Posts from ‘Jackson Hole Art Galleries’
Brookover’s New Bromoils & Platinums
Last spring Jackson photographer David Brookover unveiled what is sure to become one of his signature photographs, an iconic bromoil of a bison. Now, on the eve of Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival 2011, Brookover is introducing seven new platinum palladium prints. Traditionally, Brookover has favored landscapes and ancient architecture. For over a year he’s been shooting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s indigenous wildlife and Park habitats, redefining nature photography.
The downstairs of Brookover’s Jackson gallery has been transformed into a visitors’ sanctum. “It’s a meditative space,” Brookover says. “People come down and spend 30, 45 minutes. It’s calm; upstairs has more bustle, with the activity of Gaslight Alley and Town Square just outside. On the lower level it’s cool and quiet. When folks discover these images they want to remain with the photographs.”
Brookover’s wildlife images are crafted using traditional, ancient methods and materials. Japanese printing papers are made as they were in the 1st century. These fabrics enhance Brookover’s sophisticated, minimalist compositions, resulting in a thoroughly refreshed wildlife photography style.
Brookover talked about his bromoil process.
“It starts with silver gelatin; you strip away the silver and you’re left with a matrix of gelatin and paper. “You ‘go in’ with lithographic
pure inks. Using a special Japanese brush I tap it, brush it, work it for about an hour. I let the image set overnight, throw it in water, wipe off excess ink, and then repeat that sequence…for four more days. And usually, after four days, I’m not satisfied! So we play with different exposures, work on the negative, and I think about how to apply ink once as I get further along. We started on the Buffalo bromoil a few days before Superbowl Sunday and finished it April 15—over two months to get it right. It’s a challenge for printers! But we got it.”
A bromoil image of the Great Wall of China’s has striking perspective, its solidity and details palpable. Brookover creates thick atmosphere using a brush and a density of inks to build up shadows and enhance texture. “When silver gelatin papers were developed, they were popular because it was so much easier than bromoil,” notes Brookover. “But I love the process; there’s a certain masculinity to it.”
A photograph of Yellowstone’s Firehole River is as mystic as a sacred shrine. In another shot, two young great horned owls nestle in a cottonwood’s gnarled, sheltering trunk. “Silent Storm” is a hauntingly beautiful image of a Yellowstone bison bearing up under heavy winter snows. The animal is enveloped in hot spring mists.
Fans of Grand Teton National Park’s Bears 399 and 610 will want to see Brookover’s series of photographs of those two bears and their cubs. Like pages from a private ancestral album, the platinums portray touching family moments. The series is intimate, playful, and timeless. On a wall nearby, a wolf appears to be walking across the surface of the Madison River’s glittering waters.
“These platinums and bromoils are a team effort,” says Brookover. “We love exploring historical processes. That’s where we’ve been, and that’s where we’re going.”
I recommend stopping in to see David Brookover’s new platinum and bromoil images during Fall Arts Festival. Palates & Palettes night, the gallery will raise funds to benefit the Teton Raptor Center; Raptor Center avian “residents” will be on hand. For more information, phone 307.732.3988. Brookover will launch his new website this week! Stay tuned! www.brookovergallery.com
Marshall Noice’s paintings, wildly and emotionally vibrant, link contemporary Western art to early 20th century Fauvism. Those artists were known as “Les Fauves,” or “Wild Beasts.”
This I knew. But I’m finding out new and very cool things about Montana-based Expressionist painter Marshall Noice, whose new show of works Shadows & Light, opens at Altamira Fine Art on August 16, 2011. The show runs through August 30, 2011 and and opening reception will be held Thursday, August 18, 5-8:00 pm.
If you have an aptitude for rhythm memory and a fine sense of pitch, you may very well also be an excellent photographer or painter. Noice’s creative path includes music, photography and, most successfully, painting. In a former life he was a drummer, touring and opening for acts as big as the Allman Brothers Band, Cheap Trick, and Tower of Power. Eventually Noice quit the road, moved to Montana and discovered the great photography of Paul Strand, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams.
