Jackson Hole Art Blog

Jackson artists Shannon Troxler and Kay Stratman open their joint show Resonance at Trio Fine Art, with an artists’ reception on Thursday, September 9, 5-8:00 pm.   Troxler and Stratman will host a conversation from 6:30-7:00 pm.   On display September 7, the show runs through September 19, 2010.

“Resonance” refers to the ability to evoke or suggest images, memories and emotions.  Travel, exotic world destinations, equally exotic birds and animals and sensitive interpretations of the natural world comprise this show.   Both artists are painters;  Stratman works in the sumi-e style of watercolor painting, while Troxler uses a variety of painting mediums. Some of her paintings combine oils on silver or gold leaf on board; these works lend an Asian sensibility to Troxler’s work.  She plans to include a completed gold leaf screen in this exhibition.

While Troxler work is often big, bold, splashed with color, gilded, and rich—Stratman’s style is minimalist, a haiku. But Stratman’s employing sumi-e links the two artists, and the show has a unified theme inspired by ancient Japanese painting traditions.

Trio Fine Art’s Fall Arts Festival calendar also includes artist demonstrations during September 10th’s Palates and Palettes gallery walk, and on September 12 & 14.  Yum, a FAF “farewell” brunch Sept. 19, 11a – 3p. ….Special gallery hours are in effect during the residence of Resonance;  check the gallery for details.   307.734.4444.

Websites I visited that were alternately up and running or works in progress at this writing are:   www.triofineart.com, www.shannontroxler.net and www.kaystratman.com.

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Robert Coombs is Legacy Gallery’s artist in the spotlight this Fall Arts Festival. September 11-20, immerse yourself in the concept of the Romantic West —  Coombs, a Utah native, is noted for his tender, figurative paintings of women and children.  If you wish, you could say this Western artist has taken a path less traveled by embracing the warmth and humanity that women and children must often provide when life in the West becomes a tad hard bitten.   Coombs paints portraits of the women and children of today’s West, as well as those whose lives are now part of a rich pioneering history.

Coombs says that a life altering event occurred when he viewed the original works of Edwin Austin Abbey’s Shakespearean subjects on display at the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. “For the first time in my life I could actually feel the emotional impact and power that painting could impart. I decided to seek after those attributes in my own work.”   Expect to view at least eight new works.

An artist’s reception takes place September 11, 1-4:00 pm.

Legacy will follow the Coombs showcase with its annual “Legacy of Nature” Group Show and Sale, opening September 17; a reception takes place that day from 1-4:00 pm.   Wildlife is the theme, and this exhibition includes works by these noted artists:  Ken Bunn, Ken Carlson, Julie T. Chapman, Michael Coleman, Luke Frazier, Brian Grimm, Carol Hagan, Krystii Melaine, Eugene Morelli, Chad Poppleton, Tim Shinabarger, George D. Smith, Trevor Swanson, and Brett Smith.

www.legacygallery.com

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The Art Association continues its relatively new embrace of plein air painting with its exhibition On Location with the Plein Air Painters of America, on display now through September 6, 2010. Fifty paintings will be on exhibition and for sale.  An opening reception takes place September 3, 5:30 pm.

As the Fall Arts Festival connotes romance, so does the Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA) history.  The group was founded in California, inspired by the California Impressionists. Color, light and quality of work are the organization’s hallmarks.

From their website:  “In 1982 Ruth Westphal published the resource book Plein-Air Painters of California The Southland, followed four years later by The Northland. Major collections were being built, and prices for historic paintings were rising. Burns, who was president of the Catalina Art Association at the time, felt the moment had arrived to educate collectors about contemporary artists pursuing the art of painting from life.”

Craig Spankie, a long time Art Association contributing artist, opens his show Export Quality on Friday, September 10, at 5:30 p.m.

“I try to limit my involvement with the materials as much as possible – not destroy the unique nature of something, but create simplicity by combining color, texture and space,” says New Zealander Spankie.  The artist works with raw materials, and quite a bit of lugging and tugging went into shaping this particular show.   Two years in the making, Spankie says that this collection has been put together in Jackson and New Zealand.  A large quantity of work was too large to reasonably transport between the two locations, so Spankie downsized.

The work ended up being “small enough to fit into his checked baggage, that required a maximum weight of 46kg.   Spankie  ”emptied years of collected contents from his shed onto an animal grazed front paddock to create most of Export Quality. Work was proudly created in New Zealand with unique and unsophisticated materials, giving a raw, real sense to the viewer.”

The Art Association notes that due to a special event, this exhibit will not be available to view Sept. 13-16.

Also coming up at the Art Association:  Chuck Close.

www.artassociation.org

The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) has acquired works by two artists new to the Museum:  Contemporary painter Walton Ford, sculptor Simon Gudgeon and an oil painting by 19th-century artist-explorer Titian Ramsay Peale.

At left is Ford’s Swadeshi-cide.  Sixth in a very limited edition of 50, the work is an etching, aquatint, drypoint and roulette on paper.  NMWA has acquired six different prints by Ford; each of those prints is the sixth print in a series of fifty (6/50).

