Jackson Hole Art Blog

San Francisco Bay area artist Mari Andrews returns to Jackson later this month;  specifically to the J.H. Muse Gallery, where she will attend a gallery reception to celebrate her new catalogue on Friday, October 16.    The exhibition, “Paperless Drawings,” will be on display at the Muse October 14 - November 30, 2009.   Andrews will give a talk about her work during the reception.

Though she creates sculptures, Andrews refers to her works as drawings.  Looking through her work on line, many of her works do appear to be sketches on paper, not photographs of three-dimensional installation pieces.  Organic and whimsical, these works also convey a respect for nature’s mysteries.  And they reveal a true understanding of the forces and universal shapes and forms common to all living things.  “Lefty,” pictured above, is a happy and transparent worm hole.  A funnel-shaped, petaled aperture extends itself, and if you watch and wait, you sense a sucking force capable of pulling matter through the aperture, down and around a curved tunnel.  Whatever is pulled through gets popped out the other end, much as an air gun pops out a ping pong ball.

Or, this sculpture might just represent a wicked pitching arm trajectory.

Andrews, as part of a very large family, grew up looking for some solitude and spends lots of time cataloging and gathering the objects she uses in her art.  “Her deep engagement with materials both natural and man-made implies continuity with a common source and the unifying energy that flows to us from the world and back again,” says the gallery.

I see a bit of humor, too.  And that’s a very good thing.  A smile in the art offers us an “incredible lightness of being.”   For more information, contact the J.H. Muse Gallery: 307.733.0555.

Last week’s J.H. News & Guide’s Stepping Out section featured a story on two young entrepreneurs.  Artemus Huhn and David Dahlin have founded an arts consulting biz for local art, the Art Vibe Project.    They’re matching up retailers with local artists’ works.   Good stuff.

Now, what about that idea we wrote about (The News & Guide put up this writer’s letter to the editor on the subject, thank you NaG!) some months back, of filling empty store spaces with local art?  We cannot find too many venues for that.   Here’s a reprint of that letter, a letter inspired by Berkeley, California’s downtown arts initiative.

Window Dressing

Downtown Berkeley, California is transforming its empty storefront windows by using them to exhibit local art.  The practice lightens commercial spaces darkened by the economic downturn.  The program was the result of year-long talks between that city’s Office of Economic Development and the Downtown Berkeley Association.

Our growing artist population works hard to secure exhibit space; why not give them some free space while creating displays to enliven Jackson’s business center as we enter our summer season?  Individual property owners ideally donate their window space.   Artists get exposure, windows are lively; exhibits would reflect Teton County’s environs, talent and values, and our real estate looks good.    Win, win, win.

Berkeley’s exhibits include a large amount of children’s art, particularly work from the Habitot Children’s Museum and local high school students.

This program is something the Jackson Chamber could embrace, and it supports an economic sector requiring creative solutions.   This program may be most valuable for emerging artists; I’m guessing, though, that galleries will want to participate.  If they do, they should release commission duties resulting from a “window sale,” but a variety of collaborative models are possible.

Such a program affords storefront businesses some fine public relations opportunities. Windows might display several artists simultaneously.  Rotate your window art.

Let’s use this sagging economy to find new answers for Jackson’s arts, and let’s allow other community examples to inspire us; most certainly, we inspire them.

“I love the way my gallery looks right now; it looks like a New York gallery!” - Tayloe Piggot

J.H. Muse Gallery’s Tayloe Piggot made that comment a few years back; the gallery was then housed in its former West Broadway space.  But, far from moving away from aligning herself with NYC’s mega-arts culture, she continues to reach out, looking to translate that city’s contemporary energy to Jackson Hole’s art scene.

To that end, she and arts specialist  Camille Obering present “Influences of Nature on Abstraction,” opening at J.H. Muse on September 3.  Spotlighting contemporary masters Milton Avery, Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell, the show remains up through the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival (power play!) all the way to October 14, 2009.  An opening reception takes place Friday, September 11, 5-8:00 pm.

Obviously, public access to works by internationally known contemporary artists is  rare in Jackson.  We’ll all feel as if we’re partaking in a MoMa field trip, and that will be thrilling.  Folks living full time in the inter-mountain west, as a rule, don’t visit significant contemporary museums as often as urban dwellers  This show, says its organizers, depicts work “unconstrained” by “representational” rules—a comment seeming to allude to a belief that here, constraint and representation are the norm.

