Jackson Hole Art Blog

“I love the way my gallery looks right now; it looks like a New York gallery!” – Tayloe Piggot

J.H. Muse Gallery’s Tayloe Piggot made that comment a few years back; the gallery was then housed in its former West Broadway space.  But, far from moving away from aligning herself with NYC’s mega-arts culture, she continues to reach out, looking to translate that city’s contemporary energy to Jackson Hole’s art scene.

To that end, she and arts specialist  Camille Obering present “Influences of Nature on Abstraction,” opening at J.H. Muse on September 3.  Spotlighting contemporary masters Milton Avery, Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell, the show remains up through the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival (power play!) all the way to October 14, 2009.  An opening reception takes place Friday, September 11, 5-8:00 pm.

Obviously, public access to works by internationally known contemporary artists is  rare in Jackson.  We’ll all feel as if we’re partaking in a MoMa field trip, and that will be thrilling.  Folks living full time in the inter-mountain west, as a rule, don’t visit significant contemporary museums as often as urban dwellers  This show, says its organizers, depicts work “unconstrained” by “representational” rules—a comment seeming to allude to a belief that here, constraint and representation are the norm.

Emerging art movements often claim to be throwing off restraints of earlier schools, and they are.  But no school of art emerges from a vacuum.

Artistic “constraint” is a misconception; artists decide for themselves what feels like constraint.  If Clyde Aspevig were asked to paint like Frankenthaler, he may feel some constraint.  Aspevig doesn’t interpret and experience nature the same way as Frankenthaler.   Poetry is highly structured and disciplined, but often seems less formally conceived than prose.

These artists–Frankenthaler, Avery, Mitchell and Diebenkorn–created something new for themselves and for art history.  In creating something new, another set of rules for achieving the effect the artist wants is established.   Another guide is written, another opinion.  Artists’ efforts to tell the world as they see it are  opinions set to canvas, photographic paper, in clay.

Artistic vision is highly personal, but principles invariably apply.

From the age of seven, Picasso received formal, academic artistic training.  From those building blocks, his brilliance exploded.  Over and over again Picasso studied the human form.  Without this deep knowledge, Picasso’s abstractions would lose their magic.

Obering puts the Muse show artists in context:

“Milton Avery (1885 – 1965), often thought of as America’s Matisse, is best known for his conflation of abstraction and representation using a rich and unusual palette.

Richard Diebenkorn’s (1922 – 1993) aerial landscapes of California illuminated the light and line of this area by marrying color field painting and geometric abstraction in a bold personal style.

Helen Frankenthaler (born 1928), known as a color field painter and an abstract expressionist, utilized a technique known as “soak stain,” in which oil paints were diluted and painted onto unprimed canvas or
paper, resulting in stunning and luminescent paintings.

Joan Mitchell’s (1925 – 1992) powerful and energetic brush stroke played out nature’s patterns, light, and depth, making her work some of the most spectacular of the
Abstract Expressionists.”

I’d kill for a Frankenthaler; when I look at her work I feel as if I’m beneath the ocean’s surface—a favorite place to be—floating over brilliant corals, translucent kelps.   My sister would like an Avery, please.

For information, visit www.jhmusegallery.com, phone 307.733.0555—or, contact Camille Obering through her website.

Item #2  -  Not Too Late For a Little Cayuse!

Cayuse favorite Jack Walker is back, bringing new designs and best sellers, on Friday, August 28th from 5 – 8pm. Meet Jack and view his pure silver and leather hand crafted work.  He’s joined for the second year by Jackson jeweler and silversmith Dawn Bryfogle, whose work combines contemporary gemstone styling with vintage sterling treasures.  She’ll also be showing her new handmade sterling pieces.

Margaritas may make an appearance at tonight’s opening.  For info, email  info@cayusewa.com.

E.I. Couse, (1866-1936), "Moonlight"

Upstairs at Trailside Gallery, towards the rear, are treasures.   The Jackson Hole Art Auction takes place Saturday, September 19 at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. The auction is taking bidder registrations; 2009 consignment deadlines have long passed, but you may submit artwork for consideration for 2010’s Auction by logging onto their website.

