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

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

Historical Native America: Portraits from the 19th Century, a One Man Show of  works by painter James Ayers, opens with an artist’s reception at the Legacy Gallery on August 5, 6-8:00 p.m.

Inspired by great historical artists and portraitists such as Karl Bodmer, George Catlin and Edward Curtis, these paintings “…reference the historical drawings and photographs but from a modern day artist’s perspective.”  Expect to view contemporary takes on such prominent figures as Black Buffalo and Mano-Tope Four Bears.   A likeness of the former is particularly creative because no actual photographs of Black Buffalo exist, according to the gallery.   Ayers’s take on what this Native American leader must have looked like spring from descriptions found in the descriptions of Lewis and Clark, written during their 1804 expedition.

For more information about the show please visit  www.legacygallery.com, or email janell@legacygallery.com.

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Over at Trailside Galleries, another showcase takes place this month: Huihan Liu’s new works are on display at that gallery through August 31. An artist’s reception takes place Thursday, August 19, 5-7:00 p.m. Ten new paintings lovingly depict people and village life in Tibet–an exquisite, ancient civilization in a struggle for its own survival.

The showcase runs in tandem with a larger Trailside showcase, its annual “Western Classics.”

The gallery is highlighting 30 or more of its best traditional paintings and sculptures.   Representational works by well known western artists, including those affiliated with the Cowboy Artists of America, are included.   Emphasized are contemporary renditions of cowboy life, Native American subjects and spectacular landscapes.    Take your time, there’s a lot to see!

Phone contact:  307.733.3186.   www.trailsidegalleries.com

Don’t forget to wander upstairs to view the offerings for this year’s Jackson Hole Art Auction.

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Jackson local artist Amy Ringholz opens a new show of her singular style animal portraits in a new show, “Resonance,” opening August 5 at Altamira Fine Art, on Center Street.     An opening reception takes place August 5, 5-7:00 pm, and the exhibition remains up through August 17.

Ringholz openings are always infused with the artist’s own sense of celebration and fun; expect to get down, downtown.

“Resonance” refers to Ringholz’s efforts to connect powerfully with viewers. Study of textiles, 19th Century prints and art nouveau have infiltrated these compositions.  Moving into storytelling mode, these new paintings are related to her totem series but are more illustrative — they possess a fairy tale quality.   She feels that the “magic” of these new paintings offer a “flow of stories of love, friendship, family, God, honor and the pursuit of dreams.”

“Amy’s art has brought joy to admirers and collectors across the country. This show will be an especially significant step in her artistic journey as it melds her familiar abstract styling with the sophisticated conceptual storytelling thematic,” says gallery Director Mark D. Tarrant.

For more information, email connect@altamiraart.

Through July 31, Trailside Galleries will present a showcase of works by artist Mike Malm —  new paintings will be available for viewing the latter part of the month.

Though he often paints landscapes, Malm is an avid romantic portraitist.  His softest, most sensitive works often recall Renoir’s reverence for the feminine.  Against rural backgrounds Malm portrays what he feels is one of God’s great creations:  the human figure.   To  Malm, a tilt of the head or tiny hand gesture can communicate universal thought and emotion.

In other words, painting is a calling for this artist, a testimony.   With every work, Malm strives to move his viewers by capturing the infinite subtleties of human nature.

A new showcase of paintings by artist Chris Owen follows, August 1-31 at Trailside.  The gallery says up to ten new works will be on display by the artist, whose work hangs in such collections as the Pearce Western Art Collection in Corsicana, Texas, the National Western Museum in Denver, Colorado, and the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Owen has moved to working with oils full time, and his passion is chronicling cowboy life.  In speaking about his art Owen falls into detailed descriptions of his observations of horses and ranches.

“There is nothing more satisfying to me than to bring a green colt up into a real nice saddle horse that knows how to handle himself and is a pleasure to be around. From the halter breaking and ground work right on up to all of the roping and getting gates and other ranch chores, each step presents its own challenges and the way it’s handled can vary quite a bit depending on the individual horse’s personality,” says the artist.

For information on both shows, contact Trailside’s Dawn Meckam by emailing dawn@trailsidegalleries.com, or phoning  307.733.3186.

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At Heather James Fine Art, Masters of Impressionism and Modern Art brings together exquisite examples of art by Berthe Morisot, Édouard Léon Cortès, Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Claude Monet, and Jackson Pollock among many others.

