Jackson Hole Art Blog

Jackson artists Shannon Troxler and Kay Stratman open their joint show Resonance at Trio Fine Art, with an artists’ reception on Thursday, September 9, 5-8:00 pm.   Troxler and Stratman will host a conversation from 6:30-7:00 pm.   On display September 7, the show runs through September 19, 2010.

“Resonance” refers to the ability to evoke or suggest images, memories and emotions.  Travel, exotic world destinations, equally exotic birds and animals and sensitive interpretations of the natural world comprise this show.   Both artists are painters;  Stratman works in the sumi-e style of watercolor painting, while Troxler uses a variety of painting mediums. Some of her paintings combine oils on silver or gold leaf on board; these works lend an Asian sensibility to Troxler’s work.  She plans to include a completed gold leaf screen in this exhibition.

While Troxler work is often big, bold, splashed with color, gilded, and rich—Stratman’s style is minimalist, a haiku. But Stratman’s employing sumi-e links the two artists, and the show has a unified theme inspired by ancient Japanese painting traditions.

Trio Fine Art’s Fall Arts Festival calendar also includes artist demonstrations during September 10th’s Palates and Palettes gallery walk, and on September 12 & 14.  Yum, a FAF “farewell” brunch Sept. 19, 11a – 3p. ….Special gallery hours are in effect during the residence of Resonance;  check the gallery for details.   307.734.4444.

Websites I visited that were alternately up and running or works in progress at this writing are:   www.triofineart.com, www.shannontroxler.net and www.kaystratman.com.

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Robert Coombs is Legacy Gallery’s artist in the spotlight this Fall Arts Festival. September 11-20, immerse yourself in the concept of the Romantic West —  Coombs, a Utah native, is noted for his tender, figurative paintings of women and children.  If you wish, you could say this Western artist has taken a path less traveled by embracing the warmth and humanity that women and children must often provide when life in the West becomes a tad hard bitten.   Coombs paints portraits of the women and children of today’s West, as well as those whose lives are now part of a rich pioneering history.

Coombs says that a life altering event occurred when he viewed the original works of Edwin Austin Abbey’s Shakespearean subjects on display at the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. “For the first time in my life I could actually feel the emotional impact and power that painting could impart. I decided to seek after those attributes in my own work.”   Expect to view at least eight new works.

An artist’s reception takes place September 11, 1-4:00 pm.

Legacy will follow the Coombs showcase with its annual “Legacy of Nature” Group Show and Sale, opening September 17; a reception takes place that day from 1-4:00 pm.   Wildlife is the theme, and this exhibition includes works by these noted artists:  Ken Bunn, Ken Carlson, Julie T. Chapman, Michael Coleman, Luke Frazier, Brian Grimm, Carol Hagan, Krystii Melaine, Eugene Morelli, Chad Poppleton, Tim Shinabarger, George D. Smith, Trevor Swanson, and Brett Smith.

www.legacygallery.com

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The Art Association continues its relatively new embrace of plein air painting with its exhibition On Location with the Plein Air Painters of America, on display now through September 6, 2010. Fifty paintings will be on exhibition and for sale.  An opening reception takes place September 3, 5:30 pm.

As the Fall Arts Festival connotes romance, so does the Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA) history.  The group was founded in California, inspired by the California Impressionists. Color, light and quality of work are the organization’s hallmarks.

From their website:  “In 1982 Ruth Westphal published the resource book Plein-Air Painters of California The Southland, followed four years later by The Northland. Major collections were being built, and prices for historic paintings were rising. Burns, who was president of the Catalina Art Association at the time, felt the moment had arrived to educate collectors about contemporary artists pursuing the art of painting from life.”

Craig Spankie, a long time Art Association contributing artist, opens his show Export Quality on Friday, September 10, at 5:30 p.m.

“I try to limit my involvement with the materials as much as possible – not destroy the unique nature of something, but create simplicity by combining color, texture and space,” says New Zealander Spankie.  The artist works with raw materials, and quite a bit of lugging and tugging went into shaping this particular show.   Two years in the making, Spankie says that this collection has been put together in Jackson and New Zealand.  A large quantity of work was too large to reasonably transport between the two locations, so Spankie downsized.

The work ended up being “small enough to fit into his checked baggage, that required a maximum weight of 46kg.   Spankie  ”emptied years of collected contents from his shed onto an animal grazed front paddock to create most of Export Quality. Work was proudly created in New Zealand with unique and unsophisticated materials, giving a raw, real sense to the viewer.”

The Art Association notes that due to a special event, this exhibit will not be available to view Sept. 13-16.

Also coming up at the Art Association:  Chuck Close.

www.artassociation.org

The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) has acquired works by two artists new to the Museum:  Contemporary painter Walton Ford, sculptor Simon Gudgeon and an oil painting by 19th-century artist-explorer Titian Ramsay Peale.

At left is Ford’s Swadeshi-cide.  Sixth in a very limited edition of 50, the work is an etching, aquatint, drypoint and roulette on paper.  NMWA has acquired six different prints by Ford; each of those prints is the sixth print in a series of fifty (6/50).

United Kingdom artist Gudgeon’s Isis, a 10-foot bronze streamlined avian piece, will take a prominent spot in the Museum’s now-under-production sculpture trail.   The work is a smaller scale version of Gudgeon’s work installed in London’s Hyde Park. The work is depicted in this blog’s previous post.