Noice the photographer came upon the paintings of fellow Montanan Theodore Waddell. Riveted, Noice c0mmenced 100 paintings of Blackfeet artifacts. “After those 100 paintings, I’d found what I was looking for in terms of an art process,” Noice says. “Color doesn’t trump composition in my work. They’re pretty much on equal footing….I have spent a lifetime relating to the landscape in one way or another…I get direct inspiration from being in nature.”
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Jackson Hole artist Jennifer L. Hoffman opens her new show of works, Intrinsic Nature, at Trio Fine Art on Thursday, August 17, 2011. The show runs through September 3, 2011, and an artist’s reception takes place at Trio on Thursday, August 18th, 5-8:00 pm. Twenty-four new works will be included; most are pastels but Hoffman plans to include oil paintings and at least one drawing.
Hoffman says she’s never felt such energy for exploration and pushing her artistic envelope. Noted forher soft, tonalist light and muted palette, Hoffman’s paintings evoke real emotion. This show embraces the artist’s love and examination of “close-in” places: aspen trunks, winding streams and channels, ridgelines, snow and her exquisite, cloud-soft skies.
Nobody does Wyoming sky like Hoffman. Violet cumulus clouds reflect purple winter mountains and
bare trees. She’s a lover of shadow, of rubbing nature’s elements together, rich with texture, spare of detail. A delicate, misty scrim floats over Hoffman’s landscapes.
“Sometimes I find myself noodling around, adding branches and twigs, putting in more and more,” Hoffman notes. “The next day, I come back to the studio and wipe it all back down. It’s not always easy to make things say a lot simply, but that is what I find I want in my paintings. That is what the title of my show is about – trying to extract the essential inspiration from all the detail of nature, and of life….The more I paint, the more I want to paint.”
A final note: Hoffman’s landscapes are part of New York’s Salmagundi 34th Annual Juried Painting & Sculpture Exhibition, featuring works by non-members. View her work there through August 19, 2011. Congrats, Jen! www.triofineart.com
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Cayuse Western Americana “has assembled a fun assortment of maps from Jackson Hole, Grand Teton Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and more.” Artists include Jo Mora, Jolly Lingren and Tom Carrigen. Western jeweler Dawn Bryfogle will be there, too; she’s expanded her range and plans to show big pieces, made of sterling, 14K gold fill and semi precious stones, all with her signature attention to detail.
Stop in to Cayuse (guess when?) Thursday, August 18th, 5-8:00 pm. 307.739.1940 www.cayusewa.com.
A new group in town, Global Arts Corps, inaugurates its Jackson Hole annual Summer Institute with an Opening Conference July 8-9, 2011. Perceptual Change: Alternatives for Conflict Resolution is billed as a “conversation between Scientists, Artists, Ex-Combatants, Educators and Activists.” Such a diverse roster of speakers ideally will provide stimulating discussion. Conference events take place at Jackson’s Center for the Arts.
The conference will cover topics ranging from “Empathy, Neurology and Comedy” to “Truth, Uncertainty Principles and Parody” to “Ensemble Phenomena: Unpacking Clichés.” With conflict resolution as its umbrella theme, it will be interesting to see how the conference will attack that theme. Every possible personality and interpretive medium are lined up: ex-combatants representing Northern Ireland’s conflicts, performing artists, journalists, clinical psychologists…the event will be moderated by the BBC’s William Crawley.
Breaking down assumptions that inevitably crop up during conflict is an art form. A key to resolving any issue is to address the “quiet” topics people find most difficult to air. Quell reactivity, and you’ve got a platform for
intimacy. I’m not the problem, and neither are you. The problem is the problem. Most arguments are not about the “surface” subject, they are about other issues between two parties that have not been properly addressed. Resolving conflict is largely about rational comprehension of issues at hand.
What is Global Arts Corps? Babs Case is the creative inspiration behind the new initiative. As Dancers’ Workshop’s executive director, her work ranks amongst Jackson’s most consistent and successful. Few non-profit leaders are more admired, and rightfully so. Global Arts Corps believes that “…the population in Jackson is one with the interests, experiences, and resources to actively participate in our discussion and to affect a significant difference in the world beyond our small valley.”
Lecture topics could provide more specifics about the meat and intent of this conference.