A highlight of the show, Monet’s Water Lily (c. 1915-1919), gives Jackson art lovers a chance to see one of Monet’s signature works; part of a series that defined the artist’s career.   ”Monet’s distinctive late palette and all of the pictorial tensions unique to the achievements of the artist’s final decades are on display with this prime example from the master Impressionist’s oeuvre,” says the gallery’s James Corona.

Specific works on exhibit include Pablo Picasso’s Buste de Femme Souriante (1901) and Fernand Léger’s La racine noire et fragments d’objets (1943-1950).  

For information: lyndsay@heatherjames.com.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) will build its new sculpture trail, designed by Oakland, California landscape wizard Walter Hood.  In the planning process for several years, funding for completion of the project was secured via a $3.5 million gift from NMWA trustee Debbie Petersen.   The trail will be named for her late husband, Jim Petersen.  Ms. Petersen’s gift funds the trail and supports “future projects.”

Last year, the Jackson Hole Art Blog presented a three-part series on Walter Hood and his vision for the NMWA sculpture trail, and his prophesies and recommendations for future sustainable, artful landscaping in Jackson and Teton County. Those articles are available to read on this site.

The Museum says the trail will provide new ways for visitors to view wildlife art within a landscape; sculptor Richard Loffler’s Buffalo Trail will be part of the project.  An amphitheater will replace the current drive at NMWA’s entrance and an “edge trail” will run along the east ledge of the current visitor’s parking area.   Hood’s hope has always been to meld NMWA’s vantage point and contoured landscapes with views of the Elk Refuge, creating a greater visceral connection between the two sites.

The museum’s new sculpture trail will directly connect to the North Highway 89 Pathway Project, a new branch of the Pathways system planned to lead from the north end of Jackson to Grand Teton National Park.  An underground tunnel will provide access to the museum, creating an inviting opportunity to mix culture and outdoor activity for bicyclers.      www.wildlifeart.org.

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The Cultural Council of Jackson Hole, with a mission to “ bring the arts and cultural organizations in our community together for the purpose of communication, collaboration, coordination and promotion of cultural life in Jackson Hole,”  has opened nominations for this year’s “Award for Creativity.” The honorarium

acknowledges those whose contributions to the arts—visual, musical, written and performing—have impact and meaning to Jackson’s cultural base.  2009’s winners were Dancer’s Workshop Executive Director Babs Case and Center for the Arts major patron John Tozzi.   Other past winners include Lyndsay McCandless, Joffa & Bill Kerr, Evie Lewis, Ken Thomasma, David Kornblum and more.

Submit your nominations by Monday, June 21st, to the Cultural Council.  Nominations may be mailed to the Council at P.O. Box 3706, Jackson, Wyoming 83001.   Or, email your choice to:  culturalcouncil@gmail.com. The Council’s Alissa Davies notes that submissions must include “ your name, address, phone number and/or email, 500 words about the individual and their impact on the cultural fabric of our community, and two additional references with contact information. Consider the significant achievements of the individual; the broad and lasting impact of their work; and qualities that contribute to their artistic excellence.”

May I add that there are a number of folks whose contributions to the arts, though highly significant, are grass roots and community-oriented in nature. Often subtle, they are no less crucial.  Please nominate anyone you believe helps support the arts;  supporting the arts can mean a nominee provides significant financial support and boosterism, or it may mean that a shop owner dedicates continuous space and time to young artists.  A person can be artistically innovative, build diversity, provide a service, teach, or actualize physical venues for the arts.   The sky is the limit!

Each year winners are celebrated at a festive gathering, usually at the Center for the Arts.  This year’s party and will be held Wednesday, September 8, 2010, a great kick-off to Jackson Hole’s Fall Arts Festival season.

For more information contact Alissa Davies at 307.690.4757 or email culturalcounciljh@gmail.com.

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No details yet, but here’s a handy list of shows scheduled to take place this Summer and Fall, at Mountain Trails Gallery in glorious Jackson Hole, Wyoming! If a detail you need isn’t here, it’s because that info is TBA.

Show #1 :

Western Artists of America – Western Heritage Show - July 2 – July 10 Opening Reception:  Saturday, July 3.

Show #2:

Jeff Ham – One Man Show -  July 15 – July 22 Opening Reception:  Saturday,  July 17

Show #3:

Edward Aldrich – One Man Show -  Aug.6 – Aug. 13 Opening Reception: Sat. Aug. 7

Show #4:

Landscape Show (Andrzej Skorut / Shanna Kunz) – Aug. 19 – Aug. 26 Opening Reception:  Sat. Aug.21

Show #5:

Robert Hagan – One Man Show  - Sept. 2 – Sept. 9 Opening Reception:  Sat. Sept. 4

Show #6:

Ty Barhaug & Tom Saubert – Sept. 15 – Sept. 22 Opening Reception:  Wed. Sept.15

Show #7:

Oil Painters of America Regional Show -  Oct. 9 – Nov. 10 Opening Reception:  Sat. Oct. 9

Information: 307.734.8150.