“The works of art purchased this year signal the diversity of the museum’s collection,” says Curator of Art Adam Duncan Harris. “Traveling west in 1819, Peale was one of the first artists to record the fauna of what was largely unexplored territory. One hundred ninety years later, contemporary artist Ford is fascinated by wildlife and by the history of depicting those creatures. Coming at the subject from a different angle, Gudgeon hones his representation of avian life to its purest, elemental form, creating a work of power that will be a highlight of our sculpture trail.”

Highly influenced by the artist-naturalists in the museum’s existing collection, including John James Audubon, Ford  is an artist-naturalist, but he adds his own political commentary, “using complex symbols to layer his flora and fauna studies with satire on some of the darker moments in U.S. cultural and environmental history.”  Ford is a Guggenheim fellow and has been featured on the PBS arts program Art:21.

Peale’s “Three Elk” is an example of his “…recalling the animals he saw as the official artist on Stephen Harriman Long’s government expedition to the West in 1819, years before artists such as Catlin and Bodmer ventured up the Missouri in the 1830s.”  It is a paramount example of works by the earliest artists recording Western fauna in a planned reinstallation of the museum’s collection.

www.wildlifeart.org

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Heather James. I share sentiments that this gallery has so much going on that it’s almost frustrating to those of us keeping up with the arts in Jackson. The new gallery is really several smaller galleries rolled into one cool contemporary space.  It serves Jackson’s art scene—and, during the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival in particular—in more than one way. The gallery presents contemporary art that appeals to naturalists.  It introduces many genres to Jackson not previously accessible.  It exhibits landscapes by great Western artists.  It has on exhibition and display works by the luminaries and legends of art history.

Heather James has the feel of a museum, complete with multiple galleries that you can see in an hour.  And you don’t have to stand in long lines to buy a ticket.

“There is no where else in the world where you can experience two national parks, Picasso and Monet all in one day,” offers gallery director Lyndsay McCandless.

In the realm of artist super stars, Heather James has new works by Léger, Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, Matisse, Morisot, Hofman, Andrew Wyeth, O’Keeffe and more.

One visit is all it takes to taste any and all of the above.  But, most certainly, multiple visits are required in order to truly receive what Heather James has to offer.  These gifts are simultaneous, parallel. Instantaneous.

Forest   for   the   Trees, on exhibit through September 30, 2010, examines the natural world through a variety of contemporary lenses. Though contemporary art dealing with nature can be so detailed as to reveal microcosm, this group of works avoids over-detail in favor of broader interpretations and the meditative sensation we gain from viewing the natural world on relatively large scales. The show, says the gallery, “…addresses  the  concept  of  individuality…as  each artist  expresses (their feelings on) important  topics… such as politics and the environment.”

Wildfires were common in southern California when I was a child. Houses constructed of concrete were amongst the few escaping devastation when fires swept through. For artist Naomi Safron-Hon, a “Forest” contributor, interest in cement as material sprang from “the cement wall that is being built in [her] home country in order to separate Israelis from Palestinians.

“Construction of identity interlaces with construction of landscape. Pushed against lace and domestic materials cement references the way in which political reality infiltrates personal life. War, conflict, and politics penetrate every aspects of daily life, similar to the way cement pushes through lace and kitchen appliances,” says the artist.

Timothy Tompkins’s high gloss enamel paints on aluminum look like topographic maps.  It is surprising to realize the pigments are enamel;  Tompkins’s  works recall Google Earth at its coolest and most fluid; in actuality he photographs television screens as they transmit. “His intent with the series,” says the gallery, “is  to explore  the  use  of  images  as  narrative  and  deconstruct  the  same  narratives  by removing  them  from their original  context.  The   viewer  is  then  free  to  bring  their  own  associations  depending  upon  their relationship  to  what  is presented.”

Log onto www.heatherjames.com and, as you would when visiting a museum, plan on devoting ample time for perusing the gallery.

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I’ll fly away…

The Diehl Gallery currently features a new series of paintings by artist Dirk De Bruycker.  His new collection is inspired by an emotional, no doubt traumatic, discovery by the Belgian native.  Upon entering his Granada, Nicaragua studio De Bruycker came upon a dead Cocoa Mort Bleu butterfly. Lying on the studio floor, it was consumed by an army of ants.

Overcome, De Bruycker used the beauty and tragedy of the finding and channeled them into a series of paintings.  Liquid crimson pools dissolve across his canvas, melting into “melted butter” yellows, chalky whites and other pale hues.   A butterfly’s wing patterns overlay and link with these color pools, shaped like a butterfly’s wing. They are lovely.

De Bruycker now resides in Santa Fe, where color and natural scales must remain significant influences.

The Teton Literacy Center receives 10% of each sale from this show.  Email: info@diehlgallery.com.

It’s a sometimes dark, sometimes cosmic, and sometimes beautiful view photographer Thomas Macker shares with us in his new collection of images Western Heritage – Expansion/Consumption/New Age, opening at Teton Art Lab Friday, August 27. An opening reception takes place on the late side, (yes, I can hear the young folks laughin’) 7-9:00 p.m.

A visiting artist resident, Macker is in from Los Angeles.  He is a candidate for an MFA in Photography and Media at CalArts.

Macker describes this show as being concerned with “Wyoming and the western landscape….spiritual, cultural, and environmental tourism.”  In much of his other work, he takes special interest in the ironies and complexities of California.  Western Heritage delves into activities and issues as mountaineering, car camping, gmo seeds, migrant workers, alternative energy, “intergalactic colonialism,” Black Elk and the psychedelic.

