Silent auction fundraiser and show at Canandaigua gallery to benefit people of Ukraine
CANANDAIGUA, NY — Two years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, Kim Ratzel was invited by the State Department on a tour of Kiev and other locations in Ukraine.
Ratzel, who was an international freight forwarder at the time, had seen to it that shipments of hospital supplies large and small — ambulances and fire trucks included — were shipped to Ukraine and other places in Eastern Europe to help start micro businesses or hospitals and schools.
So earlier this year, after Russia invaded the country Ratzel had visited “back in the day,” it was a no-brainer for her to do something to try and help.
A painter, Ratzel contacted several other artists in the area and put together a silent auction fundraiser and show, with donated artworks on exhibit and for sale at the Pat Rini Rohrer Gallery in Canandaigua. Virtually all of the proceeds are being donated to the Ukrainian people through the American Red Cross. Several of the pieces have sold, but the auction is planned through the end of the month.
An artist’s way of showing support is to paint or express their creativity in some way. And for artists to donate their artwork, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, “is an awesome thing," said Ratzel, whose donated work already sold.
“For an artist to give up a piece of artwork and get nothing in return but gratitude is really important,” Ratzel said. “We’re not going to make thousands and thousands like the big organizations, but we have a way to have a voice in Canandaigua.”
Works are done by a veritable who’s who of artists in the Finger Lakes area and some outside the area, such as Pat Rini Rohrer herself, Pat Tribastone, Judy Soprano, Dick Kane, Jan Romeiser, and many others, in different mediums.
Photographer Peter Blackwood donated two framed sunflower pictures. The sunflower, Ukraine's national flower, has emerged as a symbol of peace for the Ukrainian people.
“People are growing sunflowers worldwide right now to show support for Ukraine,” Blackwood said. “For an artist, creating an art piece always gives it special meaning, as we are sharing our vision with others. To be able to share a vision that has much more meaning in a horrible situation and donate all proceeds to vulnerable victims is a worthwhile venture."
Many of the works feature a sunflower motif, but everybody has interpreted it a little differently, Ratzel said.
“We’re just a bunch of artists trying to tell it out how we can visually,” Ratzel said.
For Ratzel, the fundraiser was a no-brainer, because this is just a continuation of what she used to do for the country. She’s been there and seen Ukraine when it was in rough shape before, let alone now. Based on her past experiences, she is hopeful because the “people are really amazing and resilient.”
And, as she and others said, art is a powerful way to show you care.
“The sunflower pictures are beautiful,” Blackwood said. “Visualizing beauty is a reminder of the peace for the world to strive and yearn for.”
More details
The sunflower silent auction is part of the “Spring at the Gallery" exhibition, which runs through May 31 at the Pat Rini Rohrer Gallery, 71 S. Main St., Canandaigua. The spring exhibit showcases the artist’s interpretation of the excitement of the colors and promise of spring with original work that celebrates the scenery of the Finger Lakes region, as well as inspired reflections, abstractions, and imagery.
To view the works of artists in the fundraiser for Ukraine, visit prrgallery.com/current-exhibition.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Canandaigua artists band together to help people of Ukraine
