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TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY COLLIDE Genesis Gallery in Yazoo City By Melissa Townsend Art has a way of appealing to the senses. It can reflect the individual personality of a homeowner like no other interior décor. For most Deltans, it is more likely purchased on a faraway vacation to memorialize a special place, at art festivals across the Southeast, or in a New Orleans art gallery. A piece may strike your fancy at a local interior market, or an artist is commissioned to fill an unusual space. But the general assumption is that there is no evergreen resource in the Mississippi Delta to find an extensive collection of artwork from renowned artists. Enter Genesis Gallery of Fine Art in Yazoo City. You know there's a buyer with an artful eye the minute you walk into Genesis Gallery, the brainchild of Tina Bradford from Vaughan, MS, a local artist who selects work from internationally known artists, as well as more than 30 artists from Mississippi. When Bradford opened the doors to a sophisticated fine art gallery on a dilapidated downtown block of Yazoo City in May 2002, the Yazoo Herald captured the initial local sentiment with the headline: AN ART GALLERY IN YA-ZO-O? Now in business for more than one year with plans to expand, Genesis Gallery is catching the attention of art seekers in the North Mississippi region. Since the opening of the gallery, three other empty storefronts on the first block of Main Street have come to life; and together they are attracting an upscale clientele, including tourists. The name, Genesis, represents "the new beginning" for Bradford, who left the fast-paced corporate world that kept her away from her husband and her love of painting. Bradford says she opened the business in Yazoo, rather than a larger city, because she believed the Delta area was an untapped market of people with an enormous passion for art. "So many people remark about the unique mix of contemporary and traditional selections," says Bradford. "A comparison to New York City art galleries is a constant refrain from our visitors." Wide arrays of media include original oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, and drawings mixed with remarqued giclees, unframed prints, and photography. "The only thing we specialize in is quality," Bradford explains. "We look for unusual colors and textures, and our customers know the difference." It is true there’s nothing drab or primitive about the precisely hung paintings and photography on the walls. From the deep talent pool in the immediate Yazoo area, aficionados find originals by Hope Carr, National Watercolor Society signature member Cathy Hegman, Arthur Green, Don Meyer, and Dennis Heckle-to name only a few. Marion Brown, also from Yazoo City, displays mesmerizing black and white photographs, not limited to Delta scenery. Other noteworthy artists from Mississippi include Duff Dorrough from Ruleville, Susan Cox Davis from Brandon, and H.C. Porter and Marty Ferguson from Jackson. Art pottery throughout the gallery is by LeiAnn Parker from Benton. Genesis Gallery is home to the National Pastel Society award-winning painting, Cherry Tableau, by Fred Yost. Paul Brown and Helen Gwinn are other internationally acclaimed artists represented aside up-and-coming artists from around the country such as former Baltimore Colts football player, Jim Aho from New Mexico, as well as Helen Gadd from Canada. The inventory at Genesis Gallery offers an ever-evolving selection of pieces that range widely in price-from $55 for a small still life to $8,500 for a dramatic landscape by Arizona artist Dale TerBush. Unframed watercolors can be picked up at a discount, but framed originals have attractive price points. Genesis Gallery is located at 125 S. Main Street in Yazoo City. Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-5:30pm; Satur-day 10am-3pm. Call 662-746-2222 or visit genesisartgallery.com for more information. <...HOME...>