United Kingdom artist Gudgeon’s Isis, a 10-foot bronze streamlined avian piece, will take a prominent spot in the Museum’s now-under-production sculpture trail.   The work is a smaller scale version of Gudgeon’s work installed in London’s Hyde Park. The work is depicted in this blog’s previous post.

“The works of art purchased this year signal the diversity of the museum’s collection,” says Curator of Art Adam Duncan Harris. “Traveling west in 1819, Peale was one of the first artists to record the fauna of what was largely unexplored territory. One hundred ninety years later, contemporary artist Ford is fascinated by wildlife and by the history of depicting those creatures. Coming at the subject from a different angle, Gudgeon hones his representation of avian life to its purest, elemental form, creating a work of power that will be a highlight of our sculpture trail.”

Highly influenced by the artist-naturalists in the museum’s existing collection, including John James Audubon, Ford  is an artist-naturalist, but he adds his own political commentary, “using complex symbols to layer his flora and fauna studies with satire on some of the darker moments in U.S. cultural and environmental history.”  Ford is a Guggenheim fellow and has been featured on the PBS arts program Art:21.

Peale’s “Three Elk” is an example of his “…recalling the animals he saw as the official artist on Stephen Harriman Long’s government expedition to the West in 1819, years before artists such as Catlin and Bodmer ventured up the Missouri in the 1830s.”  It is a paramount example of works by the earliest artists recording Western fauna in a planned reinstallation of the museum’s collection.

www.wildlifeart.org

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Heather James. I share sentiments that this gallery has so much going on that it’s almost frustrating to those of us keeping up with the arts in Jackson. The new gallery is really several smaller galleries rolled into one cool contemporary space.  It serves Jackson’s art scene—and, during the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival in particular—in more than one way. The gallery presents contemporary art that appeals to naturalists.  It introduces many genres to Jackson not previously accessible.  It exhibits landscapes by great Western artists.  It has on exhibition and display works by the luminaries and legends of art history.

Heather James has the feel of a museum, complete with multiple galleries that you can see in an hour.  And you don’t have to stand in long lines to buy a ticket.

“There is no where else in the world where you can experience two national parks, Picasso and Monet all in one day,” offers gallery director Lyndsay McCandless.

In the realm of artist super stars, Heather James has new works by Léger, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, Matisse, Morisot, Hofman, Andrew Wyeth, O’Keeffe and more.

One visit is all it takes to taste any and all of the above.  But, most certainly, multiple visits are required in order to truly receive what Heather James has to offer.  These gifts are simultaneous, parallel. Instantaneous.

Forest   for   the   Trees, on exhibit through September 30, 2010, examines the natural world through a variety of contemporary lenses. Though contemporary art dealing with nature can be so detailed as to reveal microcosm, this group of works avoids over-detail in favor of broader interpretations and the meditative sensation we gain from viewing the natural world on relatively large scales. The show, says the gallery, “…addresses  the  concept  of  individuality…as  each artist  expresses (their feelings on) important  topics… such as politics and the environment.”

Wildfires were common in southern California when I was a child. Houses constructed of concrete were amongst the few escaping devastation when fires swept through. For artist Naomi Safron-Hon, a “Forest” contributor, interest in cement as material sprang from “the cement wall that is being built in [her] home country in order to separate Israelis from Palestinians.

“Construction of identity interlaces with construction of landscape. Pushed against lace and domestic materials cement references the way in which political reality infiltrates personal life. War, conflict, and politics penetrate every aspects of daily life, similar to the way cement pushes through lace and kitchen appliances,” says the artist.

Timothy Tompkins’s high gloss enamel paints on aluminum look like topographic maps.  It is surprising to realize the pigments are enamel;  Tompkins’s  works recall Google Earth at its coolest and most fluid; in actuality he photographs television screens as they transmit. “His intent with the series,” says the gallery, “is  to explore  the  use  of  images  as  narrative  and  deconstruct  the  same  narratives  by removing  them  from their original  context.  The   viewer  is  then  free  to  bring  their  own  associations  depending  upon  their relationship  to  what  is presented.”

Log onto www.heatherjames.com and, as you would when visiting a museum, plan on devoting ample time for perusing the gallery.

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I’ll fly away…

The Diehl Gallery currently features a new series of paintings by artist Dirk De Bruycker.  His new collection is inspired by an emotional, no doubt traumatic, discovery by the Belgian native.  Upon entering his Granada, Nicaragua studio De Bruycker came upon a dead Cocoa Mort Bleu butterfly. Lying on the studio floor, it was consumed by an army of ants.

Overcome, De Bruycker used the beauty and tragedy of the finding and channeled them into a series of paintings.  Liquid crimson pools dissolve across his canvas, melting into “melted butter” yellows, chalky whites and other pale hues.   A butterfly’s wing patterns overlay and link with these color pools, shaped like a butterfly’s wing. They are lovely.

De Bruycker now resides in Santa Fe, where color and natural scales must remain significant influences.

The Teton Literacy Center receives 10% of each sale from this show.  Email: info@diehlgallery.com.

It’s a sometimes dark, sometimes cosmic, and sometimes beautiful view photographer Thomas Macker shares with us in his new collection of images Western Heritage – Expansion/Consumption/New Age, opening at Teton Art Lab Friday, August 27. An opening reception takes place on the late side, (yes, I can hear the young folks laughin’) 7-9:00 p.m.

