Fine Art

Grooms, 2009, Dancing, Marlborough Chelsea (1) Telluride Inside... and Out's stories about our very memorable day in Chelsea continue with a recap of our visit to the Marlborough Chelsea Gallery, 545 West 25th Street, to see an exhibit of monumental sculptures by Red Grooms. Why we went has everything to do with jonesing for the child-like wonder of the artist's work, cosmic connections, Telluride, and our dear friend Stephen Wald.

Grooms, 2009, Dancing, Marlborough Chelsea (4) Stephen Wald died that very same Thursday, October 22, after a long battle against Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. I suspect his passing happened close to the time a group of us went to the Marlborough to celebrate our friend, a successful businessman, philanthropist, accomplished athlete, photographer, and art lover/collector, because Clint and I knew Red Grooms held a special place in Stephen's life: specifically by a window in the entry hall of the elegant Aldasoro home he shared with his beloved wife Sheila, also a collector.
IMGP0683 Blue Lake Pass, on the south shoulder of the Telluride region's Mount Sneffels, is a narrow, sharp saddle between Gilpin Peak and Mount Sneffels, with rocky ridges extending off each mountain. The view to the West is into the Mount Sneffels Wilderness Area; to the northeast, to Teakettle Mountain and  little Coffeepot Mountain. East access is via wildflower-filled Yankee Boy Basin on this favorite local hike.

"Blue Lake Pass" is one of three large-scale environmental installations by part-time Telluride area local, artist/architect Maya Lin, selected from her recent traveling museum exhibition Systematic Landscapes.

Telluride Inside... and Out happened into the show on a visit to Chelsea last Thursday, October 22.
IMG_0454 Cold, snow and wind are pre-empting fall in Telluride and elsewhere in America. Telluride Inside...and Out is in Pittsburgh, where rain washed out plans for grandkids' soccer games. On Friday, however, we visited the extraordinary Carnegie Museum, whose must-see permanent collection – two Van Goghs in one of the Impressionist galleries are worth the price of entry, not to mention one of the best of Monet's waterlilies series – includes a new Alex Katz, given star billing in the lobby. The Alex Katz depicts trees in fall, irresistible given TIO's ongoing coverage of the colors of a season fast coming to a close.

When it comes to the arts, Telluride puts its money where its mouth is, lending support in substantive ways such as an artists' cooperative known as the Stronghouse Studios. Pittsburgh has the Mattress Factory, an artists' co-op and museum featuring installation art in room-sized...

[click "Play" to hear what's happening at Ah Haa this Fall]

Ahhaa_hp_middle Fall in Telluride is a colorful time of year as aspens turn gold and local institutions  such as the Ah Haa School for the Arts announce their kaleidoscopic Fall/Winter season.

Abstract paintings and drawings pulsing with the energy of the Telluride region by artist Meredith Nemirov are on display throughout the month of October in Ah Haa's newly renovated Daniel Tucker Gallery. In November, the exhibition space will feature the work of the winner's of Ah Haa's Youth Arts Awards. (Submissions from 7 – 12 graders due by October 26.)

[click "Play" to hear Meredith speak about her art]

[double click to view in larger format]

A show of new work by artist Meredith Nemirov opens October 1 at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts.

"Leaps and Turns" is a departure for the artist, known for her impressionistic, representational paintings drawn from nature. These works on paper, completed over the last two years, are abstractions. But earlier paintings explain later ones.
The model for the relationship between the new and the old work is jazz: improvisation off a melody line.

Every season, Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts seasons its schedule of classes with high profile visiting artists. This fall, October 2 – 4, photographer Bill Ellzey teaches an intensive. The workshop is designed to help digital photographers focus on the Telluride...

Art1 Some of us in Telluride heard that totally subversive speech by our President on Tuesday. You know the one: Obama actually urged kids to make the most of themselves. Take responsibility. "Just like Mao," said Fix News talking heads.

Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts must have gotten hold of an advanced copy of Obama's pep talk. Starting September 14, every Monday and Wednesday, ARTrageous After School Days, 3:15 – 5:30 p.m., offers a wide array of creative projects, from puppet-making to recycled creations. Wednesday is clay day. For two hours, young kids get to create critters that would make Wallace and Grommit proud. What's more, Ah Haa plays the willing chauffeur and plans to pick up students outside school on ARTrageous days.

Thursday, September 3, the Telluride Council on Arts & Humanities' First Thursday Telluride Art Walk continues.  Venues in downtown Telluride join forces for a cultural celebration, staying open “late ‘til 8”. The joint is jumping with stills from "Welcome Back," by Jeffrey Schers at Schilling...