Montana Modernism exhibit planned at the Wachholz College Center

The Wanda Hollensteiner Art Gallery will hold a new exhibit, Montana Modernism: from the collection of Alex and Margene Berry, Sept. 12 through Nov. 1. 

The show will feature artwork by some of Montana’s most important modernist artists, including ceramicist David Shaner, expressionist painter Freeman Butts and sculptor Kate Hunt. 

Berry, a Flathead native, spent summers helping her grandmother Minnie Jordan run a café on Main Street in Kalispell. Following college and earning a master’s degree in museum education in New York City, Berry built a career in the art world of Washington, D.C. She visited Montana often and followed the development of local artists here with great interest. In 1989, she started her own gallery in Washington, D.C., calling it the Montana Gallery, with a mission to introduce the works of modernist artists from the state to the highly established art world of the East Coast. 

Over the years, Berry maintained relationships and connections with Montana artists, developing an extensive collection of modernist artwork. Together with her husband, Alex, the Berrys have curated a personal collection that celebrates the vibrancy of contemporary art expressed by Montana artists.  

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Sept. 16. Margene Berry will give a gallery talk at 6 p.m. The gallery is located at the Wachholz College Center, 795 Grandview Drive in Kalispell. 

The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays.