Posts from ‘Museums’
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, DAD!
Have I got some Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP) dates for YOU! You’ve heard that over 40 artists will converge next month in Grand Teton National Park for two weeks of plein air painting, demonstrations and events; all culminating in July 18th’s Grand Opening Gala and Sale at the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitors Center. Now, a full artist demonstration schedule is available—-go out there and watch these amazing artists at work! These are scheduled, set location, events:
SATURDAY, July 13: ARTISTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT, Oxbow Bend, 2-5 PM. Artists: Kathryn Turner, Stephen C. Datz, Jeanne Mackenzie.
TUESDAY, July 16: MORNING – 9 AM: Erin O’Connor (oils) – Jenny Lake Boat Dock area & Michael McClure (oils) – Taggart Lake Trailhead. AFTERNOON – 4 PM: Bill Davidson (oils)- Jackson Lake Lodge & Bill Sawczuk (oils)- Craig Thomas Visitor Center.
WEDNESDAY, July 17: MORNING – 9 AM: Stacey Peterson (oils) – Craig Thomas Visitor Center & Patti Andre (pastel) – Jenny Lake Boat Dock area. AFTERNOON – 4 PM: Jake Gaedtke (oils) – Jackson Hole Visitor Information Center (north end of town, overlooking the Elk Refuge) & Cople / Swinney / Arndt (oils) – Jackson Lake Lodge.
FRIDAY, July 19: MORNING – 9 AM: Jennifer Hoffman (pastel) – Jackson Hole Visitor Information Center & David Schwindt (oils) – Jackson Lake Lodge. MORNING – 9 AM: John Hughes (oils) – Craig Thomas Visitor Center. AFTERNOON – 4 PM: Keith Bond (oils) – Taggart Lake Trailhead & Ruth Rawhouser (oils) – Jenny Lake Boat Dock area.
(QUICK DRAW: July 20th, 9:00 am at Menor’s Ferry, Grand Teton National Park! All are welcome! Many artists, many paintings, all for sale after the paint-out!)
All this in addition to the Gala Opening Show & Sale, taking place at the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitors Center on July 18th, beginning at 7:00 pm. This show and sale benefits Grand Teton National Park through the Grand Teton Association. All are welcome! Dozens and dozens of newly painted works by RMPAP artists will be on exhibition, and for sale. It’s one heck of a party! Arrive early to get a good look! Previews begin July 15th, and the show concludes July 21st. www.pleinairforthepark.org.
“Passage #39″ – Dan Namhinga. Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 72″
Dan and Arlo Namingha; Theodore Waddell. What a pairing. Altamira Fine Art is the gallery to connect these dynamic, sublime artists in a double show, opening with an artists’ reception Thursday, June 6th, 5-7:00 pm. The Naminghas’ “Form & Symbolism” and Waddell’s “Abstract Angus” are ultimately about interpretation of place. All three artists’ native territories’ images and landscapes course through their veins, exploding on canvas and permeating sculptures.
How exhilirating for Thomas Hoving to compile his can’t-put-it-down biography “The Art of Dan Namingha.” The Namingha family’s history begins with Dan’s great-great-grandmother, famed Tewa/Hopi potter Nampeyo (photographed by Edward S. Curtis, c. 1905). The family tree is an arts dynasty. That’s a regal word to describe a creative clan so rooted in landscape and indigenous culture, but it’s an undeniable accreditation.
How to begin to describe Dan’s remarkable journey as an artist? Namingha’s initial influence was Hekytwi Mesa near the Hopi reservation where Namingha was born. Namingha’s work is phenomenally diverse, the breath of his artistic style is almost impossible to comprehend; he moves from complex arrangements of Hopi mesas, kachinas, spirals, sun and depictions of dual cultures he inhabits to minimalist, graphic, geometric landscapes. As a child, Hekytwi Mesa was the dominant landmark beyond Namingha’s grandparents’ door. Its presence left an endurable mark on the artist’s soul, and some version of Hekytwi Mesa appears in almost every Dan Namingha work.