Emerging art movements often claim to be throwing off restraints of earlier schools, and they are.  But no school of art emerges from a vacuum.

Artistic “constraint” is a misconception; artists decide for themselves what feels like constraint.  If Clyde Aspevig were asked to paint like Frankenthaler, he may feel some constraint.  Aspevig doesn’t interpret and experience nature the same way as Frankenthaler.   Poetry is highly structured and disciplined, but often seems less formally conceived than prose.

These artists–Frankenthaler, Avery, Mitchell and Diebenkorn–created something new for themselves and for art history.  In creating something new, another set of rules for achieving the effect the artist wants is established.   Another guide is written, another opinion.  Artists’ efforts to tell the world as they see it are  opinions set to canvas, photographic paper, in clay.

Artistic vision is highly personal, but principles invariably apply.

From the age of seven, Picasso received formal, academic artistic training.  From those building blocks, his brilliance exploded.  Over and over again Picasso studied the human form.  Without this deep knowledge, Picasso’s abstractions would lose their magic.

Obering puts the Muse show artists in context:

“Milton Avery (1885 – 1965), often thought of as America’s Matisse, is best known for his conflation of abstraction and representation using a rich and unusual palette.

Richard Diebenkorn’s (1922 – 1993) aerial landscapes of California illuminated the light and line of this area by marrying color field painting and geometric abstraction in a bold personal style.

Helen Frankenthaler (born 1928), known as a color field painter and an abstract expressionist, utilized a technique known as “soak stain,” in which oil paints were diluted and painted onto unprimed canvas or
paper, resulting in stunning and luminescent paintings.

Joan Mitchell’s (1925 – 1992) powerful and energetic brush stroke played out nature’s patterns, light, and depth, making her work some of the most spectacular of the
Abstract Expressionists.”

I’d kill for a Frankenthaler; when I look at her work I feel as if I’m beneath the ocean’s surface—a favorite place to be—floating over brilliant corals, translucent kelps.   My sister would like an Avery, please.

For information, visit www.jhmusegallery.com, phone 307.733.0555—or, contact Camille Obering through her website.

Item #2  -  Not Too Late For a Little Cayuse!

Cayuse favorite Jack Walker is back, bringing new designs and best sellers, on Friday, August 28th from 5 - 8pm. Meet Jack and view his pure silver and leather hand crafted work.  He’s joined for the second year by Jackson jeweler and silversmith Dawn Bryfogle, whose work combines contemporary gemstone styling with vintage sterling treasures.  She’ll also be showing her new handmade sterling pieces.

Margaritas may make an appearance at tonight’s opening.  For info, email  info@cayusewa.com.

“An important aspect of both of these designs is that they don’t recall any familiar balls that I know of.” - John Gibson

June 18 - July 20, you can see artist John Gibson’s latest works in a new show, “Inter-play,” at the J.H. Muse Gallery. If you know the Muse, you are very familiar with his paintings of patterned balls.  I first thought of these as portraits of cue balls, though the patterns and colors clearly say they are not. But Gibson is obsessed with pattern.  He’s so obsessed, he’s written an essay about it.  And if you, like me, find his prodigious and in-plain-sight paintings enigmatic–the Muse Gallery has a soft spot for the enigmatic–here are some excerpts from Gibson’s website, specifically from his essay “Patterns,”  that discuss his passion for repetition.   Twenty years.  That’s how long Gibson has been finding continued renewal in his subject.  It’s a lot about math, movement, Maori and…scavenger hunting.

“The balls are wrapped with patterns I’ve found in mathematical textbooks, art museums, toy stores and tag sales. Choosing the right pattern is really important. It’s crucial to the question of how the balls turn in space and to how you get from one ball to another. The patterns are the way the paintings move.”

“What attracted me to [a] design was its forward and backward rhythm, which seemed to reflect the swelling and contracting of the ball itself….If I paint them correctly, the stripes wrap around the form of the ball enhancing its volume, its roundness. Those same stripes can also be read as flat–like an exotic wallpaper….”

“For me, the wooden ball lacked the tensions between opposites that the paintings possessed. I missed being confused. I was also reminded of a painter’s fundamental impulse towards opposing forces of all kinds….The best patterns have been the ones that make those issues explicit…and become, like the ball itself, familiar and mysterious at the same time.”

