Gas prices are climbing again, the economy is still perched on shaky terrain and going green is today's mantra. In pondering the topic for his latest gallery show, Cedar Street Galleries owner Michael Schnack took all this into account, and what he came up with was “;Bus Stop Culture,”; an exploration by local artists of experiences on the bus.

“;I thought it was an appropriate theme, given the economic times. More people are experiencing the bus as a mode of transportation,”; he says.

The show features 53 works in various media. There are bus stops from Honolulu, Molokai, New York, even Spain; some still exist, others are long gone. Some stops exist only in the imagination. There are bus riders, bus-stop signs and benches, and the buses themselves.

Aaron Padilla's mixed-media sculpture features a bench with floating word bubbles that imply all the contemplation that goes on at the stop. Daven Hee's ceramic still life offers a whimsical interpretation of the yellow school bus. Ka-Ning Fong's oils convey both an accurate visual representation of bus stop sites and the “;feel”; of them, as well.

“;The show is diverse,”; says Schnack. “;There are scenics to far-out pieces - some are conceptual, some are abstract, some fanciful, some photo realistic. It's a lot of fun.”;