“West of Oraibi” – D. Namhinga
“The presence of two cultures, he believes, also makes him sensitive to the dual nature of all things—night and day, past and future, then and now,” writes Hoving. Ultimately, Namingha’s exposure to his native culture, wise and encouraging mentors, and 20th century abstract modernism are melded in this remarkable body of work.
“Cultural Images #10″ – Arlo Namingha
Sculptor Arlo Namingha, Dan’s eldest son, became involved with carving at an early age. Surrounded by his family’s legacy and practices, his first carvings of Katsina dolls manifested early in life. Positive and negative space, geometric design, cosmology and Hopi/Tewa identity are interwoven in Arlo’s wood, clay, stone, fabricated and cast bronze sculptures.
“Using the idea of design, form and movement, I minimize these literal images not to recreate them but to draw from them and my personal experiences,” writes Arlo Namingha. “My work not only reflects the figurative aspect of my native people and cultural deities but also the idea of scenery and landscape as well as symbolism.”
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“Horizon Horses #4″ – Theodore Waddell
Theodore Waddell’s comment to “American Art Collector” about his work and this show is delectable. “Well, the modern guys didn’t like me because I used subject matter,” said Waddell. “And then Western guys didn’t like me because I was too modern.”
Somebody liked him. Waddell’s work is highly influenced by the Abstract Expressionist school. Though the artist didn’t initially realize how important those artists were to his vision, he continues to relate fully to the sense that paint has its own identity.
“Angus DR#24″ – Theodore Waddell
In this show, we recognize the Montana artist and rancher’s signature painterly landscapes dotted with horses—often so abstracted as to resemble animal tracks rather than mature species. Waddell’s horses, cattle and bison—often black as coal—leave their mark below the thin blue line of Waddell’s mountain skylines. In Montana’s sky, clouds softly wave, like the sea. Waddell has expanded depth and range of color, suggestive of seasonal shifts in atmosphere, foliage and the earth’s tendancy to morph from fertile browns into hardened, impenetrable surfaces.
Alongside these works are fully abstract and interpretational works on paper from Waddell’s “Abstract Angus” series, recently exhibited at the Denver Art Museum. DeKooning is the expressionist I see most reflected in these illusive, amorphic works. They do, as the gallery has said, suggest the drift of grazing animals.
Western art encompasses so much more than the realism many of us associate with the term. But in the West, notes Waddell, we are a part of it all. This exhibition remains on display through June 15th. To view all of Altamira’s artists, click on their website, www.altamiraart.com .
Camus Prairie Angus | 40/40″ – Theodore Waddell
“One spare chromosome | And my offspring next to me | A linear strand.”
I wrote that haiku as a response to Jenny’s piece, “Tooth Diary pg.6″ when we collaborated on a book, “Collection.” This particular work suggests new life beginning to supplant older matter.
What’s so much fun about Culture Front is that you NEVER know what’s going to happen. You know who’s on the agenda, and what any given month’s theme will be, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stick to that theme. You go, you get a drink at the Rose Bar (if you are 21 or older—and the earlier you get there, the better because those bartenders make such complicated drinks that it’s like their composing a full symphony!) and you point your face towards the front of the room where Meg Daly and her guests commence their 90-minute presentation.
Wednesday, May 29th, beginning at 5:30 pm, Culture Front welcomes Jackson artists Jenny Dowd (newly ensconced at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, thank you very much!), Andrew Munz (ensconced at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts,in a bunch of plays and a writer), and Aaron Wallis! I’m passing out. Wallis, former arts writer at the Jackson Hole Daily and un-censored critic of Jackson’s art scene and the world at large, as well as an artist, is going to be a part of that evening’s talk, “First Impressions: Looking Beyond Initial Impact.”
This is just too good! Wallace, as we all know, has seen (and instigated) his own brand of controversy and art dust-ups here in Jackson.