An opening reception takes place Thursday, June 25, 5-8 pm.   JH Muse Gallery is located at 62 South Glenwood, in Jackson.  www.jhmusegallery.com.

The Jackson Hole Muse Gallery’s spring show, “Taking What’s Abstract Out of Abstract Art,” features new works by five artists:  Carrie Geraci, Gregory Gummersall, Bernd Haussmann, Whitney Nye and Valerie Stuart.    The show is up and remains on exhibit through until May 1.

The show’s title suggests the gallery believes that, to most locals, abstract art is a tiny bit out of bounds.  Muse wants you to get friendly with abstractions.   You should.  You should get friendly with any art that speaks to you, and any art can.  For those of us living in a verdant mountain valley, under ridiculously blue skies, alongside sparkling rivers and the fluttering ellipses of lemon-yellow aspen leaves, the vibrant colors and compositions in this show are eagerly taken in.

Earlier this week arts writer Todd Wilkinson spoke on the topic of art’s great context. It was a treat to hear that recognition expressed so ardently;  we deny this great truth, I fear, and we fight against one another. Sometimes it seems a great chasm divides what we think of as traditional representational painting and the contemporary.   But there is no chasm, only a path.  What we create today has its roots in earlier creativity. As Todd reminded us, Rothko’s distilled tones are present in a flower’s petal, or a stone or a snowfield.

In this show, artists tumble color kaleidoscopically, imagine corals, bubbling water and swirling ink.   Shapes are panoramic, shapes are nature’s microcosms.  Light permeates, pierces and refracts. Maybe you’ll catch a little glimpse of Klimt.

The J.H. Muse Gallery is located at 62 S. Glenwood Street, in Jackson. Telephone 307-733-0555.  Email: info@jhmusegallery.com.

FIRST THING:

I thought about apologizing for being OTL this holiday, but I’m not.  I will say: the Art Blog is back, we’re takin’ it back with Barack, and we don’t take no pennies from those wackety-PACs!

Here’s a little swing ditty, “Takin’ It Back With Barack, Jack!” Makes me happy; hope it makes you happy!

SECOND THING:

Following in the footsteps of Terry Tempest Williams’ December reading over at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, comes an appearance by Wilson writer Alexandra Fuller at the Muse Gallery.  Artist Mike Piggott’s new collection of paintings, “Objects and Things,” inspired Fuller’s essay “The Emperor of the Red Wheel Barrow,” which Fuller will read at the artist’s reception this Friday, January 16.   Festivities run 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.; Fuller’s reading is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Fuller has authored several non-fiction books, including “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood,” and, most recently, “The Legend of Colton H. Bryant.”

THIRD (quite giant) THING:

Last week’s J.H. News and Guide included missives praising Bland Hoke Jr.’s public art project: portraits of indigenous animals cut from recycled wood and painted by kids.  Mr. Hoke’s role as the Center of Wonder’s Public Art Ambassador was imagined and supported by Wonder’s Executive Director Carrie Geraci, and by that non-profit’s founders, Gary and Veronica Silberberg.  The Public Art Ambassador Program aspires to work with members of the business community in fostering art projects that connect to nature; installations that will serve as new and interactive art media in Jackson.

Public art encourages environmental stewardship through curiosity and creating a sense of ownership, and by enhancing public space. It is a significant community tool that promotes tourism and regional appreciation.

Public art is great marketing. We imagine myriad public art installations in and around the Town of Jackson. I take this opportunity to call upon our Town and County officials to spearhead a public arts installation program. In most urban areas, the quest to design for relevant public art is old hat.  Public art installations define cities, and we are a small city.  Posers, at any rate.  Our planning process needs to include space for public plazas, parks and sculpture.

There are lots of experts out there to consult.  Find them, Town of Jackson,  because claiming to know about the arts, their history and impact when one does not is a bit like claiming to be qualified for the Vice Presidency because you can see Russia from your house.

Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park combines places to eat, shop and walk with nine acres overlooking Puget Sound.  The project “…brings together the best of (the) city: art and recreation….21 sculptures take center stage, representing such artists as Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, and Ellsworth Kelly.”

