Telluride Arts: Art Walk, 3/7

05 Mar Telluride Arts: Art Walk, 3/7

Telluride Arts’ First Thursday Art Walk is a festive celebration of the art scene in downtown Telluride for art lovers, community and friends. Participating venues host receptions from 5 –8 p.m. to introduce new exhibits.

The third Art Walk of the winter 2019 season takes place Thursday, March 7.

The Telluride Gallery of Fine Art features the work of nine of the artists in its stable. The eye-popping group show is all about bold, bright colors and textures.

 Telluride’s Ah Haa School celebrates the creativity of regional middle and high school students.

 Gallery 81435, showcases the lyrical work of Emily Palmquist

Telluride Arts HQ hosts “Chromatic Concepts,” works by Megan Padilla all about the stunning gradients of color achieved through the nature of alcohol inks.

At MiXX, check out unique riffs by contemporary artists on iconic western landscapes.

And tune into Open Art Radio on KOTO from 12 – 1 p.m. to hear interviews with the participating artists. Complimentary gallery guides are available at all the venues for a self-guided tour.

Spring is in the rear view mirror, just weeks away, full of the promise of new beginnings  – and color.

Seasonal flowers such as tulips, jonquils and daffodils embody the color of Spring which include, but are not limited to, parrot green, coral, turquoise, peach, cobalt blue, Chinese red and lemon yellow. Distinct yellow undertones symbolize the new growth that is visible everywhere in grass, trees and plants.

And all those colors (and more) do their full peacock thing on the walls of the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, where an eclectic exhibition features the bold, beautiful work of nine artists from the gallery’s stable: Charles Arnoldi, Daniel Mendel-Black, Edith Baumann, Christian Burchard, James Hayward, Kristin Beinner James, Michael Reafsnyder, Scot Heywood, and Tony Berlant.

Transforming landscape into metaphor, spiritual or otherwise, is nothing new in the realist tradition. Artists who painted outdoor scenes, especially of the early American West, often expressed a rapturous identification with out country’s broad, sweeping vistas and towering mountains, the latter the focus of a show now up at MiXX projects + atelier.

One the featured artists in that  group show, Meredith Nemirov, has this to say about the theme of the exhibit titled “Stratification: Interpretations of Contemporary Mountainscapes,”  the poetry of her words complementing the confidence and occasional whimsy of her less-is-more brushstrokes:

“Before the trees, there were the mountains. Years before my focus shifted to a single tree in the landscape, the aspen, my gaze was upward and away to the distant mountains. I made paintings in the San Juans and in the Wilsons that depicted the weather, the light and the drama that are our mountains.

“In this group of on-site paintings, I strove to create a sense of the mountain world and become intimate with the geography and its distinguishing forms. Two series, ‘Walking Man’ and ‘” introduce forms that represent man’s presence in the landscape. The appearance of these shapes stand in contrast to the natural environment and emphasize the flat surface of the picture plane. These are not the picture- window view of the landscape.

“My most current works on paper depict the mountain as icon. Specifically they are our peaks, Mt. Sneffels, Lone Cone and Mt. Wilson.The cropped close-up view of the peaks, isolated from the ranges they are a part of, amplifies their iconic presence in the daily life of those that dwell in the mountains.

“The title, ‘True View Landscapes,’ is taken from the catalog description of the show ‘Diamond Mountains, Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art’ on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2018. The subject matter, native locale, is necessarily the first criterion in the definition of true view landscapes or real-scenery landscape.

“And to stand and face a whole landscape, or in this case a mountainscape, and make a work that captures the scene on a two-dimensional surface in a relatively short period of time is rigorous, but that’s what we artists are driven to do day after day: we interpret our world to find our place in it.”

In addition to Nemirov’s mix of watercolor, gouache and ink, “Stratification: Interpretations of Contemporary Mountainscapes” also features three other fine artists working in a variety of media, each using a unique visual language to contemplate the grandeur of the scenery that inspires them.

Sarah Winkler, is showing her large-scale acrylic landscapes, the layers of which mimic patterns of geological erosion. With crushed minerals incorporated directly into the paint, her work is grounded materially in her subject matter itself. Beloved local artist, Molly Perrault, is exhibiting her mesmerizing magazine collages of Telluride landscapes. Rebecca Messier’s evocative wall installations are on display.

Also featured at Art Walk:

Ah Haa School’s Youth Art Awards honor regional middle and high school students for their creativity and interest in the arts. Students in grades 7-12 with a sincere interest in visual arts and who attend public school, private school, or are home-schooled in Telluride, Rico, Norwood, Nucla, Naturita, Paradox Valley, Ridgway, or Ouray arerepresented in this year’s Youth Art Awards. The exhibition is on display March 7-11, 2019 in the Daniel Tucker Gallery. The opening reception takes place during Art Walk on Thursday, March 7 from 5-7 PM. Cash prizes are to be awarded.

Baked in Telluride features the latest of eight local artists’ spectacular silk batiks from Kathy Green’s Ah Haa studio class. Their colorful designs reflect this year’s theme of “Water, Flowers, and Landscapes.”

Crossbow Leather features local leather enthusiast Suzi Meyers, who makes one-of-kind custom hats fit for a ski town lifestyle.

Elinoff Gallery carries a museum-quality art collection, including works from some of the most celebrated names in the history of art: from Monet to Pissarro to Warhol, the fine art collection covers Impressionist works c.1860 – 1880 through the Pop art period of the 50’s and 60’s. Lithographs, drawings, and etchings are also for sale.

Gallery 81435  presents “Home Fire,” an exhibit by Emily Palmquist during the month of March 2019.

