By Bob Bedore | [email protected] 

Tucked away on the third floor of West Jordan’s City Hall is a great little hidden treasure that’s well worth the hunt. In the little room next to the elevators you’ll find the Schorr Gallery and with it a mix of art in various styles (depending on the exhibits showing) from Utah artists. 

Curators Becky Klundt and Steven Leitch have taken on a mission to introduce the community to art in all forms—from traditional to contemporary to abstract. The gallery features paintings, photography, sculptures, mixed media and anything else Klundt and Leitch can find. 

“For me, as curator, I want the Schorr to be a place where people can come, relax and appreciate art and the fine artists that exhibit their craft in our gallery,” Leitch said. 

The gallery is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but keep in mind that there might be a city meeting going on inside. The art helps create a great ambiance for the meetings. If you would like to bring a group or a class field trip, contact someone at city hall and make sure the gallery is available.

The gallery has also featured great works with some standouts, including “The Book of Revelations” exhibit from Rachel Coleman. This showing produced large paintings of her interpretations from verses found in the Old Testament. These huge works of art filled the gallery with color. 

The Schorr has also displayed the acrylic paintings and hand-crafted jewelry of Stephanie St. Thomas giving a unique look to the gallery. There was also the work of South Jordan metal sculptor Rick Prazen. Prazen’s work has been seen all around the country, and now locals get to enjoy it. 

Currently, the gallery is displaying paintings from many local artists. This will stay up until Sept. 6 when the Schorr will once again play host to the Intermountain Society of Artists annual art competition. The opening reception that night will start at 7 p.m., and the winners will then be announced. Make plans now to attend. 

Many of the artworks are for sale within the gallery, though, admittedly sales aren’t plentiful. The gallery takes a much smaller percentage of a sale, allowing artists to keep more money and bring their prices down. Sales are likely limited due to the location, but Leitch and Klundt have hopes that a new cultural arts center will give the gallery more exposure. 

The gallery opened in 1994 and gets its name from William “Bill” Schorr, a German native who moved to Utah in 1925 at the age of 20. He worked to make enough money to bring his entire family to Utah and eventually buy his own farm in West Jordan. He was active in the community and continued to donate to many organizations, always feeling as if he wanted to give back to a country that made so much possible to him.