To tempt you, here’s a look at this year’s schedule.  The Jackson Hole Art Auction is produced in conjunction with the Gerald Peters Gallery. All times are Mountain Standard Time.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18:  Auction Preview.  Free to the public at the Center for the Arts, 240 S. Glenwood.    10:00 am – 7:00 pm.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19    DOORS OPEN AT 9:00 A.M.  PREVIEW UNTIL 1:00 P.M.

10:00 – 11:00 am:  LECTURE & SLIDE SHOW: TUCKER SMITH, “THE WIND RIVERS.”

10:00 am – 1:00 pm: BOOK SIGNING-GARY TEMPLE, “GOLLINGS, MORE OF THE STORY,”    WILLIAM T. WARD & GARY TEMPLE.

1:00 p.m. -  JACKSON HOLE ART AUCTION COMMENCES.

The Auction takes place during Jackson Hole’s Fall Arts Festival. A calendar of events relating to the visual arts may be found by clicking on the Festival Calendar link on the right side of the blog, near the top of the page.   The calendar will be posted here at Festival time.   Got Fall Arts Info?  Send it along to me, at: tammy@jacksonholearttours.com.    Visual arts information only, please.

Item #2:

Up at CIAO: Here’s the skinny on CIAO’s new show: “Nocturnes, Art Inspired by the Night” features an eclectic array of art from jewelry to photography, created by local and international artists.  The opening reception will take place Saturday August 22nd, 6-9pm at CIAO Gallery on Glenwood.  This exhibition features artists Chang Jorinde, an artist from Taiwan and Texas based artist Twyla Bloxham. This exhibition will feature local artist & guest juror Benji Pierson as well as Glass Artists Liz Peet. New York City based jeweler Kristen Wall, will feature her one of a kind, city night inspired pieces.”

Phone number to call for more information: 307-413-4841.

Item #3

ARTS & ECONOMY: Rocco Landesman was confirmed as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. According to the New London Day, “…his straight-talking style, Missouri roots and affinity for baseball and country music are expected to give him a leg up with many legislators.”

Item #4:

“Habitat for Humanity is launching a new social networking group, ‘DIGS’ – Dedicated Individuals Giving and Serving. DIGS brings together active young locals who share a passion for Jackson Hole and who support housing in order to preserve an engaged and diverse community.  The group offers a fun and social way for Jackson residents to give back, and aims to raise enough money in the next twelve months to “dig” the foundation on a new Habitat house.”

HERE COMES THE ART PART….

“DIGS will host a kick-off event this Wednesday, August 26 from 5pm – 8pm at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary. The event will feature live bluegrass music from the Random Canyon Growlers and a raffle of two tandem flights with JH Paragliding. It will also showcase works by local artists crafted from Habitat ReStore materials in partnership with Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary. Complimentary Snake River (award winning!) beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres will be served.  Memberships will be available for purchase at the event for $35 and include free entry to all DIGS events, a free raffle ticket for the paragliding raffle, and discounts at local businesses including Amangani, Elevated Grounds, Nikai, Skinny Skis, Tobacco Row, Jackson Whole Grocer, and the Mangy Moose.  FREE!”

Info: Office: (307) 734-0828
lauren@tetonhabitat.org
www.tetonhabitat.org

Center Street Gallery debuts artist Kay Stratman’s new brush paintings at an artist’s reception Thursday, August 20, 5-8:00 p.m. Titled Expect the Unexpected, Stratman’s collective works are, as far as I know, Jackson’s only examples of East Asian sumi-e (墨絵) painting, originated in China. An ancient practice, sumi-e (soo-me-ee) was introduced to Japan in the mid 14th century.  Ink and wash paintings at first used only black inks; color washes were added later.

