Jackson Hole Art Blog

Horses.  Wildlife.  Robert Redford.   Michael Jackson.

Jackson’s Diehl Gallery (155 West Broadway, in Jackson) 5th Annual Fête happens July 3, 5:00-9:00 pm.  The gallery plans a stylish event, one featuring over 30 artists, including several new to the gallery’s roster.

Ashley Collins is one of those artists; she’s a 25-year painting veteran.  Noted for her abstract figurative images of horses, as well as her Colorfield works, she’s collected everywhere.

And where’s everywhere?  Diehl says private and public collections in Sydney, Dubai, Munich and New York display her work.  Super famous collectors include: Robert Redford, 20th Century Fox, Deborah Winger, Danny Sullivan III (race car driver) , Ringo Starr, the Sultan of Brunei,…maybe even the Sultan of Swing. It’s a pretty impressive list, and I note several outdoor enthsuiasts are included.  Collins has exhibited worldwide for years, including exhibitions with Rauschenberg, Dill, Motherwell, and (Jim) Dine.

Diehl’s release just said “Dine.”  As well as just “Rauschenberg,” “Dill,” and “Motherwell.”   But, they also said “Ringo Starr,” not “Starr,” and “Robert Redford,” not “Redford.”

Collins will have a solo exhibition later in the month, on July 23, at the gallery.  Time:  5:00-8:00 p.m.   This will also be a fundraiser, and for information, you can phone 307-733-0905.

Signed, “Christel”

Item #2:

“When I had you to myself,
I didn’t want you around—
Those pretty faces always made you
Stand out in a crowd….

Oh, baby, I was blind to let you go,
Won’t you please let me back in your heart?”

Bring your heart, soul and pretty faces to what may—or may not be—a final First Friday at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, good to go on Friday evening, July 3, 2009.

I’ll be there…

McCandless is trying to make it all work, but let’s really help, eh?  We come, we drink wine, we have a good time and do the moonwalk, but let’s buy some art, too.

What do you say?  Here’s the deal:

Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary is holding a First Friday “Rent Party.” Admission is free, but don’t expect free wine & beer; bring it.    Don’t expect to not buy a little bit of art; bring it.   Let’s put our money where our thirsty mouths are. This art will be affordable.  We all easily drop $100 on outdoor gear, or a night at the Bistro, or a new phone, or on groceries we eat in a couple of days, a massage, liquor.

Let’s drop a little bit of dough on some art, art that will last a long time.  Art that, every time we take pleasure in it, will remind us that we supported a purpose we love.   Before it’s gone…potentially gone.  Full circle mode.

If you’re not yet clear on the rent party concept, it’s a party to help with rent.

Rent parties have historical context relating to music.  According to Wikipedia, a “…rent party (sometimes called a house party) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s.”   The rent party concept embraces jazz, and specifically “cutting contests,” wherein jazz pianists took turns trying to out play each other at rent parties.  LMC’s July 3 First Friday may include a little bit of contemporary cuttin’.

Works up for sale include individual vessels from Jenny Dowd’s latest installation and her small “object drawers.”  Matt Flint’s paintings are gorgeous and affordable.  “I was kind of miffed about an article I saw that talked about the attendees of (Lyndsay’s) First Friday events not being able to afford the “high priced work” on the walls. My prices have gone up recently due to demand, but I certainly do not want to edit out a group of people who support my work, but can not afford it,” says Flint.

Be ready to transport your art home—no plastic bags will be on hand.  BYOB, be of legal drinking age, and enjoy a truly collaborative arts party.  Support First Fridays for real.

All I need (buh buh buh buh ba! )All I want (buh buh buh buh ba!) All I NEED.. is one more chance to show ya that I love ya!

Item #3:

Galleries West! “All Things Wild” is their July 4th weekend opener.   And as you might guess, the exhibition features new works focusing on wildlife from six Galleries West artists: Michael Calles, Kate Ferguson, D. Lee, Lori McNee, John Potter, and Debbie Edgers Sturges.  The show opens July 3rd with a reception from 5-8 PM and will remain on display through July 15.

The gallery notes that wildlife as subject is an intrinsic, important part of Jackson Hole’s art history.   How could it not?  It’s one of the reasons we are all here, and we’re passionate about all wildlife, from giant grizzlies down to tiny pikas.   “All Things Wild” artists express their own passions in this special show.

