Jackson Hole Art Blog

Horses.  Wildlife.  Robert Redford.   Michael Jackson.

Jackson’s Diehl Gallery (155 West Broadway, in Jackson) 5th Annual Fête happens July 3, 5:00-9:00 pm.  The gallery plans a stylish event, one featuring over 30 artists, including several new to the gallery’s roster.

Ashley Collins is one of those artists; she’s a 25-year painting veteran.  Noted for her abstract figurative images of horses, as well as her Colorfield works, she’s collected everywhere.

And where’s everywhere?  Diehl says private and public collections in Sydney, Dubai, Munich and New York display her work.  Super famous collectors include: Robert Redford, 20th Century Fox, Deborah Winger, Danny Sullivan III (race car driver) , Ringo Starr, the Sultan of Brunei,…maybe even the Sultan of Swing. It’s a pretty impressive list, and I note several outdoor enthsuiasts are included.  Collins has exhibited worldwide for years, including exhibitions with Rauschenberg, Dill, Motherwell, and (Jim) Dine.

Diehl’s release just said “Dine.”  As well as just “Rauschenberg,” “Dill,” and “Motherwell.”   But, they also said “Ringo Starr,” not “Starr,” and “Robert Redford,” not “Redford.”

Collins will have a solo exhibition later in the month, on July 23, at the gallery.  Time:  5:00-8:00 p.m.   This will also be a fundraiser, and for information, you can phone 307-733-0905.

Signed, “Christel”

Item #2:

“When I had you to myself,
I didn’t want you around—
Those pretty faces always made you
Stand out in a crowd….

Oh, baby, I was blind to let you go,
Won’t you please let me back in your heart?”

Bring your heart, soul and pretty faces to what may—or may not be—a final First Friday at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, good to go on Friday evening, July 3, 2009.

I’ll be there…

McCandless is trying to make it all work, but let’s really help, eh?  We come, we drink wine, we have a good time and do the moonwalk, but let’s buy some art, too.

What do you say?  Here’s the deal:

Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary is holding a First Friday “Rent Party.” Admission is free, but don’t expect free wine & beer; bring it.    Don’t expect to not buy a little bit of art; bring it.   Let’s put our money where our thirsty mouths are. This art will be affordable.  We all easily drop $100 on outdoor gear, or a night at the Bistro, or a new phone, or on groceries we eat in a couple of days, a massage, liquor.

Let’s drop a little bit of dough on some art, art that will last a long time.  Art that, every time we take pleasure in it, will remind us that we supported a purpose we love.   Before it’s gone…potentially gone.  Full circle mode.

If you’re not yet clear on the rent party concept, it’s a party to help with rent.

Rent parties have historical context relating to music.  According to Wikipedia, a “…rent party (sometimes called a house party) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s.”   The rent party concept embraces jazz, and specifically “cutting contests,” wherein jazz pianists took turns trying to out play each other at rent parties.  LMC’s July 3 First Friday may include a little bit of contemporary cuttin’.

Works up for sale include individual vessels from Jenny Dowd’s latest installation and her small “object drawers.”  Matt Flint’s paintings are gorgeous and affordable.  “I was kind of miffed about an article I saw that talked about the attendees of (Lyndsay’s) First Friday events not being able to afford the “high priced work” on the walls. My prices have gone up recently due to demand, but I certainly do not want to edit out a group of people who support my work, but can not afford it,” says Flint.

Be ready to transport your art home—no plastic bags will be on hand.  BYOB, be of legal drinking age, and enjoy a truly collaborative arts party.  Support First Fridays for real.

All I need (buh buh buh buh ba! )All I want (buh buh buh buh ba!) All I NEED.. is one more chance to show ya that I love ya!

Item #3:

Galleries West! “All Things Wild” is their July 4th weekend opener.   And as you might guess, the exhibition features new works focusing on wildlife from six Galleries West artists: Michael Calles, Kate Ferguson, D. Lee, Lori McNee, John Potter, and Debbie Edgers Sturges.  The show opens July 3rd with a reception from 5-8 PM and will remain on display through July 15.

The gallery notes that wildlife as subject is an intrinsic, important part of Jackson Hole’s art history.   How could it not?  It’s one of the reasons we are all here, and we’re passionate about all wildlife, from giant grizzlies down to tiny pikas.   “All Things Wild” artists express their own passions in this special show.

