Best of the Basement

Each spring, staff at the locally renowned Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene head down the narrow stairs to the gallery basement to sort through hundreds of pieces in its unhung inventory. Though the show is annual, most exciting is that artwork selected each year is chosen during the process of hanging, and thus not public before the show’s opening reception. One glance at the Art Spirit’s 50-plus exhibiting artist list, and it’s clear this show won’t disappoint. Harold Balazs, Catherine Earle, Gordon Wilson, Ben Joyce and Mary Farrell are among the numerous other Inland Northwest fine art icons who should be recognizable to even the most casual viewers of art.