“Home Fire” was composed alongside a series of moves that set Palmquist voyaging from west to east and west again. This fluttering about left the artist doing double-takes on her sense of place and connection. The results invite viewers to step into a narrative of mixed origins where the familiar co-mingles with the projected, the past, the day-dreamed, and other deviating realms.

Kamruz Gallery presents photography by local photographer Mary Kenez.

At La Cocina de Luz, Thomas Zachary Bloomberg is an American artist raised in Boulder, who graduated in the Spring of 2018 from Fort Lewis College in Durango with a Bachelors Degree in Studio Art and a history minor.

Bloomberg’s work ranges from painting, traditional illustration to mixed-media and cartooning. Within those disciplines, a pattern emerges that tips his hat to the relationship between mayhem and order and how the two contradictory forces interact with one another on a fundamental level.

Lustre Gallery presents a special gem collection of Omi Privé jewels in anticipation of a full trunk show March 13 – 15. A celebration of nature and passion for the craft is evident in every piece of jewelry by Omi Privé.

Proudly handcrafted in the United States, each Omi Privé creation is inspired by the gemstone’s natural beauty and color. Award-winning design combined with skilled craftsmanship, captures the essence of each gemstone. It is this love for nature, appreciation for rarity and unyielding passion for quality and design that inspires Omi Privé to create not just jewelry, but what amounts to wearable art.

For the month of March, Nectar Arts is featuring paintings by Ally Crilly. A note from the artist:

“Painting is how I can best tell the truth. It is a messy unpredictable process for me. Colors also make me happy and I just LOVE fresh flowers in a room. They just make me feel hopeful and alive. I especially love to see them this time of year as the winter settles into my bones, they bring memories and anticipation of Spring and Summer and new beginnings. I study and practice yoga. Painting is a spiritual practice as well. Showing up to the canvas is the most important part. I try to show up with a beginner mind and see what will happen. I live and work in Ridgway, Colorado. I grew up back East in New York. I love art, mountains, my family, yoga, and figuring out how to be a human being. I work as an artist, yoga teacher, and free-lance graphic designer.”

Sue Hill is a metalsmith, who enjoys beading. She loves creating with her hands and working with a tapestry of colors, shapes and energies of natural objects. She likes to make representations of her surroundings and often use mountain motifs.

For the month of March, Picaya is featuring jewelry by local Sue Hill.

Hill has called Telluride home for 30 years. She has been crafting jewelry since her teenage years, was represented by the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art for 25 years and has sold her work at the Telluride Farmers Market for the past 11 years.

Hill finds her inspiration in nature as well as the materials and stones she uses. Materials range from found objects/rocks to antlers and cut stones.

Slate Gray Gallery is featuring two artists who date back to the early days of the gallery in town: Katherine Lott and Deborah Harrington. Their exhibition titled “Dwellings and Inhabitants.”

Both artists hail from Hill Country Texas, where Slate Gray was first established. Harrington and Lott each blend western subject matter with contemporary techniques, coupling tradition with their own brand of impressionism.

The equine paintings of artist Nancy B. Frank are on display at Studio G.

When she was a girl, Frank did not just love horses, she thought she was a horse.

“My best friend Peggy and I galloped around my dining room table on our hands and knees. We galloped with scarves sticking out of our pants to look like tails.”

The artist – who holds an M.F.A. in photo-printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.F.A. in painting at Ohio Wesleyan University – has lived in Telluride since 198

“Never did I guess that when I began to travel the world to ride horses in different countries and cultures would my passion for the horse bring me success in the studio. What amazes me most about the partnership with a horse is that they allow us on their backs, but that is exactly what creates the tension in my paintings; the partnership between equine and human. The images are larger than life yet intimate, and hopefully capture the beauty and power and grace of the horse, yet the horses are bitted and bound with reins. The human factor is always present, but never within the frame except perhaps a suggestion, like a caressing hand… It is the special agreement and the spirit of both which make the paintings shine with light and life,” said Frank.

Frank never liked empty spaces on canvas, so she photographed her horses to fill the screen and, subsequently, the picture plane, with haunches and heads, manes and tails, glossy coats, bits, and reins in extreme close-up.

And in doing what she does in the unique way she does it, Frank reigns supreme: her horse images are fraught with the dynamic tension embodied by these powerful, proud creatures, bound up with tack, yes, but only seemingly submissive. Collectively, Frank’s images packs a wallop: her horses also clearly mark the moment the artist came into her power, the result of finding her natural subject and creating work that is very very good – and owning that fact.

At Telluride Arts HQ Gallery, “Chromatic Concepts” features the work of Megan Padilla, who explores and studies the perception, depth, and stunning gradients of color through the nature of alcohol inks, creating original abstract pieces that are both dramatic in composition and color.

Alcohol inks provide vibrant, colorful effects. The medium affords little control, while the harmony of the color combinations delivers some sense of order through fluid movement and a visual experience that is sure to engage the viewers.

Padilla is able to manipulate the medium by utilizing various techniques and tools to create colorful, contemporary elements and textures. The pieces stand alone or can come together in modern collage-based composition to form one cohesive piece.

Artists have always gravitated to beautiful areas to create. Western Colorado, being one of the most beautiful places on earth, has a large concentration of internationally renowned resident painters and photographers. The works of some of Western Colorado’s most famous artists are now on display at Turquoise Door Gallery, 226 W Colorado Avenue, right across from the New Sheridan Hotel.

Telluride Arts’ Voodoo Studios is open for Art Walk. Check out the workspace of local artist and recent Telluride Arts small grant recipient, Brooke Einbender.

Telluride’s Wilkinson Public Library will have its doors open for Art Walk. The portrait work of master photographer Carl Marcus is featured in the Children’s section.