Posts from ‘Western Contemporary Art’
“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.” Â 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.
Trio Fine Art is transitioning, evolving.
September Vhay, an original founder of Trio Fine Art, has announced she will be leaving that gallery and joining Jackson’s Altamira Fine Art, effective May 3, 2012. At that time, Trio Fine Art will welcome Jackson-based painter Bill Sawczuk as that gallery’s new partner.
Focusing on painting while simultaneously running a gallery is more than a full time job, and after six successful years at Trio, Vhay says she “has come to a place in her life where she feels that her time is best spent painting.”
“Running Trio Fine Art has been an incredibly rewarding experience in regards to having the opportunity to work with, and create art alongside, the talent of Kathryn Turner, Molly Hirschfield, Lee Riddell, and Jennifer Hoffman,” says Vhay, who is known for her distinct renderings of horses and wildlife. “Trio also provided the unique experience for an artist to connect with collectors and witness the public enjoying the work first hand. Artists become attached to their paintings, and there is a certain solace in knowing where they go. I am proud of what the
gallery has become and would like to extend a huge amount of gratitude to my amazing business partners, collectors, family and friends for their unwavering support. Neither Trio Fine Art nor my career would be where they are without it.”
Happy Equinox!
Watercolorist Kay Stratman, who describes her work as “Asian influenced,” has posted new work on her newly revamped website. In the letter she sent me, Stratman featured one of her new paintings, Monday Morning Breakfast Group, depicting yellow headed and red winged blackbirds gathered for conversation. Perched on some cattails and set against a liquid blue-green background, these are animated, upbeat birds. It must be Spring; as I write this a flash mob of rosy finches is filling the air with chatter and clamoring around in the trees, while several robins look on, keeping their distance.
“The title came first, before the image, inspired by my husband Paul’s Monday morning breakfast group,” says Stratman. “I think it is lots of fun and hope you do too. [This painting] appears a bit more detailed than many of my looser, more spontaneous paintings. Actually the details are only in the beaks, eyes and feet. The rest is very loosely handled with watery color flowing and blending in the background.”
The artist also plans to teach some art classes later this spring; both involve watercolor technique and one incorporates encaustic wax. Classes take place at the Art Association this May and early June, and to find out more, you should visit the Art Associaton’s website –www.artassociation.org–or call 307.733.6379. Stratman will also take part in the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s June 16th Annual Quickdraw event.
Stratman is also represented by Horizon Fine Art, 30 King Street, in Jackson, Wyoming. Her work is part of a group show there, taking place the week of June 16th. www.horizonfineartgallery.com. Stratman’s website: www.kaystratman.com.
A recent Wall Street Journal article  tells the story of an artful marketing ploy in Aspen, Colorado. The Aspen Art Museum has arranged for a selection of artist Mark Grotjahn’s art work to be printed on ski lift tickets. It’s part of the museum’s initiative to “bring art to unlikely places,” and coincides with Grotjahn’s new show at the museum.
This image of Grotjahn’s ‘Untitled (Green Over Yellow Mask M18.a),’ depicts work similar to what will be printed on the Aspen lift tickets.
Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson, CEO and director at the Aspen Art Museum, is quoted as saying that “there were few guidelines for the project, other than to give the artist the size of the ticket and ask him to include the words “Aspen Snowmass.” The museum began putting art on lift tickets in 2005, featuring work by contemporary artists such as Peter Doig, Karen Kilimnik and Jim Hodges—the latter seeming to wink at the tony ski town by creating a lift ticket in multicolored block letters that read: “Give more than you take.”
Grotjahn, who is represented by the prestigious Gagosian Gallery, gets his art printed on 30,000 lift tickets, skis for free and the Aspen Art Museum gains a brilliant marketing vehicle.
A message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
“To create more friends and fewer enemies, we can’t just win wars. We must find common ground and common purpose with other peoples and nations so that together we can overcome hatred, violence, lawlessness, and despair….By investing in [our] common humanity we advance our common security because we pave the way for a more peaceful, prosperous world. Through its temporary exhibitions and permanent collections, ART in Embassies intrigues, educates and connects—playing an ambassadorial role as important as that served by traditional diplomacy. Connecting people to people through the visual arts advances freedom of expression and invites an exchange of ideas.”
