Phaeton Gallery: “Soundings,” Paintings by Ah Haa Founder Daniel Tucker, 9/6 – 10/6!

29 Aug Phaeton Gallery: “Soundings,” Paintings by Ah Haa Founder Daniel Tucker, 9/6 – 10/6!

The “Out” part of Telluride Inside…and Out covers cultural events that take place outside the borders of our mountain town. One such event is coming up at the Phaeton Gallery on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, a venue owned by Lisa Hogan, former board chair of Telluride’s Ah Haa School for the Arts.

The Phaeton show titled “Soundings” focuses on the nexus of creativity and spirituality and features the work of Ah Haa founder Daniel Tucker (alongside other artists). The opening reception takes place from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, September 6. The exhibition invites viewers to delve into the known – and unknown – and focuses on the ways art can serve as a manifestation of and guide for personal transformation. ”

Go here for more about Ah Haa (going back to 2009).

Daniel Tucker, courtesy, Lisa Hogan, owner, Phaeton Gallery.

Those who know Daniel Tucker know the man is a visionary and renowned book artist, whose work is assured a place in history. The company he founded with partner Claire Owen in 1975, Turtle Island Press, has titles in the collections of major museums/ institutions including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art; The New York Public Library; The Library of Congress; The Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany; and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

Daniel has always known creating art is more than a feat of aesthetic engineering. He would likely sign on to French writer Emile Zola’s notion that art is “a corner of creation seen through a temperament.”

And temperaments tend to shift over time.

In the late 1970s, about three years after Turtle Island Press opened for business, Daniel asked himself a life-altering question about what regrets he might have about unfinished business looking back from 100. His answer: “The only thing I would have regretted is not having taken the risk – and it is a risk – of becoming an artist.”

Ah Haa and its sister school, the American Academy of Bookbinding became Daniel’s way of helping others conquer that fear and channel their inner Leonardo.

Daniel, a humble man, eschews fanfare. But the facts are on the table: he is not one of those dreamers who simply tilts at windmills. He is a visionary. The proof is the extraordinary educational venue he founded with the goal of self-discovery for all who walk through the doors of of the Ah Haa School. a community center of learning and culture that offers a wide variety of programs for all ages and gifts.

Daniel’s paintings on display at Lisa Hogan’s Phaeton Gallery capture the essence of a personal and spiritual exploration through bold strokes and dynamic color palettes. His art challenges viewers to contemplate the spaces between certainty and mystery, bringing to light the beauty found in those intersections.

And now a tip of the hat to the old trope, a picture is worth a thousands words:

Lisa and Daniel in conversation at her gallery.

The artists showing their work alongside Daniel’s paintings are Donna Ernest and Blakeney Sanford.