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OGDEN — Mysterious works of art will be showcased in this year’s Secret Art Show, an exhibit that may be just as intriguing as its name.
Some art connoisseurs purchase pieces based on their creator’s name alone, but the Secret Art Show diminishes that.
Here’s how it works: The Union Station Foundation sends more than 100 artists a blank, 5-by-7-foot canvas to paint anything they want. Instead of traditionally signing the front of the painting, each artist signs the back, so when the paintings are displayed at the fundraiser, no one knows who created them.
“The real fun part of this is you’ll find art that you like and you won’t know who painted it,” former executive director of the Secret Art Show Roberta Beverly said. “It takes away the ‘Oh, I’ve got to have that because it’s a Julie Lewis.’ You just like the painting and you take a chance to get it, and it’s so much fun.”
The Secret Art show will take place Nov. 21 at 6:00 p.m. in the grand lobby of The Union Station. The Union Station Foundation will hang the art four days prior to the show, allowing the public to view it early.
A $10 entrance fee buys each guest a pencil, which they use to put their name on one of ten slots on as many paintings as they like. A member of the Union Station Foundation then rolls dice, and the patron with the corresponding number next to that painting gets to buy it.
Everything is just by chance. if there's more than one name on that painting, you're going to have to live with whatever the dice says.
–Roberta Beverly
“If you have a favorite number, you try to get it on that line,” Beverly said. “Everything is just by chance. if there’s more than one name on that painting, you’re going to have to live with whatever the dice says.”
Beginner and experienced artists from Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and New Mexico donate their work to the event, and all of the paintings cost $99. The event doubles as a fundraiser for the preservation of Ogden’s historic Union Station.
“You can get a painting that costs well in the thousands for just $99,” Beverly said. “Everybody has a 1 in 10 chance of getting the painting they want. If you know it’s one that’s going to be popular, you want to get your name on there.”
More than 150 paintings will be featured at the Secret Art Show, including watercolor, oil and acrylic.