The gallery provided these artist profiles:

“Michael Calles looks to historical masters of the wildlife genre to inform and inspire his beautifully expressive canvases.  Lori McNee (love her!) creates still life vignettes populated with tiny birds and natural elements that comment on our delicate relationship with nature.  John Potter, a Chippewa artist, paints nature and wildlife to express his love of creation and his connection with a powerful Creator.  Kate Ferguson renders her paintings with intimate detail and careful observation.  D. Lee is an alla prima painter, meaning she finishes the majority of her paintings in one sitting, so her pieces exhibit a direct approach with loose and expressive brushwork. And Debbie Edgers Sturges’ paintings are bold, brightly colored, and large, with huge brushstrokes and animals that directly engage the viewer.”

For more information, contact Galleries West Fine Art at 307-733-4412 or visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

The National Endowment for the Arts is in the process of reviewing the applications that were received for Recovery Act funds.  The NEA received approximately 2,400 applications requesting support for projects that focus on the preservation of jobs in the arts, now under review.  The amount of money requested by applicants far exceeds the nearly $30 million available for grants.

For Wyoming this means that, if an application is denied, applicants can look to other possible NEA sources:

•    Wyoming’s state arts agency deadline has passed, but there may be a second deadline January 15, 2010, depending on funding.

•    A designated local arts agency that receives Recovery Act funding. (See the list of state arts agencies and regional arts organizations on the NEA Web site; a list of local arts agencies that receive Recovery Act funding will be available in July.)

Applicants are encouraged to consider the NEA’s traditional funding opportunities: the Access to Artistic Excellence category deadline is August 13. The NEA Chairman will make final decisions on Recovery Act funding following the meeting of the National Council on the Arts at the end of June. Applicants will be informed of funding in July. In the meantime, check the “Recovery” section of the NEA web site for the most up to date information on all aspects of the NEA’s Recovery Act program.    http://www.arts.gov/

During the month of July, Jackson Hole’s Legacy Gallery will offer up one-person shows for artists Carol Hagan and Jay Moore.   Hagan’s exhibit opens Thursday, July 2; Moore’s debuts Thursday, July 16.

Carol Hagan is noted for her painterly, half-impressionistic half-Fauvist color palette, ecstatically applied to whimsically rendered animal portraits.  Embedded with Native American symbols and totems, Hagan’s mystical images fast-freeze species’ souls.  Blood reds and rubbed, earthy yellows suggest a womb, a path towards the light.  Legacy Gallery notes that Hagen is well-known to such prominent Western Art venues as the C. M. Russell Auction, the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, and Desert Caballeros Western Museum’s show – “Cowgirl Up!”  Says the gallery, Hagan’s paintings are paintings “from the heart.”

Landscape artist Jay Moore’s skies are big; making the clouds in the sky seem to move across the prairie and a river’s glassy water slide down a valley are reasons why Moore is a respected landscape painter.  The Legacy Gallery notes that Moore develops color studies and sketches from plein-air. He then combines a certain technology with a traditional plein aire style by assigning GPS (latitude/longitude) coordinates to his pieces. From a historical perspective, this will be of interest and assist collectors and historians. Moore is a devoted and respected artist, says Legacy, whose landscape paintings allow the viewer to feel the beauty of the scene he is recreating.

Legacy Gallery invites the public to both July openings.  Welcome to summer!   Find Legacy Gallery on the corner of Jackson’s Town Square, at 75 North Cache. Contact the gallery by phone at 307.733.2353.

Jackson Hole artist Suzanne Morlock will join the U.S. non-profit Cross Cultural Collaboration (www.culturalcollaborative.org) , an educational organization working with students from around the world, to work on a variety of paper-making projects in Ghana, Africa. Morlock will spend three weeks this August in Ghana, fulfilling a mission to promote cultural exchange and understanding through art.

Although Ghana provides six years of free, compulsory education, school curriculums are limited, says Morlock.  “There is a focus on reading, writing and math, but no exploration of technology or the arts,” she says.

Morlock, Teton County Library’s Public Service Manager, will work with over 40 students daily at Aba House, CCC’s cultural center.  She will supervise current projects and create new ones using papers from locally grown sugar cane fibers.

While teaching artistic techniques, these craft projects have another
purpose: creating saleable items to help students earn money for school supplies not provided by state sponsored schools. Morlock lists books, pencils and writing paper as some of the basics students still need.   She adds that the summer should see the addition of a new library and webpage design project at Aba House.

Morlock says that though weekends are weekends, children come to the program seven days a week.  The kids are learning values, rather than simply relying on bartering or begging.  Children will work with other mediums and create art using materials other than paper.