Sumi-e’s tools—stick ink (sumi), grinding stone, fine papers or fabric, and bamboo handled brushes—are known as the Four Treasures. According to practice, Stratman has produced paintings balanced in composition and color.  They depict landscapes that, although often inspired by the West, are swathed in Asian delicacy—soft, as well as precise.  Misty mountains, swans flying in tandem over serene, mirror-like lakes, snow scenes and liquid portraits of koi, geckos and butterflies are Stratman’s subjects–she renders all using a palette of warm and cool pastel tones.

Sumi-e’s goal is to capture a subject’s soul.  “To paint a flower, there is no need to perfectly match its petals and colors, but it is essential to convey its liveliness and fragrance.”

A final note: Stratman is married to new Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Executive Director Paul Hansen. For more information, phone 307.733.1115.    www.centerstreetgallery.com.

Item #2

Tonalist Jared Sanders’ new collection of works, “A Period of Transition,” also opens Thursday, 5-7:00 pm,  at Altamira Fine Art. A chronicler of nature, Sanders’ quiet, harmonic works play out in soft browns, earth yellows, reds, and their balancing cooler tones of blue and green.  His compositions are simple, in the realm of the naive.   His portrayals of cows in the fields, those colors and structure, can remind me of Milton Avery.

As a rural youngster, Sanders began painting the landscapes of his northern Utah home. “His artistic process is measured and very detailed,” says the gallery. “After scouting potential landscape subjects and taking hundreds of snapshots, he sorts through the best candidates, sketching some in pencil.  He then transfers the sketch to gesso board using brown or sienna oils finished in warm gray or ochre tones, focusing on getting the color of one object or shape in the painting perfect.”

Sanders likes the softer, shoulder seasons: Autumn and Spring.

“I like it in autumn after all the leaves have fallen from the trees.  And my favorite time is in spring when winter is just barely leaving – nothing is green yet, everything is still dead from the winter, the trees are leafless, the willows are red, and a few patches of snow are left on the ground.”

For information: connect@altamiraart.com.

Item #3

Explorer-photographer Jimmy Chin will be at Oswald Gallery on Friday, August 21, 6-9 p.m.,  to discuss his photographic work and his climbing experiences.

Chin exhibits his views of the extreme landscapes he explores and the people who live in those high and distant countries.  Says the Oswald, “From the Karakoram to Mali to Everest and beyond, Chin has traveled the globe, shooting from some of the most inaccessible terrain in the world, all in an attempt to arrest images that go beyond the ambition of the athlete and wanderlust of the explorer. Images that give the audience a glimpse into remote cultures, distant lands and the world of extreme athletes, ultimately giving perspective into the human potential and our own culture.”

Got bliss?  Want some if you don’t have it?  Visit some of the lands where bliss is a way of life as you view Jimmy Chin’s vibrant photography.   www.oswaldgallery.com.

If it seems to you as if a certain subject matter is visibly missing from Jackson Hole’s art scene, you’re correct.   Life drawing, the practice of drawing the nude figure, is art’s longest tradition.   Many consider it to be art’s purest subject, and the most difficult practice.

Even so, with all the superior artistic talent in and around Jackson Hole, nude portraiture is rarely publicly displayed.  That’s changing.

Body & Soul II, a group exhibit displaying life drawings by 13 local artists, opens at Galleries West on August 20, running through September 3.    A reception will be held Aug. 20,  5-8:00 pm.

Thirteen participating artists are:  Eliza Chrystie, Eliot Goss, Thais Graham, Lane Griffin, Alissa Hartmann, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Greg McHuron, Susan Nowlin, Lee Carlman Riddell, Shannon Troxler, Kathryn Mapes Turner, September Vhay, and A. A. “Sandy” Zvegintzov.

Gallery owner Debbie Bunch provides context for the history of nude drawing.

“The story of this drawing group has its beginnings in the long tradition of life drawing through the ages,” she says.   “The skill of drawing, and specifically drawing the human form, was considered a prerequisite for all art students in the 19th and early 20th Century academies. By the mid-20th Century, less emphasis was being placed on the craft and mechanics of art study in favor of expressionism and conceptual issues.  As the priorities of the academies changed, life drawing was no longer required study for students.  And less and less artists pursued the practice.”