A visiting artist resident, Macker is in from Los Angeles.  He is a candidate for an MFA in Photography and Media at CalArts.

Macker describes this show as being concerned with “Wyoming and the western landscape….spiritual, cultural, and environmental tourism.”  In much of his other work, he takes special interest in the ironies and complexities of California.  Western Heritage delves into activities and issues as mountaineering, car camping, gmo seeds, migrant workers, alternative energy, “intergalactic colonialism,” Black Elk and the psychedelic.

I’ve spent an hour checking out Macker’s website.  I find his photography deeply affecting.  Intimate.  Political.  These are the kinds of photographs that, in this election season, those running for office should see. The photographs–portraits of place–illustrate ubiquitous ironies and plights. They more than hint at American tragedies. Private lives are exposed, fates admitted. Throughout his work Macker treats all his subjects, no matter how jarring, with unblinking honesty .

Without being noticed we watch from behind as a lone, aging man fills water bottles from a forest stream.  The night sky’s astrological patterns surrounding Perseus (The Hero) are reinterpreted by what I first thought were scattered bullets holes in glass.  A friend thought he saw the eyes of the universe. The connected spheres are in fact spores.  Domestic workers pose for Macker’s camera inside the properties they tend;  their employers are nowhere in sight.  These spotless, manicured California homes are proof of attentive care and work provided by these workers, not of the property owners. Nannies, likely immigrants, assume motherhood to babies they push in strollers.

One Macker series, With God, All Things Are Possible, depicts a region of the Ohio River Valley and is a not-so-subtle rip on the concept of a generous Deity.  A thick and heavy summer yard is vacant, save the black hole of an ignored trampoline.  A dead coyote lies at the side of a road, a woman nuzzles her shepherd; but the most heart-stopping image concerns a young cougar tethered to a pole in a back yard.  The cat stalks our photographer and its jailer—some guy I presume is trafficking in wildlife, or he works for a circus—plays ringmaster.

It took me a moment to notice the pistol lying on the bed next to a man in a motel room.  The man talks animatedly; he’s wearing a Carnegie Mellon t-shirt.

These are only descriptions of Macker’s photographs, and I fear I may put you off checking out the contents of Western Heritage. This show’s cover image  — girls in blue plastic innertubes lolling about in tall Wyoming grasses while a buff dude repairs a chain link fence protecting solar panels — reveals sharp, wry humor.  Go see it.  Put your thinking cap on.  In America, concerned as we are with issues of constitutionality and culturalism, this a potentially thought provoking show.

To view Macker’s work check out http://www.fotocoyote.com/

www.tetonartlab.com

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Jackson Hole’s 2010 Fall Arts Festival is fast approaching. Portions of the  National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions/Sixth Annual Photography Show & Sale/ Fourth Annual Sketch Show & Sale are now available to view.   Events continue through Sunday, September 26, 2010.

Highlights include:

• The Sketch Show & Sale (King Gallery) displays work by participating Western Visions artists and includes simple pencil sketches to studies in oil or acrylic.
• Tuesday, September 7, 2010 —  5:30 to 8:30 pm enjoy Tapas and a presentation by 2010  Featured Scupltor Simon Gudgeon for a special Art After Hours. Program is free. Reservations for tapas required and can be made by calling 307-732-5434.
• Thursday, September 9,  12:05 pm. —  Art Alive @ 12:05 features a talk by Simon Gudgeon.  Museum galleries;  free.
• Wednesday, September 15  —  12th Annual Jewelry & Artisan Luncheon, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Register by Wednesday, September 8.    307.732.5412.
• Thursday, September 16, 2010 —-  Plein Air Sketching Workshop led by Featured Painter Mary Roberson.   8-11:30 a.m.   Hands-on outdoor instruction overlooking National Elk Refuge.  Cost:  $45.    Reservations required via Jane Lavino.    307.732.5417.   ALSO: Museum Gallery Walk,  1-2:00 pm.  Led by Simon Gudgeon, he will talk about some of his favorite NMWA works.   Free for members or with Museum admission.  AND, Jewelry & Artisan Show & Sale begins today, continuing through Friday, September 17.  View and select offerings of exquisite handmade jewelry, silver items and accessories.

• Thursday, September 16  —- 23rd Annual Wild West Artist Party,  6:30 – 10:30 p.m.  Location is National Museum of Wildlife Art.   Live music, dancing, plenty of good fare.   Register by Wednesday, September 8.   307.732.5412.

• Friday, September 17  —- Featured Painter Presentation and Poster Signing, 1:00 pm.    Mary Roberson will speak about her art and influences.  Free for members or with Museum admission.
• Friday, September 17  —-  23rd Annual Miniatures and More Show & Sale. Doors open 3:30 pm;  Bidding closes 5:30 pm; Presentation begins 6:30 pm.   Event features over 150 top American artists. Reservations required by September 8.   307.732.5434.

And, a new addition for 2010:

Wednesday, September 29 — Art A’Brewin’ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.   Enjoy coffee and fruit at the Museum, and pick up your purchased artwork.  Browse works still available.  Fun, free, open to the public.