The gallery provided these artist profiles:

“Michael Calles looks to historical masters of the wildlife genre to inform and inspire his beautifully expressive canvases.  Lori McNee (love her!) creates still life vignettes populated with tiny birds and natural elements that comment on our delicate relationship with nature.  John Potter, a Chippewa artist, paints nature and wildlife to express his love of creation and his connection with a powerful Creator.  Kate Ferguson renders her paintings with intimate detail and careful observation.  D. Lee is an alla prima painter, meaning she finishes the majority of her paintings in one sitting, so her pieces exhibit a direct approach with loose and expressive brushwork. And Debbie Edgers Sturges’ paintings are bold, brightly colored, and large, with huge brushstrokes and animals that directly engage the viewer.”

For more information, contact Galleries West Fine Art at 307-733-4412 or visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

Jackson Hole artist and Teton Art Lab gallery owner Travis Walker will host what will be the shop’s last opening, this Friday evening, December 5, 6-8:00 p.m. The gallery, converted to non-profit status with a mission to exhibit and nurture emerging contemporary artists, recently completed all the paperwork necessary to convert to non-profit, only to learn that crucial funding will likely no longer be available after year’s end.

“Wallpaper,” a show featuring the works of over 30 artists–many recruited by sculptor Abby Miller–will showcase unframed, affordable art imported from New York City and other east coast locations, as well as work by local artists. The works will literally paper the walls, and the evening presents a rare opportunity to see and purchase works by artists exposed to the most innovative trends and techniques.

Walker’s exhibitions are beautiful and edgy…he explores every opportunity to support and grow new Jackson Hole art traditions; he’s an arts pioneer for today.

“We need to regroup and downsize,” says Walker, who has financed the gallery with his own savings, and that of his wife. When she lost her job and benefits, the couple worried. Now, their web design jobs are evaporating; with additional funding losses looming, the couple may be looking to move to a larger urban venue where graphics work is still relatively plentiful.

“Everything we’ve worked for over the past five years disappeared,” says Walker. “But I couldn’t ask more of Jackson Hole than I’ve been given. It’s been amazing on so many levels.”

A fractured economy and a dearth of alternate venues threaten Teton Art Lab’s future. But, as Walker says, “Take time to look around and you will see some very special work.”

The following is a forward I wrote for Walker’s summer exhibition “Views of Jackson.” This essay is not just about Walker’s work; it’s also about the Western spirit we value, the spirit that brings us here. I hope you read this, and I hope you pay a visit to the gallery. Located at 135 N. Cache, it’s next to Teton Thai. 307-699-0836. – Tammy Christel

Travis Walker’s Long Look

“Everywhere I’ve ever been, my art has been about that place. I remember most powerfully the places I’ve painted and drawn. The act of recording them makes me remember.” – Travis Walker

Stories of the frontier spirit’s death are premature. Alive in our contemporary art movement, it brings Jackson’s transient arts subculture to new creative levels. If and when artists leave, they take away inspiration drawn from western space and consciousness.

“Views of Jackson” is painter Travis Walker’s plain and simple title for a collection mining deep emotional turf. A child of the military, Walker is well acquainted with transience. As a result, he recognizes that just as the first settlers ventured into unfamiliar territory, Jackson’s new artists drop all trepidation. The east coast’s cultural cacophony is silenced, and a singular natural process takes over.

Walker is a satellite, zooming in and out of our landscapes, freezing vast spaces and solitary formations. We’re light years away from a moment just captured. Flaxen parachutes float forever. Still, purple evening shadows never give way to night. These landscapes are our ideal; they’re uninhabited, but histories are embedded. Deserted cabins hold the energy and sadness of generations. Blank windows and headlights, eyes of the universe. Beneath Walker’s surfaces is an extraterrestrial glow he never quite paints down, a light peeking out from behind closed doors.

“I want my paintings to be like windows, points of light that brighten a room,” he says.

Trailers are Walker’s most current symbol of the transient west. Manifestations of contradictory words, “mobile” and “home,” trailers epitomized the American dream. Paraphrasing writer Bruce Caron, Walker notes it is difficult to travel more than five miles in the west without seeing trailers. They’re everywhere. Where did they come from, seemingly plopped down from nowhere? Built for transit but stuck to the earth, these bodies are hunkered down like hermit crabs.

“Now trailers are extra sleeping space and repositories for junk,” says Walker. “They represent paradise lost, the decayed American ideal value. We’ve come back to earth as a society; we put our faults on display on reality television.”

Walker believes small town dialog is stronger than that of a large city.

“The benefits outweigh childish tendencies to avoid someone because you’ve had an argument. I’ll take the exchange of ideas—we’re all tapping from the same well, this western idea of space and color. Our art is unique; you won’t find work like it anywhere else unless it’s in a European context or another mountain town. Take time to look around, and you will see some very special work.”

In the end, inspiration is everywhere, even in trailers. “I paint them for the same reason I paint other things,” says Walker. “I think they are beautiful.”

Tammy Christel
July, 2008