Posts from ‘Trends’
“The subject of my works is paint, the motif is the image, the illusions, the beauty of landscape. I never want to forget that what I am looking at is paint on canvas.” ~ Louisa McElwain
Altamira Fine Art opens its summer arts season with Louisa McElwain’s “A Painters Dream,” an exhibition of 19 new paintings by the renowned landscapist. The show runs May 23rd – June 5th, 2012; an artist’s reception takes place Friday, May 25th, 2012.
McElwain, a New Mexico native, describes herself as an abstract artist. This new show advances that claim; and it’s a correct claim. But, as I write this, and as I view her new canvases, I can’t help but think, “Damn, these are radically charged, super-painted works! And they remind me of Vincent Van Gogh’s foaming, tumultuous and emotive paintings.” One of my favorite reference books describes abstract painting as “having artistic content that depends on intrinsic form rather than on pictorial representation.” McElwain is representing these landscapes; we can see them. But a vortex—must be that New Mexico magic—of energy churns up place, color and light in each of her works. In “Extraterrestrial,” pictured above, a supernatural form volcanically takes off from the earth–it’s in the sky, becoming the sky.
For some time now, the Victor, Idaho showroom of partners Rush Jenkins and Klaus Baer’s company, WRJ Design Associates and WRJ Home, has quietly turned heads.
Quietly around here, that is. In the most sophisticated arts, furnishings and estate auction circles, WRJ’s dynamic work is not only well-known, it’s in demand. This spring, Jenkins and Baer will open a flagship store in Jackson. Their 2,800 sq. ft. showroom at 30 King Street is across from the Snake River Grill. Plans are to open May 2012.
WRJ, (featured in the latest issue of Homestead Magazine) provides interior design, estate curatorial, exhibition and event design services; and are in the midst of designing a Hollywood Memorabilia Auction exhibition in Beverly Hills. Working with Los Angeles’ celebrity auction house Julien’s, they will produce an “auction of epic Hollywood proportions,” offering up remarkable items for sale—items like Charlie Chaplin’s cane and suit, Clark Gable’s “Gone with the Wind” riding jacket, Marilyn Monroe’s “pantaloons,” worn in the film “River of No Return,” and a vintage Christian Dior gown
worn by Princess Diana.
WRJ has confirmed it will design the exhibit around the sale of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.” Pictured above left, in its original frame, it is among art history’s most significant works. “The Scream” is being sold at Sotheby’s New York in May. One of only four privately owned images of Munch’s work, it is expected to sell for at least $80,000,000.
“We are thrilled to have the pleasure of working with Sotheby’s,” says Jenkins. “It is a great honor to be involved with such an historic auction.”
Jenkins and I recently toured WRJ’s new space. “We’re working on five exhibits for Sotheby’s so far this year,” he said. “One is for Brooke Astor’s collection. Another is the Saperstein house, L.A.’s second largest home; the contents of which are being sold by Sotheby’s in April, among several other exciting collections this Spring and Fall. “We are also happy to already be working on several local interior design projects,” he reports.
Jenkins, an Idaho native, and Baer, from Georgia, are putting down roots in Jackson. Their new interior design showroom is about lifestyle. A series of partitioned rooms will evoke being in a real home, with spaces designed as dining, living and bedrooms. WRJ wants to provide visitors memorable experiences, and will carry a selection of fine furnishings and fabrics, including Ralph Lauren and Loro Piana. The store will be accentuated with a variety of objects from around the world.
Art and furnishings made by locals, that tie into the look WRJ wants to achieve, will be featured. The showroom’s atmosphere will be achieved through combining a careful a mix of Contemporary Western elements with Classic flair, with a nod to Rustic ambience.
“We love the concept of layers; it makes what we do interesting,” says Jenkins. “If you have a mix of things from contemporary to traditional, and it’s done in a vetted, beautiful way, it can be successful. We want to do that with our lighting, our furnishings, our objects and rugs. We’re trying to find the best that’s out there, and that doesn’t mean the most expensive; it just means really great design.”
Jenkins and Baer believe in the importance of community.
“The Victor store has been a great success; we were pleasantly surprised that a lot of people from Jackson came over and asked us, ‘When are you opening in Jackson? We can’t wait to
see it!’ We are excited to keep our Victor store next to Sun Dog Café, but Jackson will be our WRJ Flagship store, as well as our WRJ design office headquarters,” Jenkins emphasizes. ” We plan to bring in highlights from some of the auctions and exhibitions we have designed, as well as host events throughout the year, with book signings, lectures on art, design and interiors.”