Press materials describing the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s exhibit of field sketches from the American frontier read like the pages of a scholarly tome.  So I’m thinking a scholar–namely Adam Duncan Harris, NMWA’s Curator of Art–wrote it.

So it’s quite difficult to improve upon what Harris has already told me.

May 8 – August 29, 2010, visitors to the Museum will have a chance to see “…a veritable snapshot of wildlife roaming the American frontier in the early 1830’s, Swiss artist Karl Bodmer’s detailed field studies made while on expedition up the Missouri River…”

Karl Bodmer’s Western Wildlife: Original Sketches from the Joslyn Art Museum showcases some of the earliest works depicting the American West.  The sketches combine the best of two observing schools, Science and Art.   In fact, the exhibition has an accompanying, complementary exhibit, Travels in the Interior of North America: Etchings by Karl Bodmer, on display through October 17, 2010.

Studies are often closeted in favor of finished works, and that’s a shame because studies can offer up lively compositions and “first takes,” unfettered by possible over-working.    The show presents a fine opportunity for scholars and lay people alike; those who know these sketches exist but do not get a chance to see them will relish the opportunity;  those seeing wildlife art for the first time will appreciate its roots.

These sketches represent Bodmer’s observations from 1832 – 1834, while the artist was on the Missouri River Expedition.   Bodmer completed studies of animals, birds and reptiles, created either out in the wild or in studio, using deceased animal specimens.   Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum holds a great cache of Bodmer’s original work.

If you read the excellent monthly art magazine Western Art Collector, please take time to read Harris’ excellent essay (April 2010 edition) A Diverse View of the West: Works on Paper. I think Harris is one of the most passionate of curators.  He loves the wildlife art genre.   Time and time again he has expressed to the public–using either the written word or by giving a talk–his great ability to “see” what we may not immediately be able to describe to ourselves when looking at wildlife art.    Harris acknowledges the difficulty artists face trying to keep renderings of wildlife fresh; even when “fresh” is not an element in wildlife art, Harris knows what makes great wildlife art great.   And in the case of artist Geordie Millar’s large drawing “Moose #4,” it is simplicity of line and the fact that the artist pushes traditional boundaries by coming close to filling a 60 x 63 inch field with a female (not an antlered male) moose trying to stand.

First sketches often contain an Asian minimalist quality.  And that is lovely indeed.

More info:  www.wildlifeart.org

While we’re still in NMWA land,  I will mention that former NMWA gift shop manager and plein air artist Jen Hoffman is prominently mentioned in the May/June edition of Fine Art Connoisseur, as an Artist to Watch.   That is huge.   And, this art blogger is proud to be mentioned at the end of that article, in relation to Hoffman’s work and Blurb catalog.   Congratulations, Jen!

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Whodunit?
Artspace Main & Loft Galleries
ONE NIGHT ONLY! | May 7, 2010

An annual favorite, Whodunit is a one-night event exhibiting and selling many dozens (that’s my best estimate) of small works (6 x 6 inches) that sell for $99 each at the close of the evening.   The twist is two-fold:   1)  Artist identities are unknown    2) Works are sold by lottery to one of the list of bidders listing their name as wanting to purchase the art.

Familiar with many local artists’ styles?  Well, you may guess correctly on who created what some of the time…but usually, there are many surprises.  Artist names known, artists names not-so-known;  it doesn’t matter, the talent and diversity of work is the stuff of legend.

A great fundraiser for the Art Association!  Check it out.     www.artassociation.org

PS:  Summer Classes sign up – Do it!   Lots of great classes to be taken, art to be made, creative roads to be traveled.   Classes start in June, and that is SOON.

The man responsible for conceiving the initial idea for the Papers of William F. Cody documentary editing project, “one of the most significant scholarly works in the history of the Center,” is leaving the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC) to take a new post as Director of the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Kurt Graham has, in four years of phenomenal expansion at the BBHC, made possible the digitizing of “tens of thousands of historical photographs, documents, correspondence, and maps…”  Graham spearheaded the launching of the digital project–now available on line–throughout the U.S. and Europe.  Graham’s tenure also brought new staff and equipment, updated space, and a remarkable $1.5 million in grant monies to the BBHC.    The Papers of William F. Cody launched with editors throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Graham, the Housel Director of the McCracken Research Library and Co-director of the Cody Institute for Western American Studies at BBHC, is the creative force that made it all happen.  So says Maryanne Andrus, Director of Education and Co-director for Western American Studies.

