New art gallery opening in South Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe has a new gallery, the Benko Art Gallery, and they'll be celebrating their grand opening on Sunday, April 17 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with a celebration that will include beverages, hors d’oeuvres and live music.

Benko is located in the new Highland Village, located where the Highland Inn was once located at 3979 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

The newest contemporary art gallery in the Lake Tahoe Basin will showcase large and small scale paintings, installation art, sculptures, functional art from locals to Lake Tahoe and the surrounding areas as well as the Bay Area. It will mostly exhibit contemporary art ranging from abstract, to visionary, urban stylization, landscapes with a contemporary edge. In addition to showcasing art, the Benko Art Gallery will also host art classes, lecturers and juried art shows.

“We want to produce an environment where people can love what they see and be excited about what’s coming up” explains Chelsea Kosta, CoCurator. “Creativity is extremely important for a community and we hope to be a venue to really foster that."

“We really want to cater to local artists and find undiscovered talent that currently do not have their art on display and support the young ideas and new styles,” said John Benko, Owner and CoCurator.

All ages are invited to the grand opening event which will include live music from a string quartet, the San Francisco band Heavy Girl, and DJ T-Dub.

Benko will be displaying his Lake Tahoe inspired Pine Cone series, in his psychedelic colorful flare stylization.

The Benko Art Gallery is open Monday throught Friday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and weekends from 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. They want this venue to be community oriented and always welcome suggestions, ideas, and new artists, and also can be contacted at www.BenkoArtGallery.com or on all social media outlets.