Participating artist September Vhay notes that, “The intent of this show is to share our artwork with the public and to create an understanding and discussion about the roll that drawing skills play in fine art.”

Valley artist Greg McHuron quietly began holding group drawing sessions at his studio about eight years ago, taking a break while he dealt with a serious cancer threat. (McHuron, if possible, is even more productive post-treatment.)  As Bunch says, most of these artists are not professionally known for figurative work but they share “…a desire to hone their observational skills while studying the light, form, perspective, and proportion that the human body offers, and a belief that the basic skill of drawing is a vital foundation that is too often skipped over by artists today.”

Artists will be in attendance for August 20th’s reception. For more information, contact Galleries West Fine Art at 307-733-4412 or visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

Item #2

R. Haworth at Full Circle Frameworks!

Ryan Haworth–whose last name is pronounced “Hayworth,” but who never starred in “Gilda,” or married Orson Welles–(Sorry Ryan, I’m in a strange mood this morning! Must be because it’s my day off.) opens a new group show at Full Circle Frameworks this Friday, Aug. 21.

“Us,” as described by Rocky Vertone, is “… a window into his thoughts during the most active time in his life..at least for now. It touches on fears, belief, humor, beauty, and the urge to do what we love.”    The show remains up through September 9.

For info, give a call to 307.733.0770, or email Vertone at: rockyfour4@gmail.com.

Mary Roberson’s epic collection, Nature is Life in the Dream, opened at Altamira Fine Art on August 6, and you should not miss seeing this remarkable collection of new paintings.

Says Roberson, “When I struggle, I watch the critters who teach me the greatest value of all – simplicity and joy.”

This new grouping of large scale paintings is mythic in scope, abstract, muted and…dream-like.  Roberson uses earth tones mixed with low-impact greens and amber, and feels she is capturing climate, ground, atmosphere, and animal by avoiding an over use of color.   Her bison appear to have floated down from the sky, settled on desert amidst sandy clouds of dust, and are slowly materializing.

Altamira’s artist bio page says that Roberson is a “….firm believer in the concept that the creative process should be fun, selfless, and that it is natural and distinct to every individual…. Wildlife and nature are her sources of both inspiration and reaffirmation.”

Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival Update:  R. Tom Gilleon, 2009’s Fall Arts Festival Poster Artist, is now represented by Altamira Fine Art.   This year’s poster signing event will take place at Altamira.   See J.H. Fall Arts Festival Calendar –click on the page link, right hand side of the Jackson Hole Art Blog’s home page.

Altamira: 307.739.4700.   www.altamiraart.com.

Item #2

The Legacy Gallery presents its summer Visions of the West: Multi-Artist Show and Sale, opening Friday, August 14.   With a focus on sculpture and paintings of Native Americans and Cowboys (I’ll capitalize both!) the show, says the gallery, “represents the true spirit of the West.”

A spirit more and more elusive, some might argue.   Let’s keep the legends, romance and history alive in Western art.  Many Legacy Gallery artists are participating in the show and will be on hand for the August 14 opening.

A list of participating artists includes: James Ayers, Roy Andersen, Russell Houston, Robert Shufelt, Chad Poppleton, C. Michael Dudash, Jason Rich, John Fawcett, David Wright, Gary Lynn Roberts, John Gawne, Teal Blake, Joni Falk, George D. Smith, and a few paintings to be sold on a draw basis by G. Harvey.  Also showing will be bronze sculptors Tim Shinabarger, Richard Greeves, G. Harvey, John Coleman, T.D. Kelsey, and Mehl Lawson.

This special show is accompanied by a color catalogue, a fine addition and collectible item in itself. For additional information or color photos,  contact Legacy Gallery at 307-733-2353 or email maya@legacygallery.com.