“Here in Jackson we are experiencing some economic slowdowns, and I believe this kind of service is even more important as we realize how connected we are globally.  Culturally diverse experiences strengthen and influence our communications as humans living on one planet. I’m sure I will learn more than I will teach,” says Morlock, who also needs help now with projects such as gathering and shipping books, computers and art accessories to Africa.

Want to know more?  Contact Suzanne Morlock by emailing nungua.ghana@gmail.com.

The Jackson Hole Art Association addresses global warming with its summer exhibition GAIA and Global Warming: Women Artists Champion Nature, kicking off with a free “art talk” at the Center for the Arts Theater on June 24, beginning at 7:30 pm.    The show opens June 26 with a 5:30 pm artists’ reception at Artspace; the work remains on display through September 27, 2009.

Curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, GAIA looks at climate change through the eye of the arts.  In other words, this is not an exhibit about climate change; it is a show examining–considering–the myriad ways the arts have explored themes of global warming, sustainability (which, in its true sense, refers to any activity or practice that, no matter how often executed, never leaves a corrosive environmental trace) and responsibility.

Hope Sandrow, Peggy Diggs, Margaret and Christine Wertheim (of the Institute for Figuring), Nancy Macko and Judy Cotton are participating artists.

So, GAIA is not land art–art that disappears or transforms–nor is it work designed for a specific public installation. The show is at once a retrospective and commentary. Tracing the “explosion” of enviro-art back to 2006, GAIA embraces the concept that artists are at the vanguard of environmentalism.  Creativity and its derivative tactile arts reflect our experience of the world around us.

The Art Association notes that collaborations with “….scientists, statisticians, public policy wonks, municipal officials and arts organizations (has) set the protocol for this genre of art making. Artists thus have been at the vanguard of concretizing (sic) scientific, social, political and economic theory around the environment into specific projects which they have situated in venues for maximum exposure to the public.”

June 24th’s free panel discussion features moderator Lowery Stokes Sims, forest ecologist Nalini Nadkarni, and artists Nancy Macko, Susan Thulin and Lyndsay McCandless.

For more information, phone the Art Association at 307.733.6379.

“An important aspect of both of these designs is that they don’t recall any familiar balls that I know of.” - John Gibson

June 18 - July 20, you can see artist John Gibson’s latest works in a new show, “Inter-play,” at the J.H. Muse Gallery. If you know the Muse, you are very familiar with his paintings of patterned balls.  I first thought of these as portraits of cue balls, though the patterns and colors clearly say they are not. But Gibson is obsessed with pattern.  He’s so obsessed, he’s written an essay about it.  And if you, like me, find his prodigious and in-plain-sight paintings enigmatic–the Muse Gallery has a soft spot for the enigmatic–here are some excerpts from Gibson’s website, specifically from his essay “Patterns,”  that discuss his passion for repetition.   Twenty years.  That’s how long Gibson has been finding continued renewal in his subject.  It’s a lot about math, movement, Maori and…scavenger hunting.

“The balls are wrapped with patterns I’ve found in mathematical textbooks, art museums, toy stores and tag sales. Choosing the right pattern is really important. It’s crucial to the question of how the balls turn in space and to how you get from one ball to another. The patterns are the way the paintings move.”

“What attracted me to [a] design was its forward and backward rhythm, which seemed to reflect the swelling and contracting of the ball itself….If I paint them correctly, the stripes wrap around the form of the ball enhancing its volume, its roundness. Those same stripes can also be read as flat–like an exotic wallpaper….”

“For me, the wooden ball lacked the tensions between opposites that the paintings possessed. I missed being confused. I was also reminded of a painter’s fundamental impulse towards opposing forces of all kinds….The best patterns have been the ones that make those issues explicit…and become, like the ball itself, familiar and mysterious at the same time.”

An opening reception takes place Thursday, June 25, 5-8 pm.   JH Muse Gallery is located at 62 South Glenwood, in Jackson.  www.jhmusegallery.com.

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center’s Whitney Gallery of Western Art is set to re-open June 21.   It has been closed for remodeling since October 2008.

Curator Mindy Besaw has been neck deep in the project.

“It’s been “all Whitney, all the time” says Besaw.  “I hope to provide visitors with a rich new perspective on the role of art in understanding the American West.”  Besaw feels the gallery’s 50th anniversary catch phrase, “Seeing the West in a whole new way,” captures its essence.  She notes that the “… reinterpreted gallery goes beyond a traditional chronological display of artwork to create a mixture of historic and contemporary art, grouped together based on such themes as, “Horses in the West,” “Wonders of Wildlife,” “Heroes and Legends,” and “Inspirational Landscapes.” Put another way, it “celebrates the past and envisions the future.” ”

The gallery’s history began when the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association commissioned a New York artist, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, to create a monument to Cody. She donated Buffalo Bill – The Scout, which was dedicated on July 4, 1924, and forty acres of adjacent land.

