EXHIBITION: “An Artistic Execution”

GALLERY: STUDIO DUENDE

ARTISTS: PERNIE FALLON and GUY GIERSCH

OPENING: Saturday, June 9 from 8–10 P.M.

HOURS: 11 – 5, Tuesday–Friday; 10 – 5, Saturday; and

by appointment (214)-592-9888 or artstudioduende@yahoo.com

New Art Gallery – Studio Duende – Opens at Old Prison in McKinney on June 9, 2007

In a place famous for its executions, Studio Duende celebrates its grand opening at the old Collin County Prison in downtown McKinney with a gala reception from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 9. At the new Studio Duende, an execution of a different sort is taking place on the second floor of the old prison located at 115 S. Kentucky, a half a block south of the McKinney’s Historic Square.

Designated as a Texas historic landmark in 1990, the prison was the site of the last legal execution in Collin County in 1922. Convicted of killing a man and sinking the corpse in a well, Mr. Ezell Stepp was shoved out of the upper window to hang. Accounts say that his head separated from his body when he reached the end of the rope.

Now hanging at the prison is “An Artful Execution”, the first exhibit of art works by gallery owners Pernie Fallon and Guy Giersch. Together with Carrie Garner’s Galleria d’Arte, housed on the first floor, and Aristeia Gallery on the third floor, Studio Duende embraces the vivaciousness that the community of talented local artists brings to the city.

Guy Giersch is McKinney’s Historic Preservation Officer and portrays Collin McKinney in the city’s nationally recognized ad campaign. In his photography, he portrays beauty. His photographs are as distinct as he is, playing with the dichotomy of body and soul – how seeing produces experiences and in turn, how experience tempers what one sees. His images range from landscapes to portraits to architecture. The balance Giersch maintains between seeing and experience gives his work its striking vitality.

Pernie Fallon’s hallmark has always been an emphasis on spontaneity, expression and intuitive creativity. Her first ring at the age of 14 won a national award and ignited her passion for becoming a masterful goldsmith and sculptor. Her 18K gold jewelry, set with semi-precious stones, is inspired by nature. Like nature, she never creates the same thing twice. Her love for the outdoors led to becoming a plein air painter, capturing the light in her color-drenched pastel and oil paintings. Whether her stroke is made with a goldsmith’s hammer or a sable-tipped brush, her touch is direct and skilled – expressing an endless and intimate exploration of beauty and nature.

In case you were wondering, duende translates into English as a spirit or force of artistic mystery – equivalent to one's soul – that drives an artist's inspiration.

At Studio Duende, you will probably not encounter the headless soul of Ezell Stepp, but you just might lose your head over the exceptionally well-executed paintings, jewelry, sculpture and photography.