Item #3:  Art Association/Art Lab

The Jackson Hole Art Association’s August Art Fair Jackson Hole takes place August 14-16, at Miller Park in Jackson.   Additionally, The 10th Annual (Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival) Takin’ It to the Streets art fair takes place  Sunday, September 13, 2009. Says the Art Association, ” An intimate ‘local’s only’ show, this fair has become a popular favorite with locals and visitors alike!  If you create your own art and want to apply to this juried show, we’d love to have you! Contact Amy Fradley, Art Fair Director at 307-733-8792, or email at artistinfo@jhartfair.org.

Visiting the Art Association?  Don’t stop there; head upstairs to the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts third floor and check out Teton Art Lab. Travis Walker’s brainchild, the Art Lab provides artist residencies and a shared artistic and studio experience.  It’s a great place for artists new to Jackson to find their way and establish credibility.

This Friday, check out artwork by local and regional artists works in It Came from the Supervolcano, a collection of charged, energetic art by up-and-coming creatives and, just maybe, inspired by Yellowstone’s volcanic power.   The show adds to the ever-growing list of venues for new artists “exploding” around town.   Alexandra Kornblum’s graphic, bold oil paintings headline the show. Ben Carlson and others get in the groove, too.  The show pops its cork  with an opening Friday night, 6-9 pm, at the Art Lab.    www.tetonartlab.com.

In the fall, the Art Lab can set qualifying artists up with housing, studio access, and other kinds of support.  Email: info@tetonartlab.com.

Jackson Hole photographer David Brookover, owner of Brookover Gallery, will add a new gallery space in Santa Fe, New Mexico this fall.   Brookover plans to commence operations in November.  The new space, also be called Brookover Gallery, will occupy 2,000 square feet on Santa Fe’s famed Canyon Road. The new gallery will feature Brookover’s large format photography, with an emphasis on his new platinum prints.

“Santa Fe allows me to show work of the kind I’m becoming more interested in,” says Brookover.  “The town offers an international clientele, a market more favorably geared, year-round, to the new emphasis in my photography.”

“I have so much stored away here that’s not really appropriate for Jackson, that I want to show. Santa Fe is the art market.  The economy is slow, but I’ve been here nine years, and it’s time to dive in.  I’m really excited.”

Brookover will rotate exhibits and says he’ll be in Santa Fe for an extended period of time to get things going.  He’s been considering opening a new gallery for almost four years (Brookover opened his Jackson gallery in the lower level of his current space), but the timing had to be right.  Serendipity happened; the right space became available.  While the Jackson gallery displays color, black and white, and platinum prints taken in Japan, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, California and other locations, the new space will concentrate on platinum images of Japan, the southwest and areas of the Colorado Plateau, horses and…nudes.

Yep, nudes! The last time I saw photographs of nudes on the Jackson Hole arts scene was several years ago, when Spencer Tunick’s nude landscapes came to town.

What a hubbub! I almost went to jail for writing about the show.

Brookover is branching out, taking a leap into the human landscape.  He’s  just finished shooting a series of nudes–inspired in part by Edward Weston–and plans to introduce them to the public during Jackson’s September Fall Arts Festival. Currently, Brookover says he’ll include two platinum prints,  black and whites, and a few color images.

And, Brookover has a coffee table book in the works.  Black silk and boxed, it will spotlight his black and white images; a limited collector’s edition will include a platinum print.

Item #2

Painter Lee Carlman Riddell opens her new show, Field Days and Figures, at Trio Fine Art with an artist’s reception on Thursday, August 13, 6-8 pm. Riddell will talk about her work from 5-6 pm

Riddell’s rich color pops from her relatively small canvases; 8″ x 10″ is a preferred format.  Titles from the show connote pastoral sublimity:  “Willows & Meadow, Wyoming,” “Wisteria Over Door, Tuscany,” and “Fall Colors, Wyoming.” Printed on the show’s flier are poems by Riddell, describing her contemplative and creative connections to the spaces and places she paints: South Park, Wilson’s dike, Greg McHuron’s studio.  And, in Italy, Florence and Tuscany.

