Homage to Native American Culture at Altamira

R. Tom Gilleon: Innocents in a Sense. Oil on Canvas, 58 x 58 inches.

Jackson Hole’s Fall Arts Festival begins in a matter of days. Altamira Fine Art is rolling out its double exhibition of works by painter R. Tom Gilleon and sculptor Greg Woodard. Gilleon’s Confluence of Cultures and Woodard’s Break Through are on display September 1 – 12th. Gilleon will be on hand at the gallery at an opening reception Friday, September 11, from 5-8pm at Altamira.

Innocents in a Sense depicts nine Native American portraits, each figure looking in different directions, taking the viewer’s eye completely around Gilleon’s large-scale canvas. Of his Native American portraits, Gilleon remarks that they are as powerful and as recognizable as any cultural figures on earth.

The best write-up on Gilleon’s ubiquitous teepees comes from the monthly magazine “Western Art Collector,” which describes these figures as simple compositions that “peel open, revealing abstract shapes and colors, complex configurations, and a cobalt-tinted horizon line that seems to stretch into oblivion.”

Tom Gilleon: Eastern Gold. Oil, 36 x 36″

You know what? I’m going to tell you about Greg Woodard on my own blog site, the Jackson Hole Art Blog! Click on over! You’ll also get a preview of Altamira artist Bill Schenck’s 2015 Fall Arts Festival Poster!  Visit Altamira Fine Art’s website at www.altamiraart.com 

 

 

Jeff Pugh at Mountain Trails Gallery

Jeff Pugh. “Watchtower,” 24 x 18″ Oil

Reading artist statements is often akin to swallowing cotton; it sticks, and not in a good way~~you just can’t swallow. But artist statements need to exist as a touchstone for our own interpretations and feelings about artwork.

I like this statement by Jeff Pugh, whose new works are on exhibit through August 27th at Mountain Trails Gallery in downtown Jackson. 

“Art has always dominated the direction of my life.  I remember that when I was very young, I would go to my grandmothers and paint little watercolors with her as she painted.  Even then, I remember learning the importance of seeing. This has just continued through my life and has helped me learn and grow. It has filtered the way that I view my surroundings.  I no longer ignore the beauty of the landscape.  It isn’t just dirt and trees and sky.  It is a compound of colors and values and shapes.”

This, we like! Pugh’s work is defined by crisp lines, painterly brushstrokes and bright color. Mountain Trails is a large, “wander about” gallery. Go wander, and enjoy. www.mtntrails.net

Jeff Pugh. “Grass Roots,” 8 x 16″ Oil

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New on the Jackson Hole Art Blog: A fine exhibition of abstract contemporary art at the Tayloe Piggott Gallery! Check it out!

Bill Sawczuk’s Big Country

Bill Sawczuk at work.

I don’t know where to start. I believe this is the finest collection of Bill Sawczuk paintings I’ve ever seen.

Sawczuk’s “The Way I See It,” opens at Trio Fine Art with an artist’s reception on August 19th, 5-8:00 pm. Trio is located four blocks north of Jackson’s Town Square. Sawczuk will give a brief talk at 6:30 pm, and the show remains on exhibit through September 5th.

Sawczuk does not rest on his laurels.

“The Way I See It” departs from earlier exhibitions in that it includes so many large-scale works. Grandeur of scale, as well as intimate pieces, speak of sweeping mountain vistas to diminutive points of natural beauty. Sawczuk has taken much of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem into account.

As we age, we can be successful at feeling grateful and happy~~~even free~~~or not. Four years ago Sawczuk was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. The man who effortlessly climbed through high country has curtailed arduous painting treks. But God, he says, has provided him with another option. And it’s freeing.

“He has given me the ability to see great beauty and painting possibilities in intimate scenes that surround us. I’m presenting them in large scale paintings that, I hope, will put the viewer in the painting,” says Sawczuk.

Bill Sawczuk “Winter Glory.” 36 x 48″ Oil on Canvas

Limited by a small studio space, Sawczuk has compensated by “jury rigging” his easel to accommodate large canvases.

Bill Sawczuk, “Edge of the Meadow,” 8×10″ Oil on Linen

The change breathes new life into Sawczuk’s works with broad, dramatic brushstrokes, new spatial compositions, light that ebbs and flows, and shining, fresh colors~~this show is STRONG, transitioning from full realism to soft abstraction. In the past, Sawczuk’s realism and preference for dusky tones and decisive, precise architectural paintings struck me as “art for men, manly men!” Now, all is embraced.