Only last week several of the Town Council and Teton County Commissioners got in such a big fight—a shout-down in public chambers that was so bad the session was tabled. The News & Guide named the major players, so ask them about that. The write-up made the rumble sound much less crazy than it really was, says one observer. Funding issues are tense! Thank goodness that meeting wasn’t taking place at, say, the Virginian bar!
“La Jolla Tree” – A. Wallis
I doubt any knock-downs will happen on May 29th. It’s great Wallis is on the panel. He’s a super smart dude, with prodigious art history knowledge.
“What information do we get from a first impression?” Meg Daly asks. “Often what attracts a viewer or reader to a work is the first impression – some kind of impact, positive or negative. However, closer reading or looking can reveal layers and meaning not immediately apparent. The payoff of a work of art may be far greater than its initial appearance (suggests).”
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Down the Spring/Summer arts road we go~~~
Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 10am – 4pm, the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s (NMWA) “Plein Air Fest” happens at NMWA’s stunning location just north of town. The event is sponsored by Plein Air Magazine, and over 30 artists will be participating, taking four hours to complete their works. Art will be sold via “Silent Bid.” Lots of good cooking with local chefs, family activities and music to be had! It’s all free, save the jambalaya tastings, which go for $10 for 10 tastes, $25 for as much as you can taste! www.wildlifeart.org
A note: “Plein Air Fest” is not to be confused with “Plein Air for the Park,” a two-week long plein air event taking place in and around Grand Teton National Park July 8-21st. Much more on that event soon!
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WAY out in the future–this is really a Fall event–the Great Apes Summit takes place here in Jackson Hole. Dates are September 21-24th, 2013. It’s possible to register now; the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is a major partner. “New tools. New ideas. New voices. NO BOUNDARIES.” That’s the hook! Click here to find out about registration, programs and cost. Heads up: Conservation and the Arts are going to merge more and more here in Jackson Hole as time goes by. We’re taking our original arts history to new levels!
“Words create the bridges between us. Without them we would be lost islands. Affection, recognition and understanding travel across these fragile bridges and enable us to discover each other and awaken friendship and intimacy. Words are never just words. The range and depth of a person’s soul is inevitably revealed in the quality of the words used… they also suggest what can never be said.” ~ John O’Donohue, Irish Poet
And so it goes with art. The artists at Trio Fine Art are traveling across bridges, telling us with their paintings what lies in their soul. Springtime, when everything changes, can’t help but put thoughts of summer in our heads.
Plein air painter Bill Sawczuck is watching the landscape. And he acknowledges that painting around here just now can be “challenging.”
“I can take the cold and gloomy skies, but wind is another thing altogether,” writes Bill. “A painter has to fasten his easel to his vehicle, a tree or a nearby fence to prevent the whole outfit from blowing a dozen or so yards away while working on a “promising ” painting. Spring painting also has many rewards. The unfolding change of seasons offers wonderful opportunities to observe wildlife reacting to melting snow, flowing waters and greening landscapes. New life is appearing everywhere, and it is difficult to concentrate on painting when the spring show is center stage.”
Bill’s painting at left, “Winter Leftovers,” painted on Spring Gulch Road (Bill, do I detect some abstract diagonals and energy in that sky????) testifies to the rancher’s foresight last haying season, says Bill. Soon, new grass will take over as the cattles’ primary feed.
And for painter Jennifer Hoffman, spring has been bountiful. Jen received an “Honorable Mention” in the Wyoming Arts Council’s 2013 Visual Artist Fellowships. (By the way, how awesome is Wyoming Arts’ website? It’s fantastic.) She now has the chance to have work exhibited in the Fall Biennial at The Nicolaysen Museum in Casper this fall. AND, she was awarded “Fourth Place in Landscape” in the 14th Annual Pastel 100, sponsored by the Pastel Journal.
Jen and Trio Fine Art’s third artist, Kathryn Mapes Turner, will both be showing at the Governor’s Capitol Art Exhibition at the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne in June. Check out the story on Kathryn’s “OneNest” project here.
