on a finance level, but on a creative level. The art in Artomatic felt more like a hobby exhibition than an art gallery and Most of the pieces there failed to engage me as the day's earlier exhibition. It may have had something to do with me already have gone to a show, but in terms of concept, composition, creativity and execution, the works were a bit lacking.

Most of the artists were local and a bit older in years so the whole thing had that feeling of a social art hangout spot for them to meet, share their works and maybe, just maybe sell a piece to a casual art collector looking to spice up their place, which isn't a bad thing. It's just not what I was expecting from an art gallery.

Overall, I didn't have a bad time, but I would have loved to have seen some more interesting, contemporary work.

The show will be held every weekend until october ends, so If you want to experience some casual art or take the family out, then this is a great event and if you are a serious artist, don't pass it up because art is still art. It may not be next level, but where there is creative energy, there can be inspiration.