Contemporary Seattle mixes traditional Inuit art with contemporary masters. Walkways and ‘paths’ of connected galleries connect sites.   We can conjure a similar urban art potion.

My primary reason for voting against the late “Town as Heart” DRD proposal was not that I didn’t envision growth; it was that its creators had incorporated virtually no landscaping, parks, arts or ‘grace of space.’  Our town’s square chunks smashed up against one another offer no secret spaces, no enticing fountains or gardens.  Without these provocative elements, we forfeit a higher level of urban vibrancy.

Define the Town of Jackson as a business, educational, and cultural center; not as a Teton Village clone.  That’s our opportunity.

End

• What are Jackson Hole Art Galleries planning this Christmas season? Here’s a peek.

ARTWalk 2008 !!! (Or, “A Revision Revised”)

The Gallery Association will hold TWO gallery walks this month. December’s Thursday gallery stroll takes place December 18, 5-8:00 pm. Look for the bright blue, red and white banners in front of participating galleries.

Additionally, the Gallery Association’s special HOLIDAY ARTWalk takes place SATURDAY, December 27, 5-8:00 p.m. Join Jackson Hole’s galleries for 2008’s holiday arts stroll, falling on the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s. Banners designate participating galleries.

For more information on this month’s gallery walks, contact info@diehlgallery.com. Check with your favorite galleries for information on special openings and events.

The Jackson Hole Art Association puts on its annual Art Fair Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, December 6, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Snow King Ice Arena. $2 Admission, dozens of vendors! 733-8792 for information.

Oswald Gallery has been selected to participate in the ultra-prestigious Photo Miami 2008. As part of the world’s most important contemporary art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, Photo Miami takes place December 3 to December 7, in the Wynwood Art District of Miami.

Oswald’s entries are the contemporary photographs of Virgilio Ferreira and Dylan Vitone. “Both of these emerging photographers explore the urban environment in different ways and on different continents while exploring the ambiguities and contradictions of urban life,” says Leya Oswald.

Says Oswald, ” Vitone’s photographs combine formal portraiture with classic street photography in multi-frame panoramas…. In contrast, Ferreira works in an intuitive and random manner on the streets of Asia’s megalopolises. Embracing his outsider status, he works quickly and anonymously late at night, capturing the mere suggestion of the places and their people.”

For more information on Photo Miami or these photographers, please contact Oswald Gallery, leya@oswaldgallery.com or 888-898-0077.

Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary’s December 5th First Friday, “Funky Finds For Under $50” focuses on Jackson’s local creative community and supporting artisans this holiday. Music by DJ Mr. Whipple, and organic pizzas served up by Chris O’Blenness and SouthSide Pizza & Pub.

Change is coming, be the Change!

Featured vendors include, but are not limited to:

“Halo Hats” by AJ Carghill and Pam Coleman—seconds included;

“Special somethings” by Wren Fialka and Brandy….

Vanessa Sulzer’s screen print bird scarves…

Alissa Davies’ mixed media on paper (I have some!), small paintings with added collage materials.

Phone 307-734-0649 or 307-413-4331 for information.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art hosts one of Jackson’s favorite holiday traditions, “Wild About the Season!” on Sunday, December 7, 1:00-4:00 p.m. This family-style Christmas festival includes art projects, cookies, cider and other treats, and a visit from Santa Claus. Free. 733-5771.

The Jackson Hole Center for the Arts will be closed periodically during the holidays, particularly at Christmas and New Year’s. Phone 734-8956 for more information.

David Brookover, of Brookover Photography, reports his gallery will be open through the season. Check out the new platinum prints! Currently traveling and shooting in Japan, Brookover returns to his studio December 22. In his absence the gallery is well staffed; please visit.

JH Muse Gallery’s holiday invitation, featuring artist Nicole Charbonnet’s hauntingly beautiful, suggestive mixed media work “Tree,” invites the public to that gallery’s annual “Champagne and Chocolates” celebration. Join the gallery on Thursday, December 11, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. for drinks, hors d’oeuvres, Tayloe’s new glittery jewels and Charbonnet’s latest collection of works, “Avatars and Heroes.”

The gallery is open through the holidays. Hours are 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Monday through Thursday, 10:00 - 7:00 pm Friday and Saturday, and 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Sundays. 733-0555.