Trio’s summer schedule shapes up like this. Jen Hoffman’s Show: July 10 – 27th; Bill Sawczuck: July 31 – August 17th; Kathryn Turner: August 21st-September 7th. Opening receptions dates will be posted as we get closer! Please remind me, guys! www.triofineart.com
“Fireflies,” – Jennifer Hoffman.
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“Rocky has completed 14 never before seen paintings now on exhibition at Altamira Fine Art,” reports the gallery. “This new work is painted on canvas using oils and some mixed media. He has revisited a couple of his previous series’ such as the “Archer” and “Horse and Rider” series and has explored a few pieces involving groups of figures in a very minimal setting, not necessarily representing any recognizable background— but presenting bold strokes of shape and color. The painting “Color Bound” explores the early modernist’s cubism style.”
Rocky Hawkins’ new works are on exhibition through June 30, 2013. Many more exhibits happening soon at the gallery! www.altamira.art.com
“Color Bound” – Rocky Hawkins
It’s been in the Western winds: Jackson Hole artist Kathryn Mapes Turner and her brother, sustainable builder Mark Turner, have launched an innovative project. Though the siblings are Jackson-based, they’ve deep roots in the Washington D.C. area, owing to their family’s political legacy.
They’re smart, these two.
Their “One Nest” collaborative project combines sustainable building design and broadly embraced aesthetic with art created in one of the West’s most prominent art markets. In “the heart of Virgina horse and wine country,” near Shenandoah National Park, is a home designed by Mark, filled with artwork by his sister Kathryn. On Saturday, May 18th, 4-8:00 pm, and Sunday, May 19th, 2-6:00 pm, the public is invited to tour the structure, survey the land and take in the art.
Mark’s company, Greenspur, Inc., is, says the builder, inspired in part by Wallace Stegner’s words: “There it was, there it is, the PLACE where during the best of our lives friendship had its home and happiness had its headquarters.” Kathryn’s plein air and studio paintings are inspired by the natural world, light and “wide open spaces.”
It’s a great concept, and how much more fulfilling could it be than to co-create such a complete project with family you love?
May’s open house is in fact the project’s Grand Opening, and though it is free reservations are necessary; if you wish to attend, I’d sign up quick! The D.C. crowd will descend! The link to reserve a visit can be found here. Links: http://onenestproject.com/2013/03/21/space-greenspur-inc/ www.turnerfineart.com “One Nest” address: 3322 Carrington Road, Delaplane, VA 20144.
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Pinedale’s Winning Entry, “Time to Make Waves.”
”If children are a measure of our future, Wyoming’s future will follow a path of creativity and imagination.” ~ Wyoming Representative Tim Stubson, Casper.
Imagination and creativity link all of us. Creativity bridges the often times daunting distances between Wyoming’s citizens, and it takes special care and effort to send the message to our children that those distances can be vaporized. Like a morning meditation zeroing in on awakening creativity and imagining our potential, we must strive to dissolve what we believe are our limits. And we must show the rest of the country what we are making here. What can we be to the big wide world? Hundreds, if not thousands, of miles may lie between Wyoming’s creativity and other, larger arts centers and communities. Every reach counts.
Photo Courtesy Kevin Wittig and Mountain Pulse
Fifteen years ago a Chicago art exhibit, “Cows on Parade,” made history. The idea behind the exhibit was to get as many artists, celebrities, designers and other creative personalities to decorate fiberglass cows and spread them out across the city. The show was a great tourism draw and has been emulated many times over; all the cows were auctioned off for charity.
“Traveling Trout” is a big school of artistically designed fiberglass fish; 37 Wyoming schools took part in a fish-art competition, and winners were announced late last month. The entire exhibit is on display at the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s outdoor sculpture garden and trail through October 6, 2013. You can see them from the road, breaching and diving, snagging fireflies. Thousands of dollars in cash prizes were awarded to the winning students and schools, and that’s a great cause. Later this fall, the exhibit will travel around the rest of the state. www.wildlifeart.org