Figure drawings are a part of this show, too.  Field Days & Figures remains on display through August 29.     734-4444.   www.triofineart.com.

The Legacy Gallery hosts a two-man show for Western artists James Ayers and Jason Rich this month.  An opening reception will be held on Thursday, August 6, at the gallery, 75 N. Cache, on the Jackson Town Square southwest corner.   Both artists will be present.

Ayers, a Rhode Island School of Design grad, is noted for his portraits of Indians.  (John Byrne Cooke almost decapitated me for using the term “Native American,” a term, according to Cooke, coined by wrong-headed white men.) His travels and observations of Iroquois, Sioux and Hopi inform his works, oil paintings on canvas.  I’ve read that he’s influenced by a diverse group of great masters: John Singer Sargent, Gauguin, Klimt, and Henry Tanner.  That list encompasses myriad uses of light and paint; the latter artist’s painting style alone varied extensively over the course of his career.

Jason Rich also chronicles the Western life, but with a focus on cowboys and their horses.  Imbued with an illustrative golden light, Rich’s landscape-cowboy-horse portraits capture ranch life and individual moments of reflection, traversing the plains, resting the herd creekside, riding the range under endless skies fluffed by cumulous clouds.    His love of ranch life springs from his own childhood on a Utah farm.

For additional information contact Legacy Gallery at 307-733-2353 or maya@legacygallery.com.

Item #2 :   O’Connor at Galleries West

E.C. O’Connor’s solo exhibition, “Willing: Saying Yes to the Road Less Traveled,” is featured at  Galleries West, August 6-19. The show highlights O’Connor’s productive Joshua Tree National Park residency, as well as landscapes painted in the Greater Yellowstone region.

Talented Jackson Hole artists of all ilk often go about their day-to-day lives unnoticed.  O’Connor is one: she waits tables at Nora’s, landscapes, and does her fair share of outreach work in and around the valley.   But, as has previous posts have reported, O’Connor is an accomplished landscape painter recently awarded the coveted Joshua Tree residency.   At Joshua Tree, the artist created many new works–one painting will become a permanent part of that park’s collection.

“Many people perceive undeveloped areas as valueless and inhospitable,” says O’Connor.  “In no place is this more true than in our nation’s deserts. My goal is to show the inherent beauty within a very harsh environment.”

She is a passionate on-location painter; no painting from photographs for her.   As McHuron likes to do, O’Connor paints the “wow.” Her light recalls that of such master painters as Maynard Dixon, E. Martin Hennings and Edgar Payne.

An artist’s reception happens August 6,  5-8 PM.  O’Connor will be in attendance–yay, I finally get to meet her!–and  hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer, and the gallery’s hallmark chocolate fountain will be available.  Call the gallery at 307-733-4412 or visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

Galleries West twitters.  You can also follow the gallery on Twitter (www.twitter.com/gallerieswest) and their page on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/gallerieswest).

Item #3

Mary Roberson opens her new show, Nature is the Life of the Dream, at Altamira Fine Art on Thursday, August 6.  A reception will be held 5:00-7:00 pm.  More on this exhibit in my next post, but don’t miss what promises to be a good kickoff for a special show.  connect@altamiraart.com.

Item#4

Jackson Hole Center for the Arts’ founder John Tozzi and Center resident Dancers Workshop Artistic Director Babs Case are 2009’s Winners of the Award for Creativity.

Case’s 11-year devotion to Dancers’ Workshop has transformed a small, back-office company into a state-of-the-art outfit. DW provides dance classes and performances for all ages, all tastes; its electric current and constant vivacity are one of Jackson’s main creative arteries.   It’s all due to Case, who, in addition to  her dancing and directing, is an accomplished visual artist.  It could be said that Case ignited finding new venues for artists not able to appear in galleries, with her popular summer “Harpo’s Art Fair,” a day-long fun arts n’ picnic in Bab’s back yard.   Fun like Alice’s Wonderland fun.    Jodeen Tebay beautifully writes, “while dance is what brought Babs to the community, space is her true passion. On the stage, on paper, in textiles, in architecture, and in life she sees and creates beautiful compositions of space.”

