The Sun Valley area boasts a diverse and cosmopolitan art community. Here is a sampling of what’s in store at galleries this summer.
JULY EXHIBITIONS
BROSCHOFSKY GALLERIES
July – August
From 19th and early 20th century works to contemporary pop works by Andy Warhol —“BEST OF THE WEST”— explores artworks in a variety of media.
A group show of artists with an array of subjects and interpretations of the American West, historical through contemporary, the gallery exhibits quietly contemplative landscape paintings by Russell Chatham, Michael Coleman’s wildlife paintings and sculpture, and Rudi Broschofsky’s urban art genre showing western imagery through spray paint and stencil. The series also features works from Andy Warhol’s Cowboys and Indians portfolio and Russell Young’s iconic screenprints finished with glittery diamond dust. Theodore Villa’s vibrant colorful watercolors portray images from his Native American heritage, while equine subjects are shown in Ken Peloke’s magnificent large-scale mixed media paintings. Other artists include Edward S. Curtis, Billy Schenck, and Ewoud de Groot.
“MS Study II / Visitation (after Pontormo)” by Lawrence Fodor at Friesen Gallery, oil, alkyd resin and linseed oil on canvas, 60 in. x 60 in.
FRIESEN GALLERY
July – August
Lawrence Fodor, Ben Steele
Friesen celebrates the return of summer with a showcase of two acclaimed painters: Lawrence Fodor and Ben Steele. At first glance, Fodor’s large-scale mixed media oil paintings are intense, lyrical, and wholly abstract works of art. Hidden behind the surface of these abstractions, however, is a vast archive of historic masterpieces, meticulously executed homages to iconic old-world masters and ancient Greco-Roman sculpture. With a deep reverence for these icons and a fascination with reinterpretation, Fodor draws the past into the thoroughly contemporary present. The paintings directness, raw energy and de/reconstruction resonate and reiterate the artist’s worldview while their historic sources reflect the world at large.
With an education built upon classical training, Steele utilizes the processes of the old masters with a contemporary sensibility; never staying in one place for too long. The result is a wide-ranging body of work, from still life to portraiture to landscape (and often somewhere in between), melding Sun Valley history, art history and pop culture references in his ever-changing process.
“Migrant Child: Bunny” by Hung Liu at Gail Severn Gallery, oil on canvas, 48 in. x 48 in.
GAIL SEVERN GALLERY
July
Over 44 years representing nationally recognized and emerging artists working in all media with 4 exhibition spaces and a 2-acre sculpture garden. Offering Installation, framing, conservation, valuation and curatorial services. July
solo exhibitions include:
Pegan Brooke – Gallery 1
Hung Liu – Gallery 2
Chris Maynard – Gallery 3
Sheila Gardner – Part II –Viewing Room
GILMAN CONTEMPORARY
July
Maria Svarbova — “Yesterday’s Future”
Gilman Contemporary presents Maria Svarbova—Yesterday’s Future. The exhibition will feature photographs from Slovakian artist Maria Svarbova’s Swimmming Pool series and will include work from the more recent Lost in the Valley.
Renowned for her Swimming Pool series, which launched in 2014 and continued through 2018, Svarbova’s aesthetic has become instantly recognizable. Her style departs from traditional portraiture and focuses on experimentation with space, color, and atmosphere. Taking an interest in Socialist era architecture and public spaces, Maria transforms each scene with a modern freshness that highlights the depth and range of her creative palette.
Moving beyond the swimming pool, Svarbova continued to apply her signature style to other locales. She released Lost in the Valley in 2018, where carefully composed figures continue to create thematic, dream-like scenes, but this time in Death Valley. Regardless of the location, each image holds a silent tension that is modern and fresh.
In 2018 Svarbova was recognized as a Hasselblad Master. Her work has been featured in publications ranging from CNN and The Guardian to Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Svarbova has published two books, Futuro Retro 2019 and Swimming Pool 2016, now on its second printing.
Gilman Contemporary will also exhibit new paintings by artist Kelly Ording and mixed media pieces from Jane Maxwell’s surf series.
“Lost in the Valley (Balance)” by Maria Svarbova at Gilman Contemporary, archival pigment print, sizes vary.
KNEELAND GALLERY
July
Mark Gibson, Eric Jacobsen, Seth Winegar
Born and raised in Montana, Mark Gibson originally trained in architecture. This formal training had a direct effect on the architectural forms of the teepees that characterize his work. Gibson has been pushing himself to focus on purity of color and masterful composition, working to move the viewer’s eye around the entire piece. Most recently he has been working on increasing the scale of his works, which has contributed to his achievement of creating a powerful mood and atmosphere in each painting.
Plein Air painter Eric Jacobsen is widely appreciated by fellow painters and collectors alike. Growing up in New England he feels a kinship with the maritime and landscape artists of his hometown, yet it is the Northwest he now calls home. A plein air painter in its purist sense, Jacobsen paints almost exclusively in the outdoors, commenting that, “I want to be right there, interacting with the scene…I don’t want any rehearsals in my life.”
Utah artist Seth Winegar paints unique tonalist landscapes of the West, marked by broad brush strokes and subtle colors. Having overcome severe health challenges in his youth, he has immersed himself solely in his artwork, and when asked why he paints he responds, “that’s like asking me why I breathe … it’s instinctual.” The gallery will host a viewing reception for the new show on Thursday July 9th, from 5-7pm.