I’ve spent an hour checking out Macker’s website.  I find his photography deeply affecting.  Intimate.  Political.  These are the kinds of photographs that, in this election season, those running for office should see. The photographs–portraits of place–illustrate ubiquitous ironies and plights. They more than hint at American tragedies. Private lives are exposed, fates admitted. Throughout his work Macker treats all his subjects, no matter how jarring, with unblinking honesty .

Without being noticed we watch from behind as a lone, aging man fills water bottles from a forest stream.  The night sky’s astrological patterns surrounding Perseus (The Hero) are reinterpreted by what I first thought were scattered bullets holes in glass.  A friend thought he saw the eyes of the universe. The connected spheres are in fact spores.  Domestic workers pose for Macker’s camera inside the properties they tend;  their employers are nowhere in sight.  These spotless, manicured California homes are proof of attentive care and work provided by these workers, not of the property owners. Nannies, likely immigrants, assume motherhood to babies they push in strollers.

One Macker series, With God, All Things Are Possible, depicts a region of the Ohio River Valley and is a not-so-subtle rip on the concept of a generous Deity.  A thick and heavy summer yard is vacant, save the black hole of an ignored trampoline.  A dead coyote lies at the side of a road, a woman nuzzles her shepherd; but the most heart-stopping image concerns a young cougar tethered to a pole in a back yard.  The cat stalks our photographer and its jailer—some guy I presume is trafficking in wildlife, or he works for a circus—plays ringmaster.

It took me a moment to notice the pistol lying on the bed next to a man in a motel room.  The man talks animatedly; he’s wearing a Carnegie Mellon t-shirt.

These are only descriptions of Macker’s photographs, and I fear I may put you off checking out the contents of Western Heritage. This show’s cover image  — girls in blue plastic innertubes lolling about in tall Wyoming grasses while a buff dude repairs a chain link fence protecting solar panels — reveals sharp, wry humor.  Go see it.  Put your thinking cap on.  In America, concerned as we are with issues of constitutionality and culturalism, this a potentially thought provoking show.

To view Macker’s work check out http://www.fotocoyote.com/

www.tetonartlab.com

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Jackson Hole’s 2010 Fall Arts Festival is fast approaching. Portions of the  National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions/Sixth Annual Photography Show & Sale/ Fourth Annual Sketch Show & Sale are now available to view.   Events continue through Sunday, September 26, 2010.

Highlights include:

• The Sketch Show & Sale (King Gallery) displays work by participating Western Visions artists and includes simple pencil sketches to studies in oil or acrylic.
• Tuesday, September 7, 2010 —  5:30 to 8:30 pm enjoy Tapas and a presentation by 2010  Featured Scupltor Simon Gudgeon for a special Art After Hours. Program is free. Reservations for tapas required and can be made by calling 307-732-5434.
• Thursday, September 9,  12:05 pm. —  Art Alive @ 12:05 features a talk by Simon Gudgeon.  Museum galleries;  free.
• Wednesday, September 15  —  12th Annual Jewelry & Artisan Luncheon, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Register by Wednesday, September 8.    307.732.5412.
• Thursday, September 16, 2010 —-  Plein Air Sketching Workshop led by Featured Painter Mary Roberson.   8-11:30 a.m.   Hands-on outdoor instruction overlooking National Elk Refuge.  Cost:  $45.    Reservations required via Jane Lavino.    307.732.5417.   ALSO: Museum Gallery Walk,  1-2:00 pm.  Led by Simon Gudgeon, he will talk about some of his favorite NMWA works.   Free for members or with Museum admission.  AND, Jewelry & Artisan Show & Sale begins today, continuing through Friday, September 17.  View and select offerings of exquisite handmade jewelry, silver items and accessories.

• Thursday, September 16  —- 23rd Annual Wild West Artist Party,  6:30 – 10:30 p.m.  Location is National Museum of Wildlife Art.   Live music, dancing, plenty of good fare.   Register by Wednesday, September 8.   307.732.5412.

• Friday, September 17  —- Featured Painter Presentation and Poster Signing, 1:00 pm.    Mary Roberson will speak about her art and influences.  Free for members or with Museum admission.
• Friday, September 17  —-  23rd Annual Miniatures and More Show & Sale. Doors open 3:30 pm;  Bidding closes 5:30 pm; Presentation begins 6:30 pm.   Event features over 150 top American artists. Reservations required by September 8.   307.732.5434.

And, a new addition for 2010:

Wednesday, September 29 — Art A’Brewin’ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.   Enjoy coffee and fruit at the Museum, and pick up your purchased artwork.  Browse works still available.  Fun, free, open to the public.

An online Western Visions Catalog can be found here; you can read succinct artist biographies and, for some artists, interview content.

www.wildlifeart.org

Like I told Rocky Vertone, the man behind Full Circle Frameworks:  ”You made me get gum stuck in my hair!”

Full Circle Frameworks is devoting its Work In Progress #6 to….WILDLIFE ART.

Inconceivable!

If Rocky can, as he says, “sell out,”  then game on.  Minds open.  We’re getting it.  Phew.

On Friday, August 20, fasten your seat belts and head over to 335 N. Glenwood for  art-as-it-happens.  The paint party starts at 6 pm.  (The fact that lots of alcohol will be on hand is touted; please drink, paint and drive responsibly.)

