Artworks from private collections will be exhibited at “Seldom Seen” to promote and educate attendees about art collecting. Courtesy of Tara Bennett

Artwork from the private collections of contributors in the Florida Parishes will be on exhibit at the Hammond Regional Arts Center to promote art collecting.

The opening reception for “Seldom Seen” will be held on Oct. 6 at 5 p.m., and the exhibition will be open until Oct. 27. The exhibition is free and open to the public. The exhibition is curated by HRAC Board Members Pat Macaluso and Denise Tullier-Holly.

“We have collected art from members of the community who have taken two or three pieces from their personal art collection to put together to instruct the public on how and why to collect art to show that it doesn’t have to be a van Gogh to be a valued piece of an art collection,” said Macaluso. “Besides just labelling each art piece with the title and the artist, we are trying to get some background on the artist and some insight into why these people chose this particular piece to collect regarding circumstances when they purchased the work, collected the work and what moved them to purchase the work.”

Macaluso discussed what can be found at “Seldom Seen.”

“It’s an excellent example of various art from different mediums, different genres, different levels of taste,” said Macaluso. “It includes everything from highly collectible like Ida Kohlmeyer to just somebody who found a postcard in an antique shop, just thought it was pretty and framed it. It’s an attempt to kind of take the stigma out of being called an art collector because you don’t have to really know anything about art to collect. All you have to know is what you like and want to surround yourself with things that give you joy.”

“Seldom Seen” is the fifth in a series. Though not reoccurring every year, the exhibit is held periodically.

“So often, people think that collecting art is only something the super rich can do,” said HRAC Executive Director Katherine Marquette. “I really admire this exhibition because it demonstrates that everyone can collect art. Whether you are rich or poor, whether it’s a print from an artist that costs $50 or a painting that costs $500, everyone can and should be supporting living artists when and wherever possible. I myself am a collector and believe deeply in the power and richness art brings to the lives of those that live with and immerse themselves in it.”

Marquette explained the exhibition title “Seldom Seen.”

“The show’s title makes reference to the fact that the works of art included in this exhibition are in private collections, thus they are ‘seldom seen’ by the public at large,” said Marquette. “Unlike works of art which are owned by public institutions, such as museums, once a painting or a work of art is purchased by a private collector, it rarely is seen by anyone other than the purchaser and his or her family and friends.”

Macaluso and Tullier-Holly visited the contributing collectors to decide on which artworks to exhibit.

“We tried to pick pieces out of each collection that were the favorites of the collectors themselves as well as trying to put together a cohesive exhibit so the pieces would relate to one another,” said Macaluso.