An online Western Visions Catalog can be found here; you can read succinct artist biographies and, for some artists, interview content.

www.wildlifeart.org

“The unique blend of Realism and the formal discipline of Color Field painting sets the work of Wolf Kahn apart. Kahn is an artist who embodies the synthesis of his modern abstract training with Hans Hofmann, with the palette of Matisse, Rothko’s sweeping bands of color, and the atmospheric qualities of American Impressionism.” – Wolf Kahn Bio

“With each painting, you have to set up a situation in which you can be surprised. You have to have the opportunity to be spontaneous.”- Wolf Kahn

Jackson Hole’s Fall Arts Festival is upon us, and many galleries are warming up, previewing their big shows.   In the case of Jackson’s Tayloe Piggott Gallery, in partnership with Camille Obering, the big draw is a show of Wolf Kahn paintings and pastels. Refractions of Light is on exhibit at that gallery now through October 24; an opening takes place September 10, 5-8 pm, during Palates & Palettes.

It always seemed just a matter of time before Wolf Kahn showed up at Tayloe’s.

Potent combination, balancing Matisse, Rothko and American Impressionism.  It’s as if Wolf Kahn single handedly created a new painting genre.  Oh, wait, I think he did!  Can we call him a synthesist? His most influential teacher, Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann, certainly was.  Wolf Kahn’s style, arguably one of the most recognized in American art, has itself influenced a generation of expressionistic, fauvist-style painters.  He is certainly one of the most influential contemporary landscape painters.   His work is at once tranquil and effervescence. His color palette is largely pastel, as if Nature blushed while posing for Kahn.

Though he studied art in New York, he’s a 1950’s urban art student who went country.  During the 50’s Kahn became influential in that era’s explorative, hyper-creative art movements.  Born in 1927, he continues to divide his time between New York and Vermont.

My desk calendar is a Wolf Kahn.  Even on mass produced calendar stock, Kahn’s saturated hues obliterate all the other colors in immediate view. For more information, visit www.tayloepiggottgallery.com or phone 307.733.0555.

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Check out Jackson’s  Legacy Gallery One Man Show for Texas artist Gary Lynn Roberts, opening August 26th, with an artist’s opening reception 6-8:00 pm. at the gallery.

This new exhibition features at least 15 new paintings by this popular genre artist. Heck.  Months ago I received an email from a Western art fan living in Idaho.  She asked me if I knew the name of a landscape artist from Texas, whose work was shown in Jackson.  The paintings they’d seen by that artist moved them.  That was the only information they had, and I was at a loss.  Fingers crossed they see this post and that Roberts is their man!

Roberts paints scenes recalling Western life dating from the 1800’s.  A classic landscape realist, Roberts learned to paint at an early age.  His father, Joe Rader Roberts, was also an artist.  Formative influences on Roberts’ work were artists G. Harvey and A.D. Greer.  Daily participation in ranch life gave Roberts the experience he needed to “portray the natural characteristics of horses and the ranch lifestyle….during the Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell era, when cowboys and Indians were prevalent.”

The works at this exhibit will be originals, but Roberts has a selection of giclées on canvas.  Many of his new works can be seen on the artist’s website, linked above. For more information, phone Legacy Gallery at 307.733.2353.

Though this information reached the Jackson Hole Art Blog a little late to post in time for this exhibit’s August 19 opening reception,  I wanted to call your attention to Interpreting the GYE, on exhibit through August 31 at Galleries West Fine Art.   The exhibition combines paintings, sculptures and (quite possibly) pastel.

The concept that we are all here because of the Power of Place seems to be “locking in” for Jackson’s arts community.   Of course, the GYE–Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem–has been examined, observed, interpreted and adored by artists since the 1860’s.   Now, our contemporary arts community is accepting—”considering” may be a more appropriate description — that landscape, wildlife and indigenous cultures are cool.

Galleries West features representational work by contemporary artists.   It is a friendly, hard working and lovely gallery, filled with work created with full depth of devotion to Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, Jackson.   You know these artists.   Come see the work.

Galleries West is located on 70 S. Glenwood, in Jackson  — across from Trio Restaurant.   For information, call the gallery at 307.733.4412.

Like I told Rocky Vertone, the man behind Full Circle Frameworks:  ”You made me get gum stuck in my hair!”

Full Circle Frameworks is devoting its Work In Progress #6 to….WILDLIFE ART.

Inconceivable!

If Rocky can, as he says, “sell out,”  then game on.  Minds open.  We’re getting it.  Phew.

On Friday, August 20, fasten your seat belts and head over to 335 N. Glenwood for  art-as-it-happens.  The paint party starts at 6 pm.  (The fact that lots of alcohol will be on hand is touted; please drink, paint and drive responsibly.)

Many local artists will collaborate to create a single work, and as I understand it the only criteria is that the artists stick to the theme….wildlife.   Vertone says these artists plan to show up and paint — the list may increase.   I’m rearranging Rocky’s list alphabetically:  Ben Carlson, Cutter, Richard Goodwin, Kelley Halpin, Remy Milossy, Erin Smith, Travis Walker and Aaron Wallis.

You can find Full Circle Frameworks on Facebook. You can call Rocky at  307.733.0770.