Many local artists will collaborate to create a single work, and as I understand it the only criteria is that the artists stick to the theme….wildlife.   Vertone says these artists plan to show up and paint — the list may increase.   I’m rearranging Rocky’s list alphabetically:  Ben Carlson, Cutter, Richard Goodwin, Kelley Halpin, Remy Milossy, Erin Smith, Travis Walker and Aaron Wallis.

You can find Full Circle Frameworks on Facebook. You can call Rocky at  307.733.0770.

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A recent visit to the Jackson Hole Art Auction offices (upstairs at Trailside Galleries , 130 East Broadway) revealed that the Auction has obtained a handwritten, illustrated letter from C.M. Russell to his”Friend Bob,” written by Russell in 1909.  ”Bob” was Robert J. Benn, a resident of Kalispell, Montana.

The letter reads:

March 28, 1909

Friend Bob,

I received both your letters and photograph. We thought the picture was a good one. When are you and Mrs. Benn coming? If you will let me know, I will meet you at the trane and we will try and give you a good time. That was a nice letter you got from Churchell. I’ll be wearing antlers the next time we meet. I make the high ride Monday the 30th. I may have to pull better but I’m betting I ride him. Hoping to see you and Mrs. Benn soon.

Your Friend, C.M. Russell

I got a letter from Goodwin, he sent his regards to you both.

The wearing of antlers Russell mentions refers to his new membership in the the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks of the USA, Lodge #214 in Great Falls, Montana. “Russell also makes reference to his new membership in the Elks with a typical, humorous drawing in which he depicts himself on a bucking goat while several elk shout out encouragement for him to stay in the saddle,” says the Auction’s Emma Zanetti.

Russell’s letter also arrived with documents relating to Benn’s murder at his own saloon in Kalispell.  The unsolved murder took place several years after this letter was written, and Kalispell’s newspaper ran the headline: “Robert J. Benn Is Shot And Killed—Assailant Unknown.” Sub-headlines announce that Benn’s body was discovered lying in a pool of blood behind the bar.

Approximately 250 lots will be up for sale at this year’s auction, taking place on Saturday, September 18, at the Center for the Arts in downtown Jackson.  In the spirit of disclosure, I have worked for the auction in the past. This year’s collection of lots is very exciting.  Zanetti notes that other masters such as Bob Kuhn, Lanford Monroe, Carl Rungius, Mian Situ, Howard Terpning, William Acheff and Clyde Aspevig are all well represented. For more information email her at registrar@jacksonholeartauction.com.   1.866.549.9278.

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The Contemporary Landscape, a show of new works by artists Andrzej Skorut and Shanna Kunz opens at Mountain Trails Gallery on Saturday, August 21, 4-8:00 pm.   Works will be on display August 19-26.

An August, 2010 article in Western Art Collector quotes Skorut.

“I believe in importance of the immediate visual impact of the painting; that one square inch of the painting should hold as much interest as the whole canvas,” says Skorut. “Yet I also believe that deeper, honest meanings should lie beneath the surface, giving the viewer an opportunity to embark upon a personal voyage of discovery.”

As Skorut’s followers know, the artist was born in Krakow, Poland.  Surrounded by the high culture of that city, the artist valued art from an early age.  But he makes his living painting landscapes. He is a Tonalist, and uses muted hues to suggest countryside mysteries.  Skorut notes that although he paints in what might be called a contemporary representational style, his paintings are also abstract; he renders hills, trees, pastures and mountains in reduced geometric form.  Viewers find themselves just a tiny bit hypnotized by this painter’s still, evocative work.

Kunz works in oils and watercolor.  Describing herself as “as a naturalist raised and rooted in the diverse landscapes of western America,” she also concentrates on conveying emotional connections she has with the land.  Spatial relationships are important, as is pushing color boundaries.  She and Skorut share subtle vibrations in their work, but Kunz allows an unmistakable golden light into her compositions.  That may mean she yearns more to catch the sun and its effects at specific times of day, and that those specific moments are the artist’s primary muse. And, while Skorut’s landscapes can zoom in or out, Kunz has a predilection for dense groupings of trees — they are the heart of her paintings.

For more information, contact Mountain Trails Gallery by phoning 307.734.8150.   www.mountaintrails.net

QUICK NOTE:

Saturday, August 21, Heather James Gallery hosts an Open House from 10-6pm. The gallery’s Los Angeles based curator Chip Tom will be on hand, giving art talks and tours all day.  Info: 307-200-6090 or lyndsay@heatherjames.com.

In this Theodore Waddell painting I sense the Great Mystery’s arms embracing this herd; if these are the pastures of heaven, as Waddell suggests, that heaven’s arms gently form this grouping of cattle to the shape of an hourglass.   A sprinkling of ranch animals are black sands of time.

Altamira Fine Art presents Theodore Waddell’s The Pastures of Heaven: One Man Show, with an artist’s reception Thursday, August 19, 5-7:00 p.m.  And, as Altamira’s Dean Munn has opened the Steinbeck door, I will go through it.

If you are of a certain age, and a reader, you may know what Munn has mentioned; the phrase “Pastures of Heaven” is taken from the title of a John Steinbeck story set in California–in valleys not far from Monterey—before mass development swallowed swaths of open land. The book is actually a collection of interconnected stories, just as this Altamira show is comprised of connected stories told by Waddell.  Not being familiar with this Steinbeck book, I Googled.   Wikipedia’s short synopsis says that those California valleys were discovered by a Spanish corporal, who named the valley area Las Pasturas del Cielo.

