The Third Jewel
group show

organized by Barbara Berry

July 5 — August 3, 2025
open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 12-6pm or by appointment

Opening Reception: Sunday, July 6th, 2-5pm

Artist Talk: Sunday, August 3rd at 2pm

“In an obscure and puzzling way, the artist develops a work of art. As it gains a life of its own, it becomes an entity, an independent spiritual life, which as a being, leads the life of material realism. It is, therefore, not simply a phenomenon created casually and Inconsequentially indifferent to spiritual life. Instead as a living being, it possesses creative active forces.”   

— Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), “Concerning the Spiritual in Art”

“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible”

— Paul Klee (1879-1940) “Creative Credo”

One of the primary purposes of art throughout the ages has been to express and give form to the spiritual. Some art is directly connected to specific religious teachings or doctrines, other art is reflective of a broader search for the inner meaning or the spiritual journey of the individual. 

The ten artists in the exhibition, “The Third Jewel”, are united by their connection to Buddhism, as it has been presented and taught in North America by Tibetan teachers in the late 20th century to the present. The works are diverse in media, form and intent; but all are issuing from a space influenced either directly or indirectly, by Buddhist thought, meditation and philosophy. Included in the exhibition are the paintings of Barbara Berry, Leya Evelyn, Cyndi Levine, Tony Matthews, and Odessa Spore. Also exhibited are the sculptural ceramics of Mindy Moore and Steven Peters and the large-scale photos of Marvin Moore. Both Michael Milligan and Ethan Neville present mixed media works utilizing found objects. 

The exhibitions title “The Third Jewel”, also known as the triple gem, refers to what are known as the Three Jewels in Buddhism. They represent the three core elements that all Buddhists take refuge in and provide a framework for their spiritual development. The first jewel is the Buddha, the second jewel is the Dharma or the teachings of the Buddha, the third jewel is the sangha or community of practitioners who support each other on the path. All the artists in this exhibition are joined as sangha and are also tied together by a commitment to the creative process of being an artist.