A free summer art exhibition celebrating the season's light and warmth opened Aug. 5 at the McLean Art Gallery in Chesterbrook Shopping Center, with an opening reception set for Friday evening.

The McLean Art Society's "Sun-Drenched" show features original artwork in multiple media inspired by long summer days, and every piece is for sale. The exhibition runs through Aug. 30.

The opening reception is Friday, Aug. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., with live music, wine and light refreshments, according to the event listing on FFXnow. Admission is free. Visitors can meet the artists and browse the collection.

The gallery, tucked behind the Starbucks in Chesterbrook Shopping Center at 6224 Old Dominion Drive, is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The McLean Art Society, a nonprofit with more than 70 members, opened the McLean Art Gallery in October 2025 after seven decades without a dedicated exhibition space. Gallery director Jane McElvany Coonce, an oil and watercolor artist, oversaw the buildout.

"It's a big job to figure out what goes where and we borrowed the walls and had to get hooks and all kinds of little stuff like cleaning supplies," McElvany Coonce told the Great Falls Connection at the gallery's October 2025 inaugural reception. "But we had a lot of experts working on it who had done this in the past."

That first opening night drew 184 visitors by 6 p.m., with cars circling the parking lot for spots, according to Great Falls Connection coverage. Since then, the society has mounted monthly themed shows with the same free-admission, live-music format.

Mike Potashnik, a McLean resident and abstract artist who coordinates the society's education program, is among the members whose work has appeared at the gallery. He brings in guest artists to discuss techniques at monthly meetings.

How to visit

"Sun-Drenched" is free and open to the public through Aug. 30. The McLean Art Gallery is at 6224 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, behind the Starbucks in Chesterbrook Shopping Center. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The opening reception is Friday, Aug. 7, 5 to 7 p.m.