According to Andrus, as managing editor, Graham “…assembled a team of editors in the United States and Europe who are producing edited print volumes and a digital archive of Cody-related material. This papers project will literally take Bill Cody and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West to the world once again and will be a feather in the cap of the Historical Center for many years to come.”  The project, she says, is among the most significant scholarly works in the BBHC’s history.

Graham, who was raised in Wyoming’s Big Horn country, says he’s not leaving because of a sense of running his course at the BBHC; rather, an opportunity to direct the Salt Lake institution “fell out of the sky.”  He says he and his family will miss Cody and the experience of being such an integral part of the BBHC’s evolution as a potent cultural presence.

“Kurt’s myriad contributions to the Center in leadership and scholarship have been stunning,” Andrus continues. “His vision for extending the reach of the Center beyond the walls of the museum will be sorely missed. Under his direction, the McCracken has taken on a completely different look and feel. The McCracken is a completely different institution than it was before.”

For more information, phone the BBHC at 307.578.4014.   To see the BBHC’s digital collections, click here.

Half a mile from the county fair
And the rain keep pourin down
Me and billy standin there
With a silver half a crown
Hands are full of a fishin rod
And the tackle on our backs
We just stood there gettin wet
With our backs against the fence

Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Let it run all over me…

The Art of Water, a public art exhibition celebrating the beauty and role of water in the Teton Watershed and its surrounding area, is on exhibit at the Driggs City Center. Opening day March 24, will include an open-to-the-public reception 5:30-7:30 pm, at the Driggs Senior Center.   The exhibition, a collection of photography, paintings and sculptures, courtesy of Friends of the Teton River and the Teton Arts Council, hangs through the month of June, 2010.

March 24th’s schedule of events:

5:30: Welcome by FTR and TAC representatives
Gallery open for viewing 5:30-7:30 PM

6:00: Sounds of the Teton: Audio recording natural sounds on the Teton River
Audio recording artist Charlie Otto

6:15: Performances of Poetry and Prose
Poet Garl Drake
Poet Ty Mack
Author Bruce Smithhammer

6:30: Healing Waters: A journey into the waters of Idaho, California, and Chile
Filmmaker Joe Lindsay

6:45:  River Songs
Singer/songwriters Thomas Sneed and Ted Wells

7:30 Closing thoughts by FTR and TAC representatives

Participating artists include: Bart Walker, Kelly Sullivan, Dorothy Galloway, Marcia LeMire, Dan Burgette,  Sue Tyler, Marina Nell, Teri Manigalt, Beach Huntsman, Carole Flaherty, Anna Taylor, Rosemary Thomas, Claire Vitucci, Cynthia Guild Stoetzer, Philbin De Got, Mary Lou Oslund, Virginia Grosse, Michele Farrier, Shauna Crandall, Tami Milligan, Nancy Nielson and Rosemary Franz.

The exhibition pays homage to the river’s fresh water and the creative personalities interpreting its particular bountiful beauty.    A light meal of soup, along with bread by the new local bakery 460 Bread will be provided.

For more information and a schedule of the evening’s events, visit www.tetonwater.org. Megan Hatch is the Friends of the Teton River contact.  Email Megan at megan@tetonwater.org.  Phone:   208.354.3871.

Lately, plein air painter Jen Hoffman has been screeching.  “Scree!”  I suspected she’d mistaken herself for a hawk, but she’s just excited about the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s upcoming exhibit, Birds of Sage and Scree.  Twenty-seven paintings by artist Greg McHuron with correlating text by writer and conservationist Bert Raynes will be on display.  The show opens Thursday, March 4, 2010 and as  Raynes and McHuron wouldn’t think of not having a party, there is one!  The party starts at the Museum at 5:30 pm, with a targeted end time of 7:30 pm.    I predict a packed house.

Are there two more admired and loved men in Jackson? Two figures whose passions are never dimmed, whose work is more purely motivated…devoid of narcissism?  I don’t think so.  Franz Camenzind is the only activist/conservationist/artist who holds a candle.  These spiritual leaders follow their muse, waking up daily considering and honoring the natural beauty surrounding us.  They wonder what they can do next to help it all along, and they don’t think about how they might benefit professionally or politically.

