It’s that time again: Ordinary doors will become works of art in Salem, and businesses of all kinds will become temporary art salons.
The Mary Lou Zeek Gallery’s “Door Show No. 4” will transform downtown from Tuesday through May 31. The every-other-year event challenges artists to try working on a different scale and offers visitors and locals an excuse to enjoy a quirky downtown walking tour. Part of the fun is seeing how many different things creative people can find to do with a standard wooden door from a home-improvement store. Kim Murton of Vancouver, Wash., turned her door sideways and covered it with bold graphics of humans and animals enjoying a meal at a table together. Kristin Kuhns of Salem opted for a vertical panel filled with a lush impression of the Zena Forest, overlaid by embroidered red grid marks. The tour also offers an excuse to visit businesses that you’ve seen but never patronized. For the next month, “I stopped in to see your door” is all the explanation you need. Some of the two-dozen artists taking part say they relish the challenge of working in a new medium, on a larger scale or in the unusual shape of a very narrow rectangle. In contrast, Deborah DeWit chose muted shades of brown, green and orange for her view through a door, through a room, of a cat watching through a window for someone to come home.
“It’s about the light at night in a darkened place and how atmospheric it is,” she said.