Besaw tells us that,”For 30 years, the Scout remained a solitary horse-and-rider at the outskirts of town. In 1954, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, the sculptor’s son, donated funds in his mother’s honor to create a western art gallery in Cody, Wyoming. Then, in 1957, the Honorable Robert Coe, acting for the Coe Foundation, purchased the Frederic Remington studio collection of paintings, sketches, and artifacts and gave it to the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association for a new art museum.”

And, as they say, the rest is history.  For information, contact  Mindy Besaw at mindyb@bbhc.org , or phone 307.578.4053

Galleries West’s group show, “New Beginnings,” opens in their newly regrouped space on June 18th, remains on exhibit through July 2, and will toast new works with a reception on Thursday, June 18, 5-8 p.m. All gallery artists will participate in this summer’s show, a collection designed to remind us of art’s healing powers.

Participating artists include Michael Calles, Kim Casebeer, Mary Ann Cherry, Kate Ferguson, Gaylene Fortner, Jim Gilmore, Judy Hartke, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Dinah Jasensky, Pat Jeffers, Bonnie Latham, Karen Latham, Rebecca Latham, D. Lee, Karol Mack, Lori McNee, Erin C. O’Connor, Marilyn Paine, John Potter, Marilyn Salomon, Debbie Edgers Sturges, Hubert Wackermann, & Bart Walker.

I have a place in my heart for Jen Hoffman’s work. Hoffman’s Pennsylvania childhood, enveloped in pastel lights and gentle countryside, informs her compositions.   She’s worked and studied with landscape painter Scott Christensen, and though her bio tells us she’s spent years around the arts, she’s been painting full time only a few years.   I believe Hoffman is one of our most accomplished plein air artists, and I know people who, after first being exposed to her lyrical canvases, think about Hoffman’s paintings for years.

And who doesn’t admire John Potter’s intimate connection with the Earth?  He’s telling the holy with every stroke.  (Here, Sleeping Indian is born.)   He says, “When I step outside to paint, my intent is to orchestrate a moment of light, color, and my own emotional responses to those subjects on canvas. My hope is that the viewer will see the natural world through my eyes and gain an appreciation for the quiet dignity that I find in the wild - perhaps even feel that sence of awe and gratitude as well - and hopefully, then, share a desire to help preserve this Earth that belongs to us all.”~

Justin Fantl, a past colleague of mine, seems to be making it big in California’s photography scene.  Fantl shot for Planet Jackson Hole, and took off a few years back to enter a San Francisco graduate program in photography.  It’s paying off.  Feature Shoot reports that  “Justin strives to create images that are metaphoric and lasting whether the images are of a sterile hallway or a dinosaur egg….His work has been featured in Communication Arts and Photo District News and [he] is a regular contributor to Gallery Stock. His clients include Fortune, Lucky, CBS Magazine, The Globe and Mail, and Technology Review.

“The more artists use and understand color, the more they learn about nature; what’s really going on. Why is it doing what it’s doing?  We are painting with knowledge.  We are not guessing.    I used to spend hours studying light on the mountains—why is it doing what it’s doing?

And you ask, why are we painting the same things over and over again?  We aren’t.  Yes, a lot of people paint the Tetons, but if you lined up every one of those paintings, each is different.  Why?  Because either they’re painting the WOW or trying to paint something they can sell for the market.  I’d rather paint the WOW.  I love painting Buck Mountain.   I’m one of the only ones who paint Buck Mountain and I probably own most of my paintings of Buck Mountain.   I’ve only sold two in 36 years.  But I’ll keep painting Buck Mountain because I love painting it. ” - Greg McHuron, Founder, “Artists in the Park”

Fred Kingwill. Greg McHuron. Jennifer Hoffman.  Lee Carlman Riddell.   These are 2009’s Grand Teton Association “Artists in the Park,” and one of these local artists will be on location the second Saturday of every month—June 13 is Kingwill’s stand–so that anyone may watch talented artists put brush to canvas, creating painterly snapshots and adding to the Park’s rich art history.  2009’s painting schedule continues thusly:

July 11 – Greg McHuron

August 8 – Jennifer Hoffman

September 12 – Lee Carlman Riddell

Artists choose a favorite place and time to execute plein air painting demonstrations for the public.  Wonderfully accessible, artists answer questions regarding inspirations and creative processes.  These plein air demonstrations are free to the public.