When we encounter scenes of superlative beauty and power, we want to dissolve into them and become the Juniper tree, that hillside, all the fields of flowers, the ocean, the mountain.  In every way we try to merge so that we may keep living.   Waddell’s animals look like Morse code symbols, marking changes in time and information the artist receives from the land.   These cows, horses and buffalo reflect clusters of stars in the sky.

Being quiet with the land, living off the land. Waddell examines these themes and his symbolic abstract animals stand before us like charred trees–life leaving us but promising to return.

As a bonus, all of the original art from the children’s book “Tucker Gets Tuckered” will be on exhibit.  Written by Ted Beckstead and illustrated by Waddell, the book tells the story of the daily adventures of a lively dog.

www.altamiraart.com.

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A few days after returning to Jackson I ventured to a few of its galleries.   More than ever, it hit home that our galleries are marketing and selling very sophisticated art.  Masterworks.  Price Upon Request.  If you have to ask, you can’t afford it,….etc. I told a friend about some of the works I’d seen, and we discussed where they might have come from.  Art can show up in a gallery for any number of reasons, and from any number of places. Artwork can be sold by individuals or corporations or museums  – and galleries that are closing their doors sometimes consign works to other galleries.

But what ultimately determines whether someone owning a significant work will sell it at auction or through a gallery?

Sarah Shinn Pratt is a former Vice President and Auctioneer for Sotheby’s New York. An Expert Appraiser on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow for 10 years she is currently President of LeBaron Antiques Trading, based in Woodbury, Connecticut (www.sarahshinnpratt.com).

Pratt explains.

“Some people consign to a dealer because they want the certain cash NOW and don’t want to wait for a sale and then the usual 35 business days payout afterwards. If it does not sell, they might end up owing the auction house money and then the property can be considered a bit “burned.” Also, they may not want their ex-wife or relatives, for example, knowing their business. Auction results for high-end art are readily accessible on the Internet and end up in art data bases, sometimes even in the newspapers.

Pratt says that dealers like to buy from private individuals as opposed to auction because they can often buy cheaper and also because then the public doesn’t know what they paid for it. After auction commission and fees for insurance and photographs in the catalogue, the consignor at auction can end up with less than what they could have gotten from a dealer, so it can be a win-win situation for both the seller and the dealer.

“Some reasons to go for auction as a sales venue include that one has exciting fresh (never been on the market or only a long time ago) merchandise,” says Pratt.  ”And it will benefit from international exposure, or that there are several owners involved and a transparent transaction is necessary.”

Perhaps the new owners of Teton Valley Ranch will fill the place with art bought in Jackson.

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The show doesn’t happen until September 12th, but now is the time to submit work to CIAO if you wish to be considered for its Third Annual Wildlife (Juried) Exhibit.   Deadline comes up soon  –  August 20th.   If you’ve got a wolf at the door or on canvas, submit up to five images electronically.  Visit www.ciaogallery@yahoo.com (Okay, as I write that I sense a hybrid email and website snafu so please experiment a bit if need be!)  to get the lowdown on how to send your work.   You may also call 307.733.7833.

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Quick list of MADE’s remaining summer list of artists exhibiting their work, getting their goods pumped up via John Frechette’s dynamite new-artist-by-the-week rotation concept.   Artists, if you want images of your work posted on this site, please send them to me.  Or, send them to John and ask him to forward the info here.   Be glad to preview it!

Artists with openings and week-long exhibits at MADE (in Gaslight Alley) through September:

Aug 19th   Amanda Sullivan

Aug 26    Padgett Hoke

Sept 2    Jesse Gestal

Sept 9    Travis Walker

Spet 16th    Susan Madrey

Sept 23rd    Raskoll Inc

Sept 30th    Diana Eden

jdfrechette@gmail.com

It’s exhilarating to be home.

Recently the JH Art Blog was down. Hardly an ideal re-entry scenario, but we’re up and running again, and working to catch up with Jackson’s arts scene. It only takes a brief reacquainting visit to galleries to realize that Jackson’s regional arts scene, for a town of its size, is truly exceptional.   It’s alive with eclectic work and great talent represented in every venue. We’re not New York or Paris or Chicago….or Miami.   But the quality of art here, the quantity of talent?  We should be proud.  Our subject matter reflects the region, yes. National and international influences are finding their way in, and when good management and vision are in play everybody wins.

Regarding the situation involving the Art Association and Aaron Wallis:  I’ve had my conversation with Wallis, so we’re done as far as that is concerned. However, the current situation between him and the arts community is very unfortunate.   No winners there.   Hope it can be resolved.

The good news:

The weather is here, wish you were beautiful and Artists in the Park (officially Artists in the Environment) features Wilson, Wyoming artist Jocelyn Slack this Saturday, August 14th, at Oxbow Bend Turnout in Grand Teton National Park. Slack, an illustrator, works primarily in watercolors, pen and ink.   She’s a regular contributor to Crane Creek Graphics and her work was included in the recent Center for the Arts exhibition of images of dancers.

Artists in the Park is sponsored by the Grand Teton Association and is free to the public.   Look for Slack’s easel and the event’s Artist Demonstration banner.   Artists in this series begin painting at 9:00 a.m. and end at noon.   Bring a chair, snacks, and paints if the spirit moves.

