From tiny rings and necklaces to massive paintings and photography, art in all forms graced Jackson Avenue this weekend during the 40th annual Riverwalk Fine Art Fair in Naperville.
Hosted by the Naperville Art League, the juried and judged event aimed to display high-quality art by topnotch artists for visitors to browse, buy and enjoy, said Debbie Venezia, who directs the show.
This year’s fair featured 100 artists from across the country, with works carefully showcased under simple white tents.
“This is their passion, and I think it shows when you walk through,” Venezia said.
The event’s footprint has decreased from a high-point of 140 artists during its heyday about a decade ago, Venezia said. But to Art League leaders, maintaining quality has taken precedence over maximizing exhibitor quantity.
“The show has changed and evolved over the years,” said Venezia, who also directors the Arts DuPage countywide arts council. “We’re just trying to do whatever we can to stay on trend.”
Variety and vibrancy were two trends in plain sight during the fair, to the delight of art enthusiasts like Naperville resident Noel Thompson, stopped by the show to talk with artists and engage with the art.
“I find that artistically interesting, but not my aesthetic,” she said about one piece, featuring real and artificial gold plating as well as geodes and reclaimed glass.
Artworks were listed for a broad range of prices — Japanese “flower frog” vases for $25 each, kinetic metal lawn decorations for $62, or — for $11,750 — a 45-inch by 95-inch mixed-media depiction of ocean waves made from wood, foam, gel and acrylic paints and resin.
Artist Neil Russell, of Springfield, Missouri — originally from Barbados — created the large-scale piece and had several mixed-media works inspired by the ocean on display. The pieces are in line with his work to “echo rhythms found in nature,” he said.
Visitors seemed to visually grasp what Russell described as “the waves rippling, the shallows and the sands” in these pieces, and they caught they eye of attendees like Olivia Demeris, of Lombard.
Demeris paused to feel the texture of Russell’s largest ocean painting, which the artist encouraged. With an artistic side herself — she handmade the amber-hued butterfly earrings she wore to the fest — Demeris said she enjoyed the talent she saw while strolling.
“I like crafty stuff so I like seeing other people’s art too,” Demeris said.
Some artists conducted demonstrations during the event or worked on their next creations. Pamela Hamilton, of Geneva, was one of these, sketching and blending a pastel landscape during the fair’s opening hours while hoping it wouldn’t rain.
“Pastels are a less-traditional medium, even though they’re a very old medium,” Hamilton said, while visitors browsed her tent. “By setting my stuff up, they can see the process.”
Local artists like Hamilton were well-represented at the fair, with hometowns including Antioch, Aurora, Barrington, Chicago, Crete, Crystal Lake, Deerfield, Geneva, McHenry, Mount Prospect, Rockford, Schaumburg, St. Charles, Villa Park and Westmont. Out-of-town artists came from as far away as Florida and Virginia, among other states.
The DuPage Children’s Museum took part in the fair by hiring professional artists to engage young visitors in creating a chalk drawing on the pavement. The Awakenings Project of Wheaton, a grassroots initiative that promotes the art of people with illness, spotlighted member-created pieces nearby.
Venezia said the Art League purposely works with organizations like the children’s museum and Awakenings to build partnerships through the fair. She said the event can feel like a homecoming for returning artists or a whole new world for first-time attendees.
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“What I like,” said Thompson, as she browsed modern and classic works, paintings, purses, photos and more, “is that there’s a range of things.”
Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.