What significant differences might this gathering make to the world? What level of conflict will this workshop address? We are not culturally diverse, and we are relatively comfortable. Many of us have tried living out of the valley, only to return. We are a gated community. Who will 
attend? We have many world leaders in our midst—business, political and academic titans. Will we learn how to move into a larger understanding of the complexities in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan or South Africa? Will we be trained to lobby for legislation with greater finesse? Generate new ideas on combating poverty and predjudice? Discuss immigration or the tensions that arise when we speak about cultural differences? Get a grip on conflicting global economic forces?
Man, I dislike people who don’t like to resolve conflict! They make me want to punch ‘em out!
This is a free event; it cannot have been free to produce. May it reap great rewards.
For more information about Global Arts Corps’ Summer Institute, visit www.globalartscorps.org/summer-institute.html, or call 307.733.6398.
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The Street ART & Social Justice Workshop takes place July 8 & 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm each day, at the Center for the Arts. Attendees can help design and paint a community mural on the walls of the the Garaman underpass. Get your “Street art”
techniques down—techniques will taught and utilized. Cultural diversity is the theme and students can become official ambassadors of the pedestrian corridor. Famed street artists Judy Baca, JR, Bansky and others will be reviewed. Local artists will speak and demonstrate: Ricki Arno, Ryan Heyworth, Mike Tierney and Wendell Field are on the list.
A donation of $20 to cover supplies will be charged; space is limited and registration is required. Jackson Public Art Initiative in charge. Info, details: 307.413.1474
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“John Nieto, universally recognized as an American Master, continually defines himself within the wide parameters of his trademark brand of expressionism. Nieto, and one name says it all, transcends mere representation with sensitivity and sensibility, utilizing an intrepid stature unequaled by any imitator.” - Dean Munn, Altamira Fine Art
What better way to greet Independence Week than by honoring one of America’s great painters, John Nieto? A new Nieto exhibition, American Icon, will be on display July 1-14 at Altamira Fine Art, with an artist’s reception on Saturday, July 2, 2:00-4:00 pm.
Altamira Director Mark D. Tarrant has remarked that “…the gallery is privileged to represent Nieto….Nieto is widely regarded as one of America’s most accomplished, dynamic and exciting contemporary artists.” Tarrant points out that Nieto’s work concentrates on themes that transcend mere representation. The artist’s intense primary colors and bold use of paint “create both dimension and character on the canvas. “He is truly an American master,” Tarrant affirms.
Nieto’s Fauvist style of assembling electric colors reflects deep knowledge and emotion. The artist’s lineage includes Hispanic and American Indian parents, and NIeto’s family tree is documented back
300 years. His potent paintings are their own documentaries. They are commentaries on a people, on animal and Native American spirits, on landscape and history.
“A species of hope resides in the possibility of seeing one thing, one phenomenon or essence, so clearly and fully that the light of its understanding illuminates the rest of life,” writes Santa Fe author and scholar William deBuys. John Nieto’s paintings are, at once, hope and essence. www.altamiraart.com 307.739.4700
Trio Fine Art, home to Jackson painters Kathryn Mapes Turner, September Vhay, Lee Carlman Riddell and Jennifer L. Hoffman, is open for summer. Hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 12 noon – 6 pm. Lots of new work, and some nice events on Trio’s calendar.
September Vhay’s solo exhibition is on exhibit July 6-23, with an opening reception July 7, 5-8 pm. Vhay is also newly represented by Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. One of the world’s largest and most
respected dealersinAmerican art of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and contemporary naturalist paintings. Gerald Peters Gallery also co-produces the Jackson Hole Art Auction.
Lee Carlman Riddell’s solo exhibition, “Gratitude,” holds an opening reception on July 28, 5-8 pm. Her show will be on exhibit July 27-August 13. Riddell will have two paintings included in the UCross Foundation group exhibition, “In the Presence of Trees,” June 30 – September 6, Ucross, Wyoming. And, she will host a free plein air outing through the Grand Teton National Park Foundation. Date: August 7, 2011. Contact the Park Foundation for details on meeting time & place: 307.732.0629.
Trio Fine Art newcomer Jennifer L. Hoffman’s solo exhibition is on display August 17-September 3. An opening reception takes place August 18, 5-8 pm. Since joining the gallery, Hoffman’s works have been flying off the wall, and she’s had one of her busiest years to date.