Phone:  307-739-3606.

Item #2:

“I am fascinated with painting white objects because, in watercolor, white subjects are what appears in the place where there is no paint. By painting the shadows on the form and the negative space around the form, the form itself appears.” – September Vhay

Essence.

What Jackson painter September Vhay does best, some might argue, is capture the essence—the nut—of the animals she paints.  Her new show goes up Saturday, August 18, at Trio Fine Art and features Vhay’s trademark graceful renditions of horses, wildlife, ranch animals, magpies and orchids.

The orchids are white, and Vhay says painting that particular flower connects her to her watercolor background.   Structurally, the flower may appeal to the painter’s other identity; she’s a trained and practiced architect.  In fact, orchid petals remind Vhay of draft horse haunches.

And the flowers hold still.

Trio’s artists are all trying new subjects.   Vhay also will exhibit paintings of longhorns.  For her, the bulls intrigue “…on many levels, from the shape of their horns to their symbolism of the West. Longhorns were the first cattle introduced to the U.S. in the late 1400’s due to their ability to handle harsh conditions and to breed easily. Their disposition is innately gentle, yet they appear intimidating due to the size of their horns, which can span up to 80 inches.”

“In one painting, this gentleness is expressed in the bulls eye,” Vhay said, “Yet his horns let you know that in an instant he would have no problem protecting himself.”

For info, log onto www.vhay.com, visit www.triofineart.com, or phone 307.734.4444.

Item #3:

Art Association Happenings!

The Jackson Hole Art Association’s Local Landscapes with Local Artists series features artist Tammy Callens on Saturday, August 14, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm.   The half day of creative fun and learning takes place at the Snake River Ranch.

This workshop costs $75;  Art Association members may attend for $50.   Billed as “Interpreting the Traditional Landscape,” (I take that to mean attendees will explore ways to interpret landscape in various ways) the morning includes:

· A one hour painting demonstration and talk by Tammy

· Two hours to create using the medium of your choice

· A critique and one-on-one direction from Tammy

· A simple picnic lunch will be included

Space is limited.   To sign up, or for more info, call 307.733.6379.

Talk Like an Egyptian?

August 12 – 15, 2010 | 5 Lectures | Attend one or attend them all!

Beginning August 12th, the Art Association will present a series of lectures by Hisham El Meniawy. A native of Cairo, Mr. Meniawy is a history and archeology specialist of ancient Egypt. He studied at the university in Cairo and has lectured for 20 years in Europe and at conferences and archeology sites throughout Egypt.

Egypt’s ancient arts are a keystone of the world’s art history.   Please contact the Art Association for more information on this series.

Coming up:  The second  Summer 2010 Jackson Hole Art Fair takes place August 20-22 at Miller Park, in Jackson.  www.artassociation.org

As many Jackson Holers know, local artist Ben Roth recently collaborated with friend and fellow artist Brad Watsabaugh, creating an extraordinary public art project for the ski town of Vail, Colorado. The project, “Singing Trees,” captured the Inter Mountain West’s creative community’s attention — the artists received quite a bit of press and media coverage.

A few days ago, Roth and Watsabaugh were interviewed for Vail’s morning television show, “Good Morning Vail.” The artists got a chance to discuss the project, one that made use of dead lodgepole pines killed by mountain pine beetles.   Roth explained that the art form is a temporary one—although the placed trees can remain standing for quite some time.  Trees are “manipulated” by the artist, so that their beauty and embedded messages about their living time on earth are more accessible to people who wish to view the work.

The trees are split top to bottom, so that one half of the tree remains vertical, while its other side rests horizontally, like a bench, above the ground.  All the work was done by hand—no lasers, etc.  Watsabaugh and Roth’s individual creative spirits fed one another, making it a pulse-pounding, thrilling experience.

Take a look at the “Good Morning Vail” interview here.

Roth says he’s planning on collaborating with writer/environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams and Jackson artist Felicia Resor.  The environmentally inspired work will involve installing a ring of 23 Pronghorn and Deer skulls on old metal fence posts.  They skulls are “….witnesses to the environmental degradation occurring in Wyoming,” says Roth.    Installation locations have yet to be determined.

Want to talk to Ben?  Call him with questions and kudos at this number:  970.754.8888

July 15-22, check out the bold, illustrative  paintings of Jeff Ham at Mountain Trails Gallery.

Last summer’s personal statement on Native American history will be replaced (I believe) with more celebratory Western imagery.  As has been noted, Ham’s color and composition spring from a background in illustration.

“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.”

I’m still loving the  memory of  Jeff Ham’s large scale works, his  O’Keeffe and Warhol portraits; they once hung in the J.H. Center for the Arts Theater Lobby, and may still be there.

Email:  fineart@mountaintrails.net

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“I paint with passion, risk and abbreviated images instead of capturing realism. Set against transit texture and vivid color, images and figures cannot be situated in reality. These painterly expressions challenge our emotions and communicate with our sense of mystery. Mystery is a part of life. Not everything is easily explainable.”  - Rocky Hawkins

Rocky Hawkins: Lost At Last, is the new show at Altamira Fine Art. A reception will be held at the gallery July 15, 5-7:00 pm.