The  series, officially called the “Art in the Environment Program”, was founded in the early 1970’s by Greg McHuron and Conrad Schwiering as a way to bring the public free access to some of Jackson’s most talented natural artists.  Funded by the Grand Teton Association, the series underlines appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of the Grand Teton National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Area.

For over 40 years, Fred Kingwell has been painting his watercolors of the Tetons and other locations.  (We’ve had so much rain I advise checking with GTA about rain dates.)   Weather permitting, you will find Kingwill at the Oxbow of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park on Saturday, June 13, from 9am-noon. Visitors can park at the Oxbow Bend Parking lot, 2.5 miles from the Moran Park entrance.  Look for the Artist banner.

For information, contact Jan Lynch at 307.739-3406 or Liza Millet at 917.864-9395.

Dance it Up!   An exception to my visual arts rule today:  Check out Dancer’s Workshop schedule of extraordinary events through June 14, as they celebrate their First Annual Summer Dance Celebration. DW is a frequent collaborator with Jackson’s Visual Arts community.    Here’s a schedule, and see ya’ll at Zydeco! :

Adult Dance Classes
Monday-Saturday, June 8-13
Dancers’ Workshop Studios
FREE
All ongoing adult dance classes are free this week. Classes include pilates, yoga, ballet, Zumba, Modern, Hip Hop, Capoiera, and Dance Fitness. Most classes are open to all levels and there are no limits on how many classes you take during the week…or during the day! Please see www.dwjh.org for class details or call 307.733.6398.

The “Square Series” Public Dance Performances
Wednesday, June 10, 3:30-5:30pm
Town Square
FREE
Bringing dance into perhaps one of the most public spaces in Jackson, the Town Square, Dancers’ Workshop will offer short performances of salsa and Zumba with Manny Sanchez, modern dance with the Junior Repertory Company, and breakdancing with Pasha.  This is a wonderful opportunity to watch dance for free and even partake yourself if the spirit moves you.

Master Classes with Elisa Monte Dance
Thursday & Friday, June 11 & 12, 3:30-5:30pm
Dancers’ Workshop Studio 1
FREE
Local dancers have the special opportunity to work with Elisa Monte dancers from New York City for free. These classes are geared to the Intermediate/Advanced dancer.

Open Rehearsals with Elisa Monte Dance
Thursday & Friday, June 11 & 12, 5:30-7:30pm
Dancers’ Workshop Studio 1
FREE
Open rehearsals offer a wonderful opportunity to view dance intimately and witness the interaction between choreographer and dancers. You see muscles flex, sweat drip, and emotions on faces up close. Additionally, during the Friday open rehearsal, Zydeco band Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys will rehearse with Elisa Monte Dance.  This free evening of dance and music is not to be missed!

Elisa Monte Dance
Co-presented with Center for the Arts
Saturday, June 13, 7:30pm
Center Theater
Tickets: $55 balcony/ $45 orchestra/ $20 students
Call 733.4900
The Summer Dance Celebration culminates with a fun and fabulous weekend. Saturday offers an elegant and inspiring performance by the world-renowned company Elisa Monte Dance at the Center Theater. Elisa Monte Dance, one of New York City’s most respected contemporary dance companies, has gained recognition at home and abroad. A favorite in the valley, Dancers’ Workshop is delighted to have Elisa Monte Dance return to Jackson and headline their Summer Dance Celebration.  The company will present their newest work, Zydeco Zare, choreographed to a musical score that features the six-piece Zydeco Band, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Quick, physical, and highly emotional, this piece fits appropriately with the stunning repertoire of Elisa Monte Dance’s past work. Tickets for this 7:30pm performance are available at the Center Box Office 733.4900 or online at www.jhcenterforthearts.org. More information about Elisa Monte Dance is available at www.elisamontedance.org.

Zydeco Music and Picnic with Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys
Sunday, June 14, 5:00pm
Center Theater Lawn
FREE
On Sunday at 5pm kick off your shoes and join us on the Center for the Arts lawn for FREE Zydeco music. Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys will throw down irresistible, foot-tapping rhythms that are sure to provide enjoyment for listeners and dancers of all ages. One of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music, Jeffery Broussard has continually been an innovator, beginning his career at age eight playing drums in his father’s traditional Creole Zydeco band. Later he formed the nouveau group, Zydeco Force, before returning to a more traditional Zydeco sound with his band, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Cajun food by The Kitchen at Pai’s Place and drinks by Snake River Brewery will be available for purchase.

For more information on any of the Summer Dance Celebration events, please call Dancers’ Workshop at 307.733.6398.