Most importantly, Jenkins and Baer want their new showroom to beckon visitors. As Jenkins describes it, “The space is meant to feel like someone’s residence…as if you are walking through a private home. As you pass through the store, you move from room to room, and will see a beautiful collection of antiques, art and decorative objects. We want you to feel like you want to live there…amongst luxurious wonderful things!”
Visit WRJ’s website, www.wrjassociates.com for a look at some of their projects; the new www.wrjhome.com website is scheduled to launch this spring; or phone 307.200.4881. Email: info@wrjassociates.com.
In neighboring Sublette County, the town of Pinedale has big plans for 2012. According to a recent edition of the Sublette Examiner, “Main Street Pinedale”—a group of Pinedale citizens working to promote its downtown by “capitalizing on its uniqueness and by using historic preservation to generate economic and entrepreneurial growth”— will host a series of conferences that will work to raise Sublette’s cultural profile.
Events surrounding the conferences include “CLICK! A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists.” The Sublette Examiner writes:
“The name “CLICK!” suggests that thing that happens when you reconnect with colleagues and get inspired by new ideas, which occurs continually when Wyoming artists congregate,” said Sue Sommers, a local artist who helped organize the event, and is hoping to expand on the visibility and interconnectedness of Wyoming’s art community with those near and far – something she also tackled recently with the Pipeline Art Project….Like Pipeline, CLICK! is working alongside the Wyoming Arts Council (WAC) [sharing] a database of Wyoming artists and helps plan and partially fund the project.”
CLICK! takes place March 30 – April 1, 2012 at the Sublette County Libray, Pinedale. More registration info will be available soon. To read the Examiner’s full article, “click” here.
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In case you live in a cave–and the only peeps I know doin’ that are Bears 399 & 610–you know wildlife painter Amy Ringholz is Jackson’s 2012 Fall Arts Festival (FAF) poster artist. At 34, Ringholz is the youngest FAF artist to date.
Her winning painting, “Dreamers Don’t Sleep,” a 72 x 60″ ink and oil on canvas, will be showcased in the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s lobby January 22 – March 23, 2012. A wonderous portrait of the region’s wildlife, its magnificent Teton Range, a sparkling night sky, the painting also includes 25 painted flowers, to in honor of NMWA’s 25th anniversary. The painting is set to be unveiled at the museum Sunday, January 22, at 3:00 pm
Inspired by Fritz Scholder and Egon Schiele, Ringholz is a contemporary painter—the first contemporary FAF artist in over a decade. As this year’s Festival artist, she joins some of the West’s most notable working artists: Russell Chatham, Bill Schenck, Donna Howell-Sickles and 2011′s Dwayne Harty.
Locally, Ringholz is represented by Altamira Fine Art. Her work has been exhibited at NMWA, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art and Desert Caballeros Museum. She’s been featured in Southwest Art, Western Art & Architecture, and Western Art Collector magazines.
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Altamira Fine Art also represents 2009′s Fall Arts Festival poster artist R. Tom Gilleon. Altamira has confirmed that prices for Gilleon’s works will “increase significantly” as of May 1, 2012.
Gilleon has a major museum exhibition January 28 – May 27, 2012, at the Booth Western Art Museum. He is planning a one man show at Altamira in July. For more information, contact Altamira at 307.739.4700. www.altamiraart.com
“Treemier.” Gravity. A play on words and a weighty noun headline the presence and presentations of Brazilian artist Thais Beltrame and local filmaker David Gonzales at the Art Association this month. Friday, January 14, the public is invited to attend an opening reception for the artist at the Center for the Arts; at 7:30 pm local arbor advocacy group Treefight premiers Seeing Red, a 20-minute film chronicling the non-profit’s first year of activism. Following that, a fundraising raffle and party ensue.
As doubtful melancholy is so prevalent a theme in the show’s press materials it must be o.k. to repeat that Beltrame’s artistry has its roots in a hatred of colored pencils. She favors black and white drawings, “creating endless narratives with simple lines.” Information on the artist goes on to say that today “….the result of such act are universal existential issues represented in black and white, recreating the memories of our childhood in all of its darkness, sadness, discovery and glow. The artist makes use of the subtle and meticulous brush and ink, revealing an atmosphere both peculiar and melancholic.” Beltrame will be creating a site specific (the newest trend in Jackson’s art scene) installation piece for this show.
Making a difference requires a degree of scrutiny and pessimism. And lots and lots of questions. Like, “What is the role of the artist in the 21st Century?”