What can’t be ignored in Montana artist Rocky Hawkins’ work is the ghostly quality of his portraits.  Conversely, there is a direct confirmation his Native American subjects demand of viewers.   Confirmation of existence transmitted by apparitions.   Thirty-six expressionistic paintings make up the artist’s roster of images on the Altamira gallery site. All are potent, highly vigorous compositions — an approaching army of ancestry and imminent spirits.

Hawkins is a brave artist, true to his own inspiration. His work sells, appealing to a cache of sophisticated collectors of contemporary Western art.  Inspired in part by Terpning, Hawkins’ works are painterly anti-war messages conveyed through portraits of a culture that fought for its right to exist.

And isn’t a break with “the rules” what we often search out for in great art?   Gallery director Mark Tarrant has said that Hawkins’ work recalls “the primitivism that Gaugin sought, and pays little attention to the classical use of perspective and color.”    To my eye, his work recalls Gaugin’s breakout character combined with Jackson Pollock’s rhythmic use of paint….there may be homage to Motherwell’s sweeping black forms.

Lost At Last (if you meet Hawkins, ask him about the meaning behind the title of this show; then get back to me, please!) remains on display through August 4th.     www.altamiraart.com.

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Jackson Hole Art Fair Rap Revisited!

(July 16-18   Miller Park   10am-6pm;  10 am-4pm Sunday. www.artassociation.org )

Hey, it’s July, so it’s time to share / ‘Bout that annual gig, the Jackson Hole Art Fair! / “Art Fair Jackson Hole” it prefers to be called / Nobody asked me.  I’m not involved.

Hey man, don’t be bored! / Sometimes Harrison Ford / Comes to check out the art / And he brings Flockhart. (If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it!)

Buy ceramics, toys, fibers–/  This poem’s the town crier / For Art Fair Weekend / Come rain or come shine-er. / Paintings, baskets, jewels, tents / Sunscreen and some fivers / All make for a day / The whole family could die for!

See the Fair.  Have Fun.  This rap is all done.

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Hammock painting helpers needed!  July 15, beginning 5:00 pm,  convene at the Multipurpose Ceramics Studio at the Center for the Arts. Help paint 2,000 feet of hammock that will be used as part of Sunday, July 25th’s Vertical Orchestra concert at the Teewinot lift ( I am enough of a non-skier to not even know if that lift is at Snow King or Teton Village.  But I bet you will know, dear readers!)

If you help paint, you’ll go home with a free hammock.   Bring along any unused paint you might have handy, but most importantly, bring yourself.    You can also sign up to volunteer the day of the concert.   Questions:  Bland Hoke,  307.690.0097.

On July 8, Lee Carlman Riddell and Ed Riddell will open a joint show, Joy, at Trio Fine Art.

For Lee and Ed, joy is the thing that, when cultivated, creates a better life.  ”A special friend taught us the importance of cheering each other on: remembering a birthday, cooking dinner for friends, attending weddings and graduations and …art openings. Volunteering your time. It is these special things that we can all do that give us satisfaction and a sense of community,” says Lee.

The couple, recently returned from Tuscany, are, according to Lee, “excited to be showing their new work created over the past year.”

Photographer Ed Riddell expects he’ll be showing ten to twenty new photographs, while Lee notes her paintings will include works as large as 18 x 18″, 12 x 30″ and 12 x 24.”

Ed is planning a “surprise” for the public with his new images; Lee will be displaying some new, more expansive landscape paintings. Red barns covered by snowfall, Snake River pelicans, hoary frost cottonwoods, the moon.  Tuscany’s landscapes are rendered in field sketches (which can be the most exciting part of any show). Nesting hummingbirds, very difficult to observe, housed themselves outside Lee’s studio—expect to see sketches of tiny, hovering Trochilidae.

Joy’s opening reception takes place 5-8:00 pm;  a salon-style conversation with Ed and Lee Riddell happens the same evening, 5-6:00 pm.   Contact Lee by phoning either 307.733.8093, x10 or 307.699.0923.

Watch for Lee’s contribution to the 2010 NMWA Western Visions Show.  One more accolade:  Lee’s work was accepted as part of the juried Yellowstone Art Museum 42nd art Auction.

Visit www.triofineart.com for more information.  In addition to Riddell, Trio Fine Art represents Kathryn Mapes Turner and September Vhay…and that painter up in Livingston….what’s his name……..Russell Chatham (humor attempt!).   Look for some guest artist appearances this season.  Summer gallery hours at Trio are Wed. – Sat., Noon-6pm.

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I love it when the nudes come together!

Lyndsay McCandless, Director at newly opened Heather James Fine Art, would like you to come in and see some of her favorite things.   Marilyn is one of them.  Even “hetero” women are in love with Marilyn.   Can’t stop looking at her.

“When Hollywood photographer Lawrence Schiller, America’s first paparazzi, got the assignment to photograph Marilyn Monroe on the set of Something’s Got to Give, he thought nothing of it, just another fabulous Hollywood assignment,” says McCandless. “But he, and the world, were unprepared for the moment when Marilyn jumped into the pool in a flesh-colored bikini and came up out of the water au natural. The film crew brought out a birthday cake on that day, June 1, 1962 when she turned 36, and she gleefully sat before the sparkler candles…”

Schiller caught the moment, on a day that turned out to be her last on a movie set. Two months later Monroe would be dead.

McCandless also digs painter Timothy Tompkins’ nebulas; painted on aluminum panels they remind her of ethereal, glorious, galactic worm holes.  She notes that the work is inspired by images in modern media and how they relate to art history and the human condition; the works have a transitory effect.

