Oswald seeing double with Connell photos

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

By Susan Burkitt

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Coming off the heels of a well-received show at the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York City’s trendy Chelsea neighborhood April 19 - June 2, photographer Kelli Connell’s images of a single woman in the company of her own image, “Double Life,” arrived at the Oswald Gallery on Aug. 1.

The glossy color prints depict the same model in various quiet moments with herself, sometimes with the two mirror figures touching, sometimes engaged in what appear to be intimate conversations. According to the artist, the contrived images are made by scanning and manipulating two or more negatives in Adobe Photoshop.

“This work represents an autobiographical questioning of sexuality and gender roles that shape the identity of the self in intimate relationships,” Connell explained.

Connell, who holds a BFA from the University of North Texas and an MFA from Texas Women’s University, has made a strong entrance into the world of photography, with a favorable review in The New York Times and her images owned by Microsoft and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among other collectors and institutions.

In the May 18 edition of the Times, Bridget L. Goodbody noted that “what could be a hackneyed exercise in digital gimmickry comes across as subtle and restrained – no small feat considering that this is Ms. McConnell’s first solo show in New York.”
Oswald Gallery hosts a reception for Connell 6-9 p.m. on Saturday. “Double Life” hangs through Sept. 15. Contact the gallery at 734-8100 or drop in at 165 N. Center St.

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The third annual Jackson Hole Art Festival runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Teton Village. Held out of doors and free to the public, the art festival is juried, meaning that all exhibiting artists must apply and be selected for inclusion.
Put on by Howard Alan Events Ltd. of Plantation, Fla., the festival will feature artists from at least 20 states. All must be present throughout the weekend, said Howard Alan, president and founder of the company.

Rarely in a museum or gallery would you get to meet the creators of the artwork, Alan said, to ask them how they were inspired to make a particular piece or what techniques they used. “Visitors get to take a piece of the artist’s personality with them when they buy the art at the festival,” he continued.

Alan got his start in Jackson Hole three years ago when his plane had to make a forced landing in Jackson while on his way to California. Further delays ensued due to the departure of Air Force II, causing him to spend the night at Teton Village. After walking around the Village, Alan, who puts on 45 juried art shows annually from Aspen, Colo., to Naples, Fla., decided that Jackson Hole was a good place to add to his circuit.

“The great thing about Jackson is that you have people from Chicago, Sarasota – from all over – who might have seen our shows in other places but get to see a whole different set of artists and techniques while they’re here,” he said.

The art in the Village will run from crafts and jewelry to sculpture and fine art paintings, but there will be a concentration of artists whose work reflects the show’s Western location.

“We try to choose artists whose work reflects the region where the show is held,” Alan noted.

This year’s artists include Rhonda Brewer, who fashions authentic cowboy lariats used in rodeos and on the range into baskets and other vessels, and Doug Fountain, a descendant of Sitting Bull, who specializes in gourd vessels and hand-painted feathers. Other booths will feature alabaster carving and batik painting.
Besides art, Teton Village restaurants will provide free food during the weekend. Call 733-2292 for more information.

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A.A. Zvegintzov, or Sandy Z. as he is known locally, stages a one-man show at Shadow Mountain Gallery, kicking off with an artist’s reception next Thursday, Aug. 16 and hanging through Aug. 31.

Following a legal career as an assistant district attorney for Teton County and a defense lawyer with his own practice, Zvegintzov joked that he “followed a course of downward mobility,” first working as a river guide for Barker-Ewing, then as a ski instructor at Teton Village, and, finally, as a landscape artist residing in Wilson and painting in plein air oils on other people’s ranches.

But his course is hardly as reckless as he suggests. Zvegintzov is an educated artist who dedicated his efforts first to the single parenting of two now-grown sons and to his own law practice, and then, after painting and working in the outdoors, pursued his arts education at the University of Wyoming in Laramie with similar passion. At UW, the artist discovered he was capable in many media, especially sculpting, ceramics and printmaking. Having started with watercolors, Zvegintzov said he felt he needed to explore other media, and eventually found his niche in plein air oils.

Zvegintzov continues his art education through annual workshops, such as last month’s plein air workshop at Open Box M in Cody, Wyo., with artist Jeanne Mackenzie. He plans to work with Skip Whitcomb in Jackson Hole next year.

Local ranches, particularly the Lucas Ranch, have been generous in allowing him to paint on their land, Zvegintzov said. He finds plenty of inspiration right in Wilson.

“Sometimes I am painting looking north to the Tetons and then – holy mackerel, I look behind me and there’s another one,” the artist exclaimed. “A ‘two-fer’ in one location.
“I go all over the valley,” he continued, “though, with everything in a backpack on a pack frame.”

Mr. Z’s new show will have 25 to 30 works done over the last 18 months, much of it painted locally at Ski Lane Trail, the Bar BC Ranch and Lucas Ranch. His “Three Amigos,” a 14-by-18-inch oil featured in the show, won the Teton County Fair’s “Best in Show” award at the 2006 fair’s art competition.

Zvegintzov has exhibited at the Teton Pines Resort, but with that venue unavailable, he and Dave McNally, another local landscape and portrait painter, decided to lease the space at Shadow Mountain and get their work out in front of the public. This is his first show in the space.

The reception, free and open to the public, will be held 5:30-8:30 p.m. next Thursday, Aug. 16 at Shadow Mountain Gallery, 225 N. Cache St. Food and drinks will be provided. Contact the artist at 733-4113 for more information.

“Carnival,” digital color photograph, 30 x 40 or 36 x 48, Kelli Connell, 2006

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Oswald seeing double with Connell photos | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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