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A recent visit to the Jackson Hole Art Auction offices (upstairs at Trailside Galleries , 130 East Broadway) revealed that the Auction has obtained a handwritten, illustrated letter from C.M. Russell to his”Friend Bob,” written by Russell in 1909.  ”Bob” was Robert J. Benn, a resident of Kalispell, Montana.

The letter reads:

March 28, 1909

Friend Bob,

I received both your letters and photograph. We thought the picture was a good one. When are you and Mrs. Benn coming? If you will let me know, I will meet you at the trane and we will try and give you a good time. That was a nice letter you got from Churchell. I’ll be wearing antlers the next time we meet. I make the high ride Monday the 30th. I may have to pull better but I’m betting I ride him. Hoping to see you and Mrs. Benn soon.

Your Friend, C.M. Russell

I got a letter from Goodwin, he sent his regards to you both.

The wearing of antlers Russell mentions refers to his new membership in the the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the USA, Lodge #214 in Great Falls, Montana. “Russell also makes reference to his new membership in the Elks with a typical, humorous drawing in which he depicts himself on a bucking goat while several elk shout out encouragement for him to stay in the saddle,” says the Auction’s Emma Zanetti.

Russell’s letter also arrived with documents relating to Benn’s murder at his own saloon in Kalispell.  The unsolved murder took place several years after this letter was written, and Kalispell’s newspaper ran the headline: “Robert J. Benn Is Shot And Killed—Assailant Unknown.” Sub-headlines announce that Benn’s body was discovered lying in a pool of blood behind the bar.

Approximately 250 lots will be up for sale at this year’s auction, taking place on Saturday, September 18, at the Center for the Arts in downtown Jackson.  In the spirit of disclosure, I have worked for the auction in the past. This year’s collection of lots is very exciting.  Zanetti notes that other masters such as Bob Kuhn, Lanford Monroe, Carl Rungius, Mian Situ, Howard Terpning, William Acheff and Clyde Aspevig are all well represented. For more information email her at registrar@jacksonholeartauction.com.   1.866.549.9278.

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The Contemporary Landscape, a show of new works by artists Andrzej Skorut and Shanna Kunz opens at Mountain Trails Gallery on Saturday, August 21, 4-8:00 pm.   Works will be on display August 19-26.

An August, 2010 article in Western Art Collector quotes Skorut.

“I believe in importance of the immediate visual impact of the painting; that one square inch of the painting should hold as much interest as the whole canvas,” says Skorut. “Yet I also believe that deeper, honest meanings should lie beneath the surface, giving the viewer an opportunity to embark upon a personal voyage of discovery.”

As Skorut’s followers know, the artist was born in Krakow, Poland.  Surrounded by the high culture of that city, the artist valued art from an early age.  But he makes his living painting landscapes. He is a Tonalist, and uses muted hues to suggest countryside mysteries.  Skorut notes that although he paints in what might be called a contemporary representational style, his paintings are also abstract; he renders hills, trees, pastures and mountains in reduced geometric form.  Viewers find themselves just a tiny bit hypnotized by this painter’s still, evocative work.

Kunz works in oils and watercolor.  Describing herself as “as a naturalist raised and rooted in the diverse landscapes of western America,” she also concentrates on conveying emotional connections she has with the land.  Spatial relationships are important, as is pushing color boundaries.  She and Skorut share subtle vibrations in their work, but Kunz allows an unmistakable golden light into her compositions.  That may mean she yearns more to catch the sun and its effects at specific times of day, and that those specific moments are the artist’s primary muse. And, while Skorut’s landscapes can zoom in or out, Kunz has a predilection for dense groupings of trees — they are the heart of her paintings.

For more information, contact Mountain Trails Gallery by phoning 307.734.8150.   www.mountaintrails.net

QUICK NOTE:

Saturday, August 21, Heather James Gallery hosts an Open House from 10-6pm. The gallery’s Los Angeles based curator Chip Tom will be on hand, giving art talks and tours all day.  Info: 307-200-6090 or lyndsay@heatherjames.com.

In this Theodore Waddell painting I sense the Great Mystery’s arms embracing this herd; if these are the pastures of heaven, as Waddell suggests, that heaven’s arms gently form this grouping of cattle to the shape of an hourglass.   A sprinkling of ranch animals are black sands of time.

Altamira Fine Art presents Theodore Waddell’s The Pastures of Heaven: One Man Show, with an artist’s reception Thursday, August 19, 5-7:00 p.m.  And, as Altamira’s Dean Munn has opened the Steinbeck door, I will go through it.

If you are of a certain age, and a reader, you may know what Munn has mentioned; the phrase “Pastures of Heaven” is taken from the title of a John Steinbeck story set in California–in valleys not far from Monterey—before mass development swallowed swaths of open land. The book is actually a collection of interconnected stories, just as this Altamira show is comprised of connected stories told by Waddell.  Not being familiar with this Steinbeck book, I Googled.   Wikipedia’s short synopsis says that those California valleys were discovered by a Spanish corporal, who named the valley area Las Pasturas del Cielo.