OCHI
July 11 – September 5
LOW TIDE CLAIRE COLETTE | MATTHEW F. FISHER
Ochi Gallery is pleased to present “Low Tide,” a two-person exhibition with artists Claire Colette and Matthew F. Fisher. The show is on view through July and August in Ketchum, Idaho.
A series of quiet, abstract landscapes by Los Angeles-based artist Claire Colette consider concepts of interconnectedness relating to land, the cosmos and the self. Like the Transcendentalist painters of the 20th century, Colette links external and internal realities, and infuses her paintings with influences from tantric symbolism and elements referencing nature. Using a restrained palette and pristine surfaces finished in her own alchemical visual language, Colette transforms the sublime, and light, into formal experiences.
The abstraction of perfection defines Matthew F. Fisher’s landscapes. Fisher’s imagery is the result of wanting to make a painting inherently about nothing, while painting something—a horizon, rock, ocean. With a narrative that is open, while still being personal, Fisher’s landscapes become real through their abstraction. Sense of space is furthered by the density of his imagery, multiple layers of acrylic paint create a heightened sense of color, texture and weight.
AUGUST EXHIBITIONS
GAIL SEVERN GALLERY
August
Over 44 years representing nationally recognized and emerging artists working in all media with 4 exhibition spaces and a 2-acre sculpture garden. Offering Installation, framing, conservation, valuation and curatorial services. August solo exhibitions include:
Linda Christensen – Gallery 1
Kathy Moss – Gallery 2
Jane Rosen – Gallery 3
GILMAN CONTEMPORARY
August
Tuck Fauntleroy
Jackson Hole based photographer Tuck Fauntleroy continues his exploration of bodies of water as seasons change in his newest series “Elements.” Shifting his eye to the formation of ice during the late fall, “Elements” captures a fleeting time, as remote lakes transform.
Remaining true to his distinctive aesthetic, Fauntleroy’s new series visually displaces the viewer in a similar way to his previous “Waterline” series (released in 2018), in which he also shot from a plane. Similar to “Waterline,” Fauntleroy’s “Elements” series highlights the artist’s careful play between negative and positive space, yet this time focusing on the captivating event of ice forming. As always, Fauntleroy’s minimalism is offset by texture, creating a painterly balance.
KNEELAND GALLERY
August
ANNUAL PLEIN AIR EXHIBITION
Artists’ Reception: August 7th, 5-8pm
Plein Air painting is a large part of Idaho’s history, with our early visions of the West came from plein air painters such as Thomas Moran (after whom Mt. Moran was named) and Albert Bierstadt among many others.
“Sawtooths” by Bart Walker at Kneeland Gallery, oil on canvas, 36 in. x 48 in.
Each Summer Kneeland Gallery invites its own group of plein air painters to participate in an artistic celebration featuring gatherings and events throughout the week. Demonstrations, paint outs, a workshop and a quick draw all feature in the event, and spectators, fellow artists and collectors can enjoy the finished paintings at the culminating gallery walk on the final day. The participating artists this year are Steven Lee Adams, Ovanes Berberian, Jack Braman, John Horejs, Shanna Kunz, Lori McNee, Caleb Meyer, Robert Moore, Silas Thompson and Bart Walker. The schedule is as follows: Monday and Tuesday, August 3rd and 4th, Ovanes Berberian offers a Plein Air painting workshop in the scenic Wood River Valley. Interested parties can sign up by contacting the gallery. On August 5th, all 10 artists paint at Murdock Creek in the SNRA. Spectators are invited to watch them at work and learn from their different techniques while observing a respectful 6’ distance from them and each other. August 6th the group will all paint (location TBD) and the Gallery Walk on Friday, August 7th, will follow a demonstration at the gallery by Ovanes Berberian.
SEPTEMBER EXHIBITIONS
GAIL SEVERN GALLERY
September
Over 44 years representing nationally recognized and emerging artists working in all media with 4 exhibition spaces and a 2-acre sculpture garden. Offering Installation, framing, conservation, valuation and curatorial services. September solo exhibitions include:
Bean Finneran – Gallery 1
Laura McPhee – Gallery 2
Anne Siems – Gallery 3
Ed Musante – Viewing Room
KNEELAND GALLERY
September
“Field of Dreamscapes”
Neal Philpott, Andrzej Skorut, Jennifer Lowe
Realist painter Neal Philpott seeks to capture the ephemeral nature of the Northwest, seeing himself as a record keeper of a specific place and time. His paintings might feature a meandering road, a distant fenceline or a farmhouse nestled in trees. Light play animates his work, creating the lines, forms and structure that give his interesting compositions their charge. The juxtaposition of shadow and areas of illumination characterizes these transient moments.
Jennifer Lowe has combined the landscapes, animals and people of her native Montana with a unique approach to painting. Using the untraditional medium of Livestock Marker, which she applies with both her fingers and a brush, Lowe’s work embodies a sense of play or wonder attributable to her acute awareness and love of nature and her surroundings.
Andrzej Skorut was born and spent his early years in Krakow, Poland, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1987. At first glance his paintings appear to be simple landscapes, but further study reveals that they are as abstract as they are representational. He reveals concealed depths within his surfaces through
layers of paint and glaze, which he
then partially removes with rags,
sticks and other objects.