Nobody deserves this award more than Babs Case.  Congratulations, Babs!

Congratulations to, to co-winner John Tozzi, without whom Jackson would not have the magnificent Jackson arts hub, the Center for the Arts.   Said Bruce Hawtin, “It is at times difficult to be creative and make a living. Because of John, the arts, all of the arts in Jackson Hole, have a home; therefore they have a place to be creative. That doesn’t spell success but it removes one of the obstacles.”

The Cultural Council of Jackson Hole invites everyone to attend the 15^th Annual Award for Creativity Celebration on Thursday, September 10 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. at Dancers’ Workshop’s Studio 1 in the Center for the Arts. 2009 recipients will be presented with awards made by a local artist. This year’s artist is Laurie Thal.

Jeff Ham and Malcolm Furlow open a new show, “The West – Expressions in Color,” August 1 – 15, at Mountain Trails Gallery. An artists’ reception takes place  Thursday,  August 6,  5-8 p.m.  Mountain Trails is ensconced in its new space, on the northeast corner of Jackson Town Square.  Haven’t been in?  Now’s your chance–both artists will be on hand.

Is it me, or does this gentleman look angry? Ham portraits have conveyed pride, spirituality…check his earlier  big, brightly painted, delineated portraits.  They’re thinking, “I’m huge.  I’m beautiful.  I’m iconic.”   Now, paint is thrown in the face of confidence, a bloodied history is realized, and Ham’s “Blue Indian” is tear tracked, a devastating accusation in his eyes.

This evolved perspective is a good reason to check out Ham’s new works.    His color and composition spring from a background in illustration — Ham is a Disney veteran.

“I do my best to translate emotion and feelings into color and communicate my individual interpretation of each subject,” he explained. ”My goal is to capture spontaneity. As an artist I am learning to express myself in an honest and straightforward manner.”

Malcolm Furlow wears a coat of many painting colors; his vivid canvases reflect a love of the outdoors, landscape, Western history, cowboys and wildlife.

Furlow lives and works primarily at his northern New Mexico ranch. Sitting under the pinion trees provides  peace and solitude that feed his creative soul.   I remember a story about a bull, Ferdinand, who sat under a cork tree smelling flowers, away from all the other sparring, fighting bulls.   It’s a story of peace.  307.734.8150.

Item #2:

Lyndsay McCandless plans on pulling out another First Friday this month.  She’s got rocker Charlotte Potter and Friends set to play at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary on Friday, August 7.

That’s great music.   Drove by the gallery the other day, and McCandless still has works up; she’s not done.   Perhaps she should just turn it all into a nightclub?   A coffee house?   We don’t have a coffee house. The kind with beatnik poets and red checked table cloths.  Maybe Mike Bressler would show up and do a reading.  Pay for his food.  We don’t have a university town bookstore/bistro kind of place, where ensembles play cellos in the corner, and there are shelves and shelves of things to read, book-related items to buy, newspapers from around the world, AND art on the wall…ALL IN ONE PLACE.   Breakfast would be nice, too.

Give 10% to the Art Blog, please.   (nod, nod, wink, wink!)

PS:  Lyndsay McCandless is promoting her new venture, SLAM, a farmer’s market for artists taking place on Saturdays, at 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, at the gallery.  Finish up at the Town Square Farmer’s Market, then head on over to Jackson Street.   734.0649.

Item #3

CIAO Gallery’s deadline for entry to Nocturnes: Art Inspired by the Night was July 31, but give gallery director Michelle Walters a call if you missed it.  Walters tells me that anyone applying for CIAO exhibitions can do so online, via the gallery’s website.  “Nocturnes” opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, August 22.

CIAO’s next deadline, for its 2nd Annual Call of the Wild is August 7th.  The show will run during Fall Arts Festival week.  Check the website’s “Call to Artists” tab.   For more information contact Walters, or visit www.ciaogallery.com.