When we encounter scenes of superlative beauty and power, we want to dissolve into them and become the Juniper tree, that hillside, all the fields of flowers, the ocean, the mountain.  In every way we try to merge so that we may keep living.   Waddell’s animals look like Morse code symbols, marking changes in time and information the artist receives from the land.   These cows, horses and buffalo reflect clusters of stars in the sky.

Being quiet with the land, living off the land. Waddell examines these themes and his symbolic abstract animals stand before us like charred trees–life leaving us but promising to return.

As a bonus, all of the original art from the children’s book “Tucker Gets Tuckered” will be on exhibit.  Written by Ted Beckstead and illustrated by Waddell, the book tells the story of the daily adventures of a lively dog.

www.altamiraart.com.

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A few days after returning to Jackson I ventured to a few of its galleries.   More than ever, it hit home that our galleries are marketing and selling very sophisticated art.  Masterworks.  Price Upon Request.  If you have to ask, you can’t afford it,….etc. I told a friend about some of the works I’d seen, and we discussed where they might have come from.  Art can show up in a gallery for any number of reasons, and from any number of places. Artwork can be sold by individuals or corporations or museums  – and galleries that are closing their doors sometimes consign works to other galleries.

But what ultimately determines whether someone owning a significant work will sell it at auction or through a gallery?

Sarah Shinn Pratt is a former Vice President and Auctioneer for Sotheby’s New York. An Expert Appraiser on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow for 10 years she is currently President of LeBaron Antiques Trading, based in Woodbury, Connecticut (www.sarahshinnpratt.com).

Pratt explains.

“Some people consign to a dealer because they want the certain cash NOW and don’t want to wait for a sale and then the usual 35 business days payout afterwards. If it does not sell, they might end up owing the auction house money and then the property can be considered a bit “burned.” Also, they may not want their ex-wife or relatives, for example, knowing their business. Auction results for high-end art are readily accessible on the Internet and end up in art data bases, sometimes even in the newspapers.

Pratt says that dealers like to buy from private individuals as opposed to auction because they can often buy cheaper and also because then the public doesn’t know what they paid for it. After auction commission and fees for insurance and photographs in the catalogue, the consignor at auction can end up with less than what they could have gotten from a dealer, so it can be a win-win situation for both the seller and the dealer.

“Some reasons to go for auction as a sales venue include that one has exciting fresh (never been on the market or only a long time ago) merchandise,” says Pratt.  ”And it will benefit from international exposure, or that there are several owners involved and a transparent transaction is necessary.”

Perhaps the new owners of Teton Valley Ranch will fill the place with art bought in Jackson.

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The show doesn’t happen until September 12th, but now is the time to submit work to CIAO if you wish to be considered for its Third Annual Wildlife (Juried) Exhibit.   Deadline comes up soon  –  August 20th.   If you’ve got a wolf at the door or on canvas, submit up to five images electronically.  Visit www.ciaogallery@yahoo.com (Okay, as I write that I sense a hybrid email and website snafu so please experiment a bit if need be!)  to get the lowdown on how to send your work.   You may also call 307.733.7833.

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Quick list of MADE’s remaining summer list of artists exhibiting their work, getting their goods pumped up via John Frechette’s dynamite new-artist-by-the-week rotation concept.   Artists, if you want images of your work posted on this site, please send them to me.  Or, send them to John and ask him to forward the info here.   Be glad to preview it!

Artists with openings and week-long exhibits at MADE (in Gaslight Alley) through September:

Aug 19th   Amanda Sullivan

Aug 26    Padgett Hoke

Sept 2    Jesse Gestal

Sept 9    Travis Walker

Spet 16th    Susan Madrey

Sept 23rd    Raskoll Inc

Sept 30th    Diana Eden

jdfrechette@gmail.com

It’s exhilarating to be home.

Recently the JH Art Blog was down. Hardly an ideal re-entry scenario, but we’re up and running again, and working to catch up with Jackson’s arts scene. It only takes a brief reacquainting visit to galleries to realize that Jackson’s regional arts scene, for a town of its size, is truly exceptional.   It’s alive with eclectic work and great talent represented in every venue. We’re not New York or Paris or Chicago….or Miami.   But the quality of art here, the quantity of talent?  We should be proud.  Our subject matter reflects the region, yes. National and international influences are finding their way in, and when good management and vision are in play everybody wins.

Regarding the situation involving the Art Association and Aaron Wallis:  I’ve had my conversation with Wallis, so we’re done as far as that is concerned. However, the current situation between him and the arts community is very unfortunate.   No winners there.   Hope it can be resolved.

The good news:

The weather is here, wish you were beautiful and Artists in the Park (officially Artists in the Environment) features Wilson, Wyoming artist Jocelyn Slack this Saturday, August 14th, at Oxbow Bend Turnout in Grand Teton National Park. Slack, an illustrator, works primarily in watercolors, pen and ink.   She’s a regular contributor to Crane Creek Graphics and her work was included in the recent Center for the Arts exhibition of images of dancers.

Artists in the Park is sponsored by the Grand Teton Association and is free to the public.   Look for Slack’s easel and the event’s Artist Demonstration banner.   Artists in this series begin painting at 9:00 a.m. and end at noon.   Bring a chair, snacks, and paints if the spirit moves.

Phone:  307-739-3606.