Cayuse Western Americana plans this month:  A brunch on Sunday, December 14th features Dawn Bryfogle’s wonderful jewelry from semi-precious and precious stones, but with a twist:  she finds unique “orphaned” vintage pieces she incorporates into necklaces or bracelets.  These could be old Navajo sterling and turquoise items, or western engraved silver - really, anything that looks like it could be given a new purpose in her contemporary settings of agate, tourmaline, and other beautiful stones.  The brunch is from 11 - 3 and will feature food and brunch style cocktails as well as the traditional non-alcoholic brunch drinks. Bryfogle’s work will remain a featured item this month.

Thursday, during December 18th’s gallery walk, Cayuse is open until 8pm, with gift ideas in a variety of price ranges, with some gifts under $12.  Seasonal treats will be all over the place, and hot spiced wine will be on the woodstove….

December 27th, Jack Walker is Cayuse’s special guest until 8pm.   His ingot silver and leather jewelry is marketed worldwide by a major fashion designer - his last Cayuse show sold out.

Cayuse’s extended holiday hours: Friday and Saturday until 7pm, and open on Sundays.  Monday - Thursday are 10 - 6 unless there’s a gallery walk; hours are good Dec 15th - January 11, 2009.    307-739-1940.

Horizon Fine Art’s 9th Annual “It’s a Small World Art for Those Tucked Away Places” event happens December 14 – January 4, 2009. Horizon’s “2nd Annual World’s Largest Amber and Turquoise Show” runs concurrently.

Horizon swings with the Season during this year’s December 27th gallery ARTWalk; stop in for some live jazz as you make the rounds.

For information, phone 307-739-1540 or email horizonfineart@wyoming.com

Galleries West Fine Art will host their 6th annual holiday miniature show, “Little Jewels,” December 15 - January 5, 2009. Featuring small sculpture and paintings no larger than 11×14, the show has an intimate quality that affords a closer look at each artist’s hand. Works by a range of artists, including John Potter, Jennifer L. Hoffman, D. Lee, & Bart Walker, showcase plein air and tonalist landscapes, wildlife art, Western and Native American art, basketry, pottery, and more.

An opening reception happens during December 27th’s ARTWalk, 5:00-8:00 p.m. Contact Galleries West Fine Art at 307-733-4412, or visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

December 20- January 11, 2009 the Diehl Gallery celebrates internationally renowned sculptor Jim Budish with a one-man exhibition.

An artist’s reception takes place Saturday, December 27th, from 5-8 pm. Join the Diehl Gallery for fine art, sumptuous treats and beverages! This exhibition is Diehl Gallery’s featured Holiday ARTWalk event.

Contact the gallery at 307-733-0905. Email: info@diehlgallery.com

In town on Saturday, December 20, Jackson’s newest gallery, “Troutwater,” officially opens its doors with a holiday reception beginning at 3:00 p.m. “Troutwater” is located in Crabtree Corners Mall, a few paces past the giant stuffed buffalo. “A Horse of a Different Color” joins the fun, as does “Accentuate.” 307-699-4175.

Also occurring December 20: CIAO Gallery’s “Holiday Miniatures & Fine Artisan Exhibition” opening reception happens 6:00 pm-9pm. Featuring local and national artists and other works limited to 9×9 inch dimensions. More information on CIAO’s winter schedule can be found on the Jackson Hole Art Blog by entering “CIAO” in the search window.

A Horse of a Different Color presents three artists new to Jackson’s gallery scene. Toland Sand’s, D G House’s and Lynn Bishop’s creations will be featured at the Dec. 27 Holiday Gallery Stroll.

Toland Sand, known internationally for his constructed cold glass, has works in galleries and private collections around the world. His sculptures feel alive, seemingly changing color, patterns and structure.

D G House, a Native American artist residing in Bozeman, specializes in contemporary, vivid, paintings of animals. She is an artist in residence in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Her paintings are part of the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of the American Indian permanent collection, as well as private collections worldwide.

Glass artist Lyn Bishop works in fused glass. “Glass can be incredibly strong, or very fragile, simple or ornate, transparent or opaque, functional or not, it’s limitless”, she says. Her pieces are densely patterned, often resembling woven fabrics.

“A Horse of A Different Color” holiday hours are 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Saturdays and 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

“A Horse of a Different Color” is located at 60 E. Broadway. Phone 734-9603.

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