An artist can be intensely active moving around the canvas, using sweeping arm motions impossible to execute on a smaller surface.

“The large house-painting brushes create so many effects because it’s possible to thin the paint and work soft edges,” Sawczuk related. “Try it! Of course, you have to get a little more information in a large picture, and you have to be honest if you want viewers to step into the scene.”

Though some of his smaller works flirt with the abstract, the artist insists viewers cannot “enter” abstract work. Sawczuk says that’s just his feeling. He plans to stick with large works and search out ways to go even larger. www.triofineart.com 

Bill Sawczuk, “Afternoon.”
SOLD

Don’t forget: Look for other Jackson Hole art happenings on my own site, the Jackson Hole Art Blog! Enjoy.

Redirecting!

Jared Sanders, “Ocean of Sky” at Altamira Fine Art

Hello, Everyone “Having Fun in Jackson Hole!”  Check out the Jackson Hole Art Blog page for an update on two Center Street galleries in downtown Jackson. Heather James Fine Art and Altamira are across the plaza from one another~~ visit both!

Rising Stars & Big Migrations

Glenn Dean, “Setting Sun, Rising Moon.” 20×20″ Oil

Interpretations of our beloved West continue at Jackson Hole’s exceptional art galleries! August provides a big breath of shows before Jackson’s world-renowned Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, taking place September 9-20, 2015.

But that’s NEXT month!

At Jackson’s Legacy Gallery, located on the northwest corner of Jackson’s Town Square, “Visions of the West,” that gallery’s annual celebration of Western Art, is on exhibition. One of my favorite artists is Glenn Dean, whose work “Setting Sun, Rising Moon,” left, has already sold! Dean is a shooting star, and one of the most open, easy-going and personable professional artists around. Dedicated to his craft, Dean paints constantly, a studio full of ongoing projects in the works. Dean’s artwork graces the covers of many fine Western Art magazines, and he deserves to be there.

Other “Visions of the West” artists include David Mann, Charles Fritz and Jason Rich, 2013’s Fall Arts Festival featured artist. “Visions” remains on exhibit through August 15th. www.legacygallery.com.

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Mike Weber – “Elk” Mixed Media, 48 x 48″

“Geometric Migration” is the title of Diehl Gallery’s newest exhibition featuring works by Mike Weber and John Simms. The new show opens with an artists’ reception 5-8:00 pm on August 13th. 

“Multi-medium paintings by Weber and the mathematically-based sculptures by Simms explore the synchronicity between man, nature, and art,” says the gallery. “Weber’s work has been featured on the cover of Architectural Digest and in The New York Times Style Magazine while Simms’ work is in numerous prestigious public spaces including the Omniplex Oklahoma City and the Indianapolis Fine Art Center.”

John Simms, “Red Imploding Cube.” 18″ square.

Noticed those bright red sculptural cubes around town? Simms. Love them. His sculptures are sprinkled across the valley, so well integrated to the landscape it feels perfectly right to see them. A portion of sale proceeds benefit the Jenny Lake Rangers.  www.diehlgallery.com 

Kathryn Mapes Turner’s “Here. Now.”

Kathryn Mapes Turner, “Never Tired.” 12 x 36″ Oil

Oh, my goodness! My presses were down. This Thursday (tonight!), July 30th, at Trio Fine Art in Jackson, local artist Kathryn Mapes Turner opens her new show, “Here. Now.” An artist’s reception takes place 5-8:00 pm, and at 6pm Turner will give a talk on the inspirations for this show. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. 

Turner is habitually inspired. A long-time valley resident–she grew up on Jackson Hole’s famed Triangle X Ranch–she’s been surrounded by our valley’s beauty all of her life. She’s learned to explore nooks and crannies, as well as welcome in the familiar, expansive beauty of our remarkable mountains and open spaces.

Kathryn Turner “All Things Emerge from Silence.” 20 x 32″

This show includes a wide variety of subject matter. The Tetons, rivers, streams and ranch life…the misty profile of an elk herd, delicate portraits of flowers and dancing cranes, a subject she’s lately embraced. A friend remarked that she enjoys Turner’s soft artistic touch.