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“I am fascinated with painting white objects because, in watercolor, white subjects are what appears in the place where there is no paint. By painting the shadows on the form and the negative space around the form, the form itself appears.” – September Vhay

Essence.

What Jackson painter September Vhay does best, some might argue, is capture the essence—the nut—of the animals she paints.  Her new show goes up Saturday, August 18, at Trio Fine Art and features Vhay’s trademark graceful renditions of horses, wildlife, ranch animals, magpies and orchids.

The orchids are white, and Vhay says painting that particular flower connects her to her watercolor background.   Structurally, the flower may appeal to the painter’s other identity; she’s a trained and practiced architect.  In fact, orchid petals remind Vhay of draft horse haunches.

And the flowers hold still.

Trio’s artists are all trying new subjects.   Vhay also will exhibit paintings of longhorns.  For her, the bulls intrigue “…on many levels, from the shape of their horns to their symbolism of the West. Longhorns were the first cattle introduced to the U.S. in the late 1400’s due to their ability to handle harsh conditions and to breed easily. Their disposition is innately gentle, yet they appear intimidating due to the size of their horns, which can span up to 80 inches.”

“In one painting, this gentleness is expressed in the bulls eye,” Vhay said, “Yet his horns let you know that in an instant he would have no problem protecting himself.”

For info, log onto www.vhay.com, visit www.triofineart.com, or phone 307.734.4444.

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Art Association Happenings!

The Jackson Hole Art Association’s Local Landscapes with Local Artists series features artist Tammy Callens on Saturday, August 14, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm.   The half day of creative fun and learning takes place at the Snake River Ranch.

This workshop costs $75;  Art Association members may attend for $50.   Billed as “Interpreting the Traditional Landscape,” (I take that to mean attendees will explore ways to interpret landscape in various ways) the morning includes:

· A one hour painting demonstration and talk by Tammy

· Two hours to create using the medium of your choice

· A critique and one-on-one direction from Tammy

· A simple picnic lunch will be included

Space is limited.   To sign up, or for more info, call 307.733.6379.

Talk Like an Egyptian?

August 12 – 15, 2010 | 5 Lectures | Attend one or attend them all!

Beginning August 12th, the Art Association will present a series of lectures by Hisham El Meniawy. A native of Cairo, Mr. Meniawy is a history and archeology specialist of ancient Egypt. He studied at the university in Cairo and has lectured for 20 years in Europe and at conferences and archeology sites throughout Egypt.

Egypt’s ancient arts are a keystone of the world’s art history.   Please contact the Art Association for more information on this series.

Coming up:  The second  Summer 2010 Jackson Hole Art Fair takes place August 20-22 at Miller Park, in Jackson.  www.artassociation.org

Historical Native America: Portraits from the 19th Century, a One Man Show of  works by painter James Ayers, opens with an artist’s reception at the Legacy Gallery on August 5, 6-8:00 p.m.

Inspired by great historical artists and portraitists such as Karl Bodmer, George Catlin and Edward Curtis, these paintings “…reference the historical drawings and photographs but from a modern day artist’s perspective.”  Expect to view contemporary takes on such prominent figures as Black Buffalo and Mano-Tope Four Bears.   A likeness of the former is particularly creative because no actual photographs of Black Buffalo exist, according to the gallery.   Ayers’s take on what this Native American leader must have looked like spring from descriptions found in the descriptions of Lewis and Clark, written during their 1804 expedition.

For more information about the show please visit  www.legacygallery.com, or email janell@legacygallery.com.

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Over at Trailside Galleries, another showcase takes place this month: Huihan Liu’s new works are on display at that gallery through August 31. An artist’s reception takes place Thursday, August 19, 5-7:00 p.m. Ten new paintings lovingly depict people and village life in Tibet–an exquisite, ancient civilization in a struggle for its own survival.

The showcase runs in tandem with a larger Trailside showcase, its annual “Western Classics.”

The gallery is highlighting 30 or more of its best traditional paintings and sculptures.   Representational works by well known western artists, including those affiliated with the Cowboy Artists of America, are included.   Emphasized are contemporary renditions of cowboy life, Native American subjects and spectacular landscapes.    Take your time, there’s a lot to see!

Phone contact:  307.733.3186.   www.trailsidegalleries.com

Don’t forget to wander upstairs to view the offerings for this year’s Jackson Hole Art Auction.

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Jackson local artist Amy Ringholz opens a new show of her singular style animal portraits in a new show, “Resonance,” opening August 5 at Altamira Fine Art, on Center Street.     An opening reception takes place August 5, 5-7:00 pm, and the exhibition remains up through August 17.

Ringholz openings are always infused with the artist’s own sense of celebration and fun; expect to get down, downtown.

“Resonance” refers to Ringholz’s efforts to connect powerfully with viewers. Study of textiles, 19th Century prints and art nouveau have infiltrated these compositions.  Moving into storytelling mode, these new paintings are related to her totem series but are more illustrative — they possess a fairy tale quality.   She feels that the “magic” of these new paintings offer a “flow of stories of love, friendship, family, God, honor and the pursuit of dreams.”

“Amy’s art has brought joy to admirers and collectors across the country. This show will be an especially significant step in her artistic journey as it melds her familiar abstract styling with the sophisticated conceptual storytelling thematic,” says gallery Director Mark D. Tarrant.