Finally, Kathryn Mapes Turner’s solo exhibition will be on display September 7-24, with an artist’s reception September 8, 5-8 pm. Turner is recently returned from a painting bonanza in Tuscany. Turner’s work was included in Legacy Gallery’s Scottsdale April Salon, a show featuring fine representational work from around the country.
Hoffman, Riddell and Turner will conduct the following workshops through the Art Association:
July 8 – 9: “Pastel in the Landscape” with Jennifer L. Hoffman. 2-8 PM, South Park, Jackson, WY.
August 27 – 28: “Let’s Play: 2 Days of Plein Air Painting” with Lee Carlman Riddell. 1:30 – 7:30 PM, Wilson, WY.
September 20: “Painting the Teton Landscape” with Kathryn Mapes Turner. 8 AM – 7 PM, Triangle X Ranch. Includes lunch at the ranch.
For more details, contact the Art Association at 307.733.6379 or email signup@artassociation.org
The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) brings Sculpture Trail designer Walter Hood back to Jackson on July 26, 2011. Hood will personally conduct a hard-hat tour of the site for museum members and talk about the concepts 
and planning process for a trail that will be organic, artful and integrated to its surrounding Western landscape. NMWA notes that the new trail and sculpture gardens emulate parallel projects installed at nationally noted museums–New York’s Museum of Modern Art and L.A.’s J. Paul Getty Museum, for example. Situated above Jackson Hole’s National Elk Refuge the new trail is uniquely Wyoming.
While leading the tour, Hood will talk about his initial concepts for showcasing the outdoor sculpture and how plans have developed. Important sculptures slated for the new outdoor space include a casting of Simon Gudgeon’s (also look for Gudgeon’s work at Jackson’s Diehl Gallery) bronze bird form “Isis” , Tim Shinabarger’s “Black Timber Bugler”, and eight “larger-than-life” bison sculpted by Richard Loffler. That work, “Buffalo Trail,” will be installed on a hillside with its own access path.
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The Art Association’s Jenny Dowd notes that occasionally community businesses offer artists a chance to display artwork on premises. A few weeks back an in-town Phillips 66 Station was remodeled, and the owners were looking for artwork to “liven up the walls.” Contact Dowd for info at the Art Association by emailing jenny@artassociation.org.
Interesting that a gas station, as opposed to a natural food store or restaurant or some other venue more closely associated with creativity, is offering artists a chance to show their work. I hope the effort sets an example for more Town of Jackson establishments. Bringing darkened commercial space windows to life with local art is a common practice. And it’s win-win.
Dowd has provided a link for artists wanting to sell their work at this year’s People’s Market: http://www.jhpeoplesmarket.org/ Lastly, the Teton Mudpots hold their annual summer sale outside the Art Association’s ceramics studio 10am – 5:30pm, on Thursday June 30th. For more information contact Sam Dowd: sam@artassociation.org
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Plein air painter Dennis Doheny is a familiar name in Jackson’s art scene, featured in past NMWA exhibitions. Doheny is wildly famous in his home state of California, and truly ranks amongst the country’s most distinguished plein air artists. He has twice won the Frederic Remington Award and was honored by the Autry National Center with the Masters of the American West Purchase Award. Though his work is in high demand, Doheny
has not had a one man show in five years. He’ll break that pattern on Saturday, September 24th, when an exhibition of new works débuts at William A. Karges Fine Arts, in their Beverly Hills location. An opening reception takes place 4-6 pm.
Doheny is represented exclusively by Karges. www.dennisdoheny.com/
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Jackson photographer Jeff Diener has new “Wildlife and Wildflower” images, taken last spring. His favorites include shots of “…an intense coyote and [a] mysterious Great Grey Owl.”
“I’ve always known coyotes to be curious but I was pretty surprised by this encounter,” Diener says. “This guy actually approached me, checked me out, then proceeded to lay down and relax. I shot photos for over half an hour!” Diener now offers Canvas Gallery Wrapped prints. “These are a simple and elegant approach to presentation–high quality canvas, gallery wrapped and ready to hang,” notes the photographer. http://jacksonholegallery.photoshelter.com/gallery/Wildlife-Wildflower-Photos/G0000V1dqwKNStHk/
