Posts Tagged ‘Western Art’
Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939) Apaches at Moonrise (Eventide)
“The point of the show, and everything else we do at Heather James, is to bring works of excellence by a large variety of artists and genres to the viewing public and collectors. This show is no exception,” says Heather James Fine Art’s Shari Brownfield, gallery director. “Our goal is to always be searching for fine examples of paintings or sculptures by great artists. When you get all these greats together, and curate them either into an integrated thematic or genre show, it’s amazing the conversations elicited just by hanging certain works side by side.”
Joseph H. Sharp (1859-1953) Taos Moonlight
Right now Heather James Fine Art, known for its Post War, Contemporary, Latin American, Impressionist and Modern Art, as well as collections and works from all corners of the earth, is showcasing an impressive collection of (and I’m linking you to the best-known museum for this genre, the Autry) American Western Masters. Now on display at Heather James’ Palm Desert location, the works come from a variety of private sellers. Together, they comprise one hell of a show. Represented artists are Maurice Braun, Gerald Cassidy, William Gollings, E. Martin Hennings, Frank Tenney Johnson, William R. Leigh, Frederic Remington, Joseph H. Sharp (sigh…love Sharp) and Olaf Wieghorst. Provenançes include institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Art in Santa Fe, the Gerald Peters Gallery and private collections in Jackson Hole, Dallas and Houston, Denver, and the state of Florida.
“Art is knowledge at the service of emotion.” ~ José Clemente Orozco
“Northwest Contemporary,” curated by the Nicolaysen Art Museum’s Lisa Hatchadoorian, the Missoula Art Museum’s Stephen Glueckert, the Aspen Art Museum’s Jacob Proctor and the Boise Art Museum’s Sandy Hawthorn, opens at the Art Association of Jackson Hole on Friday, March 22nd, 5:30 – 7:30 pm. This opening reception is free; the show remains on display through April 21st.
Local artists Suzanne Morlock (“Free Fall,” below) and large-scale installation artist Abbie Miller have, according to the Art Association’s Thomas Macker, transformed the gallery space into ” re-contextualized environments of form and tactile texture.” Â All textures are tactile, but these are undoubtedly very enticing to the touch.
And, testifies Macker,  your body will “re-map” as you move through this show. The work “allows you to feel weightless as your eye glides through serpentine forms in a white cube cage.”
Go WITH your eyes, don’t let them wander off by themselves!
Jason Rich's Winning "Fall Arts Festival" Poster Artwork
“Jackson is one of the top three Western Art Markets:  Santa Fe, Scottsdale, Jackson. It’s not quantifiable, but we may even be outpacing Scottsdale for both Western and Contemporary Western art. What other great Western art markets could there be?” ~Astute J.H. Gallery Owner.Â
Last year’s Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival poster artist Amy Ringholz expanded Fall Arts Festival artist parameters. This year, Legacy Gallery’s Jason Rich has been selected~~his composition falls into the illustration-based genre of painting, a more traditional choice. But I must say I think the work reflects a deep joy and pride Westerners take in being a part of a very specific culture and region: our region. Rich’s light is gold-warm, his painting dimensional, and the way Rich has painted the Tetons, softly but with a strong distant profile, reminds me of the best kind of nurturing mother. Mother Nature. Tenderness and togetherness are expressed. Congratulations, Jason!  And congrats to Legacy Gallery, where Rich hangs his artistic hat. www.legacygallery.comÂ
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Dear Erin O’Connor~~How I wish I could accompany you on your painting trip to Morocco! Â To be as intrepid as you, what a joy! Â Thank you of thinking of my two bunnies~~~they don’t wear fancy hats for Easter, but they will eat one if the hat’s made of straw.Â
Jackson plein air painter Erin O’Connor is off to Marrakesh, where she will explore the narrow passages of the old city, Medina, easel on her back. She’s looking forward to “acquainting herself with the local bacteria” and plans on enjoying as much local, spiced fare as possible. She’ll then head off across the Marrakesh Plain, into the High Atlas Mountains. She’ll “4×4″ it, she’ll hike it, and she plans on reaching “remote villages, waterfalls, springs and shrines to saints.”  Plein air artist Aaron Schuerr, of Livingston, Montana, will accompany her on part of the trip; this arrangement was made by the Atlas Cultural Foundation. They’ll stay with a local sheik.
Susan Moldenhauer
“In essence, the heightened level of credibility we might gain as a town/ arts group by affiliating ourselves with a major university is huge. The types of programs, events, associations that could be brought to Jackson – or that we might find a way of attending en masse in Laramie, are also considerable.” - Mariam Diehl
Not long ago I was fortunate to meet the University of Wyoming’s Art Museum Director Susan Moldenhauer, a familiar figure to many Wyoming artists and to other museum staff and associates in our state. Moldenhauer was accompanied by university Foundation Relations representative Katrina Woods McGee. Soft-spoken, finely academic, curious, creative and warm, Moldenhauer is also an accomplished photographer. We spoke of the challenges of juggling multiple responsibilities. When she organizes museum exhibits, she “does it with an artist’s eye,” accomplishing the task with an equally strong administrative sense. Some of you may have seen Susan at this past weekend’s three-day “CLICK!: A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists,” held at UW.
CLICK! provides opportunity for otherwise isolated Wyoming artists to network; they also have the opportunity to meet regional and national artists such as Eminent Visiting Artist Judy Pfaff, a McArthur Fellowship Genius Award recipient. Pfaff’s show, I Dwell in Possibility, exhibited in Jackson during the summer of 2010 at the Tayloe Piggott Gallery.
Susan’s brief visit here ideally sparks greater interaction between Jackson’s arts and UW. Pushing through our wintry “fourth wall” can be a challenge, but imagining a richer conversation is so exciting. Exhibits expected to be in place at UW later this spring include:
Redefining the Edition: 13 Japanese Printmakers
Haitian Art from the permanent collection
Judy Pfaff: running between hot and cold (working title)
Teaching Gallery: History of Mexico, Islamic Art History, Printmaking, Photography (all permanent collection)
Carol Prusa: Emergent Worlds
Today’s post is a Jackson art quote quiz…..Fun! Leo d.V. ( NOT from Jackson) might have a quote here, but everyone else is anonymous. Enjoy!Â
“I guess I feel wildflowers are worthy of sainthood.”
“process, engagement, collaboration, instigation~~This year is marked by unique collaborations which engage me on ambiguous terrain and with conceptual duality. I exploit the magical/practical, which brims with repetition and surprise. And I continue to work as a bricoleur!”
“Art is not being recycled from one house to the other. There’s a place for all of it, but it’s nice to see more confidence in people about buying art, other than what they think they should be buying because they live in Jackson.”Â
“The colt sketch is so loose, but you know what it is; it’s more ethereal.”Â
“The only good art is post-referential art!”
“To know what you’re painting, everyone can pick up a tube of paint and squeeze. But to know what you’re squeezing, that takes book learning.”
“If someone innocently pulls into town and parks in the parking lot, needs to use the public facilities, they find my art wrapped
around the building!”Â
“If I avoid painting the Tetons for fear of their being trite, it would be dishonest.”
“Castellazzo got a piece of all the french roast coffee trucked into town, and he is the main supplier of nudes for life drawing classes.”
“The West is industrialized, it’s not perfect and beautiful…but what is tragic, or could be tragic, you weave that into a beautiful pattern of the landscapes.”Â
“Very few people know that those flowers were not there the day that painting was done. I know they weren’t there, and I know the reason Bob painted them in. But I can’t tell you, it’s a secret.”Â
