After a 10-year hiatus, Wichita State alums and spouses John and Connie Ernatt opened a display of new artwork in the gallery space they own, The Diver on 424 Commerce St.
Art lovers, community and family friends from Wichita came to the exhibit opening on Friday to support the couple and see or shop their work.
Individual and collaborative pieces by John and Connie were displayed for sale, ranging from $500 to $12,500, and one piece titled “Cold Sand” with a price available upon request.
The couple used to do art shows about every six years, Connie said. But the COVID-19 pandemic stopped those plans. During the pandemic, the Ernatts closed their gallery to renovate the space.
The couple built the gallery themselves, and modeled it after a living room space, with built-in seating so visitors can sit while looking at the art. With a smaller area for only their art to be on display, and a larger area for shows.
“So we haven’t been active, so this was our chance to be out in 10 years … because of COVID, it’s been longer than the six normal (years), but it feels good to be back at it again,” Connie said.
Coming off the end of the pandemic, the Ernatts decided it was time to re-open the doors to their gallery and invite people back.
“It’s really hard to find time to put together a body of work, to have a show and so on, but we decided that the time is now,” John said. “We’ve lost a lot of friends this year, and so if you want to do something you kind of have to do it now … as you get older, your window kind of closes.”
The dual gallery space was packed shoulder-to-shoulder as a larger crowd, made up of family and friends of the couple, occupied the space from when the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. to the end of the night.
“It was crazy,” Connie said. “When you plan an event like this, it’s a gamble … we’re not on social media, and so we were relying on other people to get the word out … we didn’t know if it was going to be a lot of people or not.”
John said that seeing the space so full epitomized the community that the art world brings.
“It was wonderful … in the Wichita art community, we all kind of root for each other and we show up for each other,” he said. “I love seeing everybody here … I’m just tickled.”
The exhibit of pieces will be on display through the new year, with viewings at First Friday art crawls.