Kathryn Turner. “Free.” 10×8″ Watercolor

“Her paintings look like they’ve been caught in the rain,” she said. She means this in a good way; she feels Turner’s paintings are translucent. Turner is not an artist that uses a great deal of paint. Often her painting surface is visible through the medium, as if she experiences all nature as temporary, a blessed mirage. Turner captures the essence of elk, but leaves out excessive detail. She focuses on an antelope’s upper torso, but its back legs and tail fade in dusky mist.

Turner’s color palette is wide-ranging. The artist moves from fall-like browns, grays and near-blacks to pastel pinks, leafy greens and the reflective blue slopes of our alpine mountainsides.

The most important lesson Turner has learned from a lifetime living in Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park is to savor the moment. Always be here, always be in the “now.” www.triofineart.com

 

 

Dee Parker is August’s “Artist in the Environment”

Dee Parker paints on location.

“Artists in the Environment,” a monthly plein air demonstration set in the Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole area, raises awareness of our park’s beauty through art. Each month, noted plein air artists set up their palettes and paints and demonstrate their art for the public.

Everyone is welcome, each paint-out is free, and you may stay as long as you’d like. Bring your own art materials along and join the fun!

Natureʼs spirit continually inspires Wilson resident and artist, Dee Parker. On Saturday, August 8th, join her at the Jenny Lake Turnout in Grand Teton National Park for a three-hour painting demonstration, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. A fine arts student, Parker has been captivated by nature’s infinite landscapes, their patterns and influence on design. Her paintings beautifully exemplify her love of atmosphere and nature’s ever-changing light.

“Artists in the Environment” is sponsored by the Grand Teton Association. For information, contact program facilitator Bobbi Miller at 307.543.2910.  www.grandtetonpark.org 

 

 

 

 

 

Art Fair, Jackson Hole Style

Art Fair Jackson Hole, produced by the Jackson Hole Art Association, happens at Miller Park in downtown Jackson, August 7th-9th. This family-friendly fair has something for everyone. Great arts, crafts, sculpture, jewelry, wearable art, photography….there’s live music, kid’s games, and lots of food. 

In honor of the fair, I’ve written a rap:

Hey, ’tis Summer!
So it’s time to share
‘Bout that annual gig
The Jackson Hole Art Fair!

Or “Art Fair Jackson Hole”
As it likes to be called;
Nobody asked me—I’m not involved.
No matter the title
It’s a time we’re aware
Of Art that is new,
And Art that is rare.
If it suits you, please dine
On big chocolate éclairs. 

Hey, man
Don’t be bored;
Sometimes Harrison Ford
Comes to check out the art
And he brings Flockhart!

Buy ceramics, toys, fiber!
This poem’s the town crier
For an art fair weekend
Come rain or come shine-er.
Paintings, baskets, jewels, tents;
Sunscreen and some fivers
All make for a day
The whole family could die for!

See the Fair! Have fun.
This poem is so done.

Photo courtesy Art Fair Jackson Hole.

There is a modest fair entry fee, but once your hand has been stamped, come and go as you please! All funds benefit the Art Association of Jackson Hole, our local home for art classes, local artist exhibitions, art sales and all manner of art happenings. So do see the Fair! www.artassociation.org 

Wild, Wild Life at Ringholz Gallery

All artwork by Amy Ringholz.

A quick note regarding “something a little different” happening this weekend in downtown Jackson: Contemporary wildlife artist Amy Ringholz hosts an opening reception and raffle event at her new gallery space at 140 East Broadway. Festivities take place on July 17th, 5-8:00 pm, upstairs in Suite 6. 

“Crowned Fenix,” (yes, there’s an f-e-n-i-x” spelling) is the title of this new show by been-around-town-forever Amy Ringholz. Ringholz began her burgeoning art career a good 15 years ago in Jackson. Her distinctive works were introduced to the public at a street fair. People took to her wild style immediately, and the rest is history. Never has an artist had the marketing power Ringholz possesses. She’s everywhere!

What I like about the new space is the space outdoors. We need more of these tucked away, mural-enhanced urban oases.

I still get a kick out of Ringholz’s work~~I do like my wildlife art “sans” crowns, but there’s plenty of those paintings to be found at the artist’s gallery. If you’ve never seen her work, this is a great chance. Relaxed, fun, and anything can happen! www.ringholzstudios.com … And, don’t forget! Check out other fun-art-things-to-do-in-Jackson-Hole at my own Jackson Hole Art Blog!