Back to the point, the show.   McHuron’s paintings and Raynes’ text are combined in a book, also titled Birds of Sage and Scree. This party celebrates that book’s upcoming Spring 2010 release, the finish line to a collaborative quest.   All proceeds derived from book sales will benefit the Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund. That organization’s mission is to “…initiate, augment, or simply fund projects or activities to help maintain viable and sustainable wildlife populations into the future, especially in Wyoming and Jackson Hole, through support of research, education, habitat protection and habitat restoration.”

A Raynes-McHuron collaboration provides an excellent in-your-hands example of the power of connection between nature and art.  Wildlife art nurtures love for, and engagement with, the natural world.  This show and the book are beautiful, and they are a tool.  The exhibition is also an opportunity for NMWA to  “…highlight two long-time supporters of the Museum,” says Museum President and CEO James McNutt. “The show furthers the Museum’s mission to inspire visitors to examine both fine art and humanity’s relationship with nature.”

Raynes, with his late wife, Meg, have been recognized for their dedication to conservation and wildlife issues by the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, and the Town of Jackson.   As the book profile on Raynes notes, he “….noticed that some promising bird habitats with difficult access got (little) attention. In particular, Raynes found that students in beginning birding classes tended to avoid scree slopes and attempting to cross expanses of sagebrush. Thus, birds that inhabit these ecosystems are lesser known. (Raynes) has long thought that these birds should be better understood.”

Greg McHuron especially delights in painting en plein aire in locations ranging from northern Alaska to the Grand Canyon. McHuron regularly participates in the Museum’s Western Visions® show and received numerous awards and special recognition from his peers and the Museum. In 2009, his painting Alpine Flush won the Trustee’s Purchase Award.

“I prefer painting…en plein air as the drama and excitement that occurs all around me is difficult to recreate in a studio environment,” notes McHuron.  “When I paint the rapidly changing scenes, I put into each of them the feelings and excitement that I felt while watching the scene unfold. Years of watching, analyzing and learning from nature’s school ground has helped me to understand the interrelations between organic and inorganic entities and how different lighting, seasons and locations affect how they look and react. If I can capture that particular feeling, I know that those viewing my works will come to feel some of the emotions and excitement that motivated my wanting to record this particular fleeting moment.”

Birds of Sage and Scree remains on display through April 18, 2010.   Phone the Museum at 307.733.5771.

A poignant holiday note for Jackson Hole’s contemporary arts scene is that two of its best galleries, the Oswald and Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, are closing their doors.   With them go venues for myriad contemporary artists – photographers, painters, sculptors, multi-media artists, crafts people, filmmakers – and the loss pries open, to a greater degree, a cultural chasm our community must strive to close.

Ever entrepreneurial, McCandless and the Oswalds are combining their artist rosters for one great contemporary art sale opportunity.  The two galleries offer up the works of more than 40 artists in a special series of Seasonal events, taking place at the Oswald Gallery, 165 North Center Street:

December 17 & 18, 6-8 pm:  “Art Cocktails”

December 26, 6-9 pm:  “Holiday Party”

December 28, 29 & 30, 6-8 pm:   “Art Talks”

Through the months of December and January, 2010, all proceeds will provide a percentage of art sales as donations to local arts non-profits.  Beneficiaries include the Center of Wonder, the Art Association, Teton ArtLab, Womentum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

Press materials feature images of works by Bronwyn Minton, Rick Bartow and Nine Francois.   Check both gallery websites for their complete artist lists, and phone 307.413.4331 for more information.

En-Joy!

Item #2

Galleries West sends word that a new hardcover coffee table book, “Sculpture of the Rockies,” has just been released by the editors of Southwest Art Magazine. The book “surveys the broad spectrum and spectacular variety of current sculpture being created in the Rocky Mountain region.”

“The Rocky Mountain region of the American West is renowned for its natural beauty – rugged, snow-capped peaks, sweeping valley vistas, towering pine trees, delicate wildflowers – as well as its artistic splendor, with many noted sculptors living and working in this area,” herald the book’s publishers.

As many as 97 sculptors have chosen favorite works to share; they also talk about their process and inspiration. The book includes both contemporary and traditional sculpture, even providing a sampling of purely abstract works.   Galleries West will have the books on sale, and suggest you call to reserve a copy. The gallery is offering some special deals on holiday shopping, so jingle their telephone bells (307.733.4525) to find out more.

Galleries West is currently showcasing its annual holiday exhibit, the 7th Annual Little Jewels Holiday Miniature Show, running through January 15, 2010.   An opening reception takes place December 30, 3-8 pm.   In this miniatures show, paintings measure 11×14 inches and smaller; sculptures are 12×12x12 inches and smaller.   Chimney-sized gifts for all!