The 1/26/2012 art exhibition reception was my first visit to Ashland’s three-month-old Gallery Flux.

Flux has lots of wall space and lots of floor space and at the 1/26/2012 reception had lots of people – so many that the generous parking lot was full, we patrons were so shoulder to shoulder that several spilled outdoors.

Context is of course everything, and as I attempted to get uninterrupted views of the artworks (by 50 artists!) I questioned my own relationships with exhibited artworks. Which of these two scenarios allows for the more meaningful relationship with a given artwork: a gallery in which I am the only patron, or a gallery that’s sardine-crowded?

This question confronted me as I looked at Barbara Duke Jones’ oil on canvas work entitled “Peaks of Otter.” I’ve always liked the quiet, honest authenticity of Barbara’s work. “Peaks of Otter” was positioned in the thoroughfare that trafficked us to the food table on one side and the drink table on the other. The painting did indeed provide me with some transcendent moments amid the hubbub.

What if I’d been the only person there? Would it have resonated?