For more information, email connect@altamiraart.

Trio Fine Art’s Kathryn Mapes Turner presents her latest works in a new show, Time In-Between. Opening with an artist’s reception July 29, 5-8 pm, the exhibition remains up through August 15.  Time, and its impermanence, are Turner’s themes—these concepts are explored in oils and drawings of landscape and animals.

Turner’s work is ever more tonalist, more reductive and evocative. Realism is not fully dissolved, though she often seems to be working towards abstraction in her oil paintings.

In fact, Turner theorizes that all visual art is “inspired by an abstract idea that is executed with a specific medium onto a fixed surface,” a thought developing into imagery.   “My art is what happens between me, my subject and the medium which are all constantly changing” explains Turner.

Comparing this series of paintings to sedimentary rock—each composition is built up using multiple layers of paint—Turner notes that it was difficult to decide when any of her paintings were complete. Stratitfication of glazes and dry brush technique enable her paintings to take on a life of their own.

Check out Turner’s work on her website, or phone her directly, at 307.690.9632.

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July 17-30, check out the work by collaborating (and married) artists Chris Reilly and Michelle Haglund, on display at Diehl Gallery. This post missed the show’s opening, but if you haven’t already, stop by the gallery to see these mystical, lovely works.

Encaustics play a big, if not complete, roll.  Birds and bees, insects and little amorphous frogs—fantastic flowers and backgrounds of mottled gold, reds and greens suggest nature’s sensual core.   I think of the Renaissance;  flowers are used as ancient symbols in many cultures and have been since antiquity. Haglund says the artists’s household is filled with “enthusiastic nature explorations of various life forms.”  Wax is the medium bringing the work of the two artists together—some works are by both artists, others by one or the other.   They describe finished works as “fully ripened.”

For his part, Reilly seeks to inspire contemplation. “The stillness of meditation is echoed in the quietude of the finished painting that has undergone a process of creation, destruction and finally preservation. Creatures that transform, such as dragonflies and butterflies, are arranged in a loose grid symbolizing the enduring pattern of regeneration. Branches, laden with blossoms and fruit, stretch across the canvas receiving light and mimicking a human limb. These works are built up with wax and scraped down until a feeling of serenity is achieved,” he notes.

Email: info@diehlgallery.com.    Phone:   307.733.0905

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Jackson painter and photographer  (and, we should add, portraitist) Alison Brush says she will have two shows in Jackson this summer.  Currently, new works are on display at Betty Rock Cafe through August 6.

“The realms between waking consciousness and sleep fascinate me,” says the artist. Fluid and rhythmic, these paintings would rock you to sleep were they music.  Dreams of the oceans. Wriggle into spaces swimming in refracted, swirling color.  Meditate, imagine your wildest dreams coming true.

Brush’s cyclonic paintings flow towards infinity, and beyond.

Email the artist at:  abrush@mindspring.com.

Through July 31, Trailside Galleries will present a showcase of works by artist Mike Malm —  new paintings will be available for viewing the latter part of the month.

Though he often paints landscapes, Malm is an avid romantic portraitist.  His softest, most sensitive works often recall Renoir’s reverence for the feminine.  Against rural backgrounds Malm portrays what he feels is one of God’s great creations:  the human figure.   To  Malm, a tilt of the head or tiny hand gesture can communicate universal thought and emotion.

In other words, painting is a calling for this artist, a testimony.   With every work, Malm strives to move his viewers by capturing the infinite subtleties of human nature.

A new showcase of paintings by artist Chris Owen follows, August 1-31 at Trailside.  The gallery says up to ten new works will be on display by the artist, whose work hangs in such collections as the Pearce Western Art Collection in Corsicana, Texas, the National Western Museum in Denver, Colorado, and the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Owen has moved to working with oils full time, and his passion is chronicling cowboy life.  In speaking about his art Owen falls into detailed descriptions of his observations of horses and ranches.

“There is nothing more satisfying to me than to bring a green colt up into a real nice saddle horse that knows how to handle himself and is a pleasure to be around. From the halter breaking and ground work right on up to all of the roping and getting gates and other ranch chores, each step presents its own challenges and the way it’s handled can vary quite a bit depending on the individual horse’s personality,” says the artist.

For information on both shows, contact Trailside’s Dawn Meckam by emailing dawn@trailsidegalleries.com, or phoning  307.733.3186.

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At Heather James Fine Art, Masters of Impressionism and Modern Art brings together exquisite examples of art by Berthe Morisot, Édouard Léon Cortès, Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Claude Monet, and Jackson Pollock among many others.

A highlight of the show, Monet’s Water Lily (c. 1915-1919), gives Jackson art lovers a chance to see one of Monet’s signature works; part of a series that defined the artist’s career.   ”Monet’s distinctive late palette and all of the pictorial tensions unique to the achievements of the artist’s final decades are on display with this prime example from the master Impressionist’s oeuvre,” says the gallery’s James Corona.

Specific works on exhibit include Pablo Picasso’s Buste de Femme Souriante (1901) and Fernand Léger’s La racine noire et fragments d’objets (1943-1950).  

For information: lyndsay@heatherjames.com.