Beltrame’s art and Gonzales’ tree fighting, a kismet connection. Check out these sites to learn more about the artists and their work:
www.thaisbeltrame.blogspot.com
and…www.artassociation.org, to see information on upcoming classes, exhibitions and events.
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The fifth annual Jackson Hole Art Auction will take place on Saturday September 17, 2011 at the Center for the Arts in Jackson. Produced by Jackson’s Trailside Galleries in partnership with the Gerald Peters Gallery of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the auction has rapidly become one of the West’s premiere auctions of contemporary and deceased Western Masters.
The auction is a major contributer to Jackson’s soaring Fall Arts Festival lodging and tourism statistics.
The auction’s Emma Zanetti says that this year’s sale already has works to offer for sale by these artists: William Acheff, Clyde Aspevig, Ken Carlson, Martin Grelle, Bill Owen, G. Harvey, Kenneth Riley, Mian Situ, Howard Terpning, Morgan Weistling, and Z.S. Liang. Also available are important works by the Taos Society of Artists, the Santa Fe Art Colony, as well as historically recognized artists of the American West.
Want to consign a work? Call for details at 1.866.549.9278, visit www.jacksonholeartauction.com or stop by the Trailside Galleries at 130 East Broadway in Jackson.
Chuck Close Self-Portrait Woodcut, 2009 Woodcut in 47 colors Image Size: 28 x 23 inches Paper Size: 35 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches Edition of 70 Printed by Karl Hecksher Published by Pace Editions, Inc.
Now that Teton Art Lab (TAL) has taken up official residency as a Center for the Arts tenant, with representation on the Center’s website, newsletters, et cetera, TAL’s executive director Travis Walker is announcing some exciting shows.
Though Jackson’s 2010 September Fall Arts Festival is a ways off, TAL has sent word that its FAF highlight will be a show of woodblock prints of the works of famed artists Chuck Close, Richard Estes and Alex Katz. The show represents the first time these works will be seen in Wyoming. Each exhibition print is the work of New York City master print maker Karl Hecksher, who will also be teaching a class on traditional Japanese hand printing, Moku Hanga.
The exhibition runs September 10 – October 5, 2010. Mark your calendars.
Close’s work knocks Walker out.
“In 1998, I saw an exhibition of Close’s work at the MoMA in NY,” says Walker. “It floored me. I had seen photorealistic work before, such as Richard Estes (also in the exhibit), but what he was doing with these images seemed pretty genius, an Escher like blend of math, art, and science. Close makes big pieces with fingerprints, paper pulp, and overlapping circles of color, that become little abstractions up close, but are photorealistic from a distance. Those fingerprint pieces are especially awesome.”
Walker feels the accessibility of Close’s work appeals to the TAL mission, because its so readily educational. Walker himself says he’s not previously been exposed to Estes’ photorealism. “When I was a kid, a Jackson Pollock said nothing to me, but the photorealistic stuff was really amazing, technically. How did they do that?”
Walker says this is an unprecedented opportunity for Jackson residents to work with one of the world’s most noted print makers. And, he giddily notes, the exhibit is free.
Hecksher is a friend of TAL board member David Gottfried. Schwing! Hecksher, the founder, owner and director of K5 Editions LLC, has been printing in a variety of media since 1983. He spent the first three years after college as head printer at Prasada Press, collaborating with artists on stone and plate lithography. In 1986 he became a New York artist, printing editions at several major print studios.
Hecksher’s goal is to establish a more painterly approach to printmaking, one reflective of the individual artist’s touch; to make the print speak clearly and express the artist’s 
intentions. He’s been at it for two decades, honing his skills, and working with a full roster of noted artists.
A few years back, Walker took in a Portland, Oregon show of these prints and their matrixes.
” At the show there were these intricately carved wood blocks, stencils, paper screens, and etching plates that were just as beautiful as the prints themselves, side by side with the work to help viewers mentally grasp his process. It was truly mind blowing, from a printmakers perspective, to see the work involved in carving the blocks or etching the copper plates….At that time the Artlab was only a couple of months old, and we had only started to plan our printmaking studio. I knew if we ever did get a print program off of the ground, this work was something we should try and exhibit. So Dave made it happen with a few phone calls and a visit to Karl’s studio,” says Walker.
For his part, Hecksher is thrilled to be introducing his experience and method to Jackson artists. His hope is that students will develop their own personal approach to wood block printing.
(Photo, top Left: Chuck Close Self-Portrait Woodcut, 2009 Woodcut in 47 colors Image Size: 28 x 23 inches Paper Size: 35 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches Edition of 70 Printed by Karl Hecksher Published by Pace Editions, Inc.)