There’s so much more, including an August “Wyeth” extravaganza.  Do not miss it.  307.200.6090 gets you Lyndsay.

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Shoot, it’s Schenck!

My bad. Missed this item in my “drafts” stack.   Here are the facts!

ARTIST: Bill Schenck

WHAT: Book Signing: “Bill Schenck, Serigraphs 1971-1996”

WHEN: Saturday, July 10th 10 AM to 1 PM

WHERE: Altamira Fine Art, 172 Center Street

WHY:  It’s Bill Schenck! (Have you SEEN the magazine layouts of his cool southwestern home?)

STRAIGHT FROM THE GALLERY’S MOUTH: Over the past four decades Bill Schenck’s hard-edge oil paintings examining the realities of modern Western life have ranged from the nostalgic and the surreal to Photorealism and Conceptualism. Yet little attention has been given to the unique serigraphs he created over twenty-five years. Between the early 1970’s and the mid-1990’s, Schenck created fifty-two editions of serigraphs encompassing a variety of themes including fictionalized Western histories, Native American subjects, and depictions of the modern cowboys and cowgirls. These silkscreen prints reveal the serious, the playful, and the critical aspects of his fascination with the West….His Photorealist style lends itself to a contemporary interpretation of the West in a melding of Pop art graphic boldness and Warhol-like mythmaking. To heighten the glamour and drama of his subjects, he pays sharp attention to compositional elements such as setting, viewing angle, light, and color.

email:  connect@altamiraart.com

A year or so ago, Altamira Fine Art had its first opening.  The show was notable for three reasons:  1) Altamira’s space wasn’t completed, and the opening took place at what was then the Oswald Gallery; 2)The show belonged to expressionist John Nieto;  3) Nieto’s new work was new and totally re-energized, revved!   It was the freshest, most exciting Nieto exhibit in recent memory.

Once again, Altamira Fine Art welcomes master contemporary artist John Nieto, and his newest show of works, Forces of Color and Spirit.  The show opens July 1 (fireworks of color appropriate for a pyrotechnic holiday!) and runs through July 14.   An opening reception takes place July 1, 5-7:00 pm.

Nieto’s comprehensive new book of the same title features more than 180 color plates of works defining the life and career of Nieto, a ground breaking legend of an artist.  Nieto originated a style of painting widely emulated, but never matched, by countless contemporary artists. The book is described as “lavishly illustrated.”  Nieto will be on hand July 2, 1-4:00 pm, to sign copies of his book.   Forces of Color and Nature , written by Susan Hallsten McGarry, includes 179 pages and features Nieto’s twenty-five painting series exploring the chromatic persona of Sioux Chief Sitting Bull.  Collectors will find a chapter on limited editions and documentation of Nieto works.

Altamira Director Mark D. Tarrant says the gallery is privileged to represent Nieto and share this new exhibition.  Nieto is widely regarded as one of America’s most accomplished, dynamic and exciting contemporary artists, says Tarrant, pointing out that Nieto’s work concentrates on themes that transcend mere representation. Nieto’s intense primary colors and bold use of paint “create both dimension and character on the canvas.  He is truly an American master.”

Nieto’s portraits are striking, but in addition to loving the Wolf, count me as a huge fan of his Feather Dancer paintings.  Filling the canvas with energy, dynamic swirling, arcing paint strokes, Nieto’s dancers cut powerful abstract compositions into each canvas surface.  These works make my heart pound and my pulse race. Here, footsteps of Native American spirit and the totality of earth’s primal music ring.

Like his buffalo, bears and coyotes, Nieto himself  is a symbol of survival.  Every work embraces what Nieto knows is the spirit of life.   For information, email connect@altamiraart.com.

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On Thursday, July 8, NMWA will hold a special reception to open its summer exhibitions:  Karl Bodmer’s Western Wildlife: Original Sketches from the Joslyn Art Museum, Travels in the Interior of North America: Etchings by Karl Bodmer, and Wild New Ways: Maurice Sendak’s Animal Kingdom. The evening includes actor Jeffrey Bratz’s portrayal of Bodmer and atalk on Sendak by Patrick Rodgers.    AND, the inaugural winner of the new Bull-Bransom Award will be announced.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.   www.wildlifeart.org!

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Two artists relatively new to Jackson’s contemporary art scene will be featured at Teton ArtLab, occupying studio and exhibit space on the top floor of the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts.

Victoria Reynolds and Jeff Brown open their joint show at the Lab on July 2, (First Friday)  6-8:00 pm.

These artists, painters both, “explore the challenging realms of abstraction,” says Artlab Director Travis Walker.  Jackson’s contemporary artists often thoroughly explore the natural world, down to the tiniest microcosm; the examination and reproduction of nature’s forms lend themselves to abstract work and can be fastidiously detailed.

Reynolds currently hails from that creative West Coast hub, Portland. Her works are “frenetic, map-like images on wooden panels using oil, pencil, and other mediums.”  By contrast, Brown, a Jackson artist whose recent Pearl Street Bagels show came close to selling out, creates “labyrinths of line.”   This is Brown’s Artlab debut.    The show also features a series of Brown’s etchings created in collaboration with the Artlab.

For information on this show, you have permission to contact the artists directly.   Victoria Reynolds: (203)-249-5766;  Jeff Brown: (251)978-3194. (Victoria, you have a Connecticut area code; where are you from in the Nutmeg State?)