Spence makes case for new images; Walters revels in the surreal at Ciao

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

By Susan Burkitt

Surprise!

Well, almost. At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the Art Association presents “An Evening with Gerry Spence,” where the lawyer, author, lecturer and photographer with the outsized courtroom personality will present “The Brave New Images of Gerry Spence,” a surprise collection of black and white images taken from his Center for the Arts Theater Gallery exhibit and manipulated into something different.

Art Association Executive Director Karen Stewart said the manipulated images will remain a secret until the reception, and that even the organization’s staff has no prior knowledge of what the images will look like. But, the invitation for the reception indicates the show will get a reaction from the public as it warns: “Get ready to be shocked into a new understanding of the Wyoming landscape.”

Gerry Spence, known nationally for his record-breaking verdicts against large corporations and pristine trial record in over 50 years of practicing law, brings a more complex understanding of the man and his native Wyoming with his new black-and-white photographs, showcased in the Art Association’s exhibit “The Wyoming Landscape: Photographs by Gerry Spence,” which has been hanging in the Theater Gallery for the month of August.

The photographs were taken by Spence in and around Wyoming over the last few years. These original images have been transformed for Friday’s event, so a stop by the Theater Gallery in the next couple of days might be worthwhile – for a “before and after” look at the images.

Spence has often been quoted saying, “I tell the truth as I know it,” and it will be interesting to see the new truths revealed in these images. He published many other black-and-white Wyoming landscape photographs in his book, “Gerry Spence’s Wyoming” in 2000.

Sales of the new surprise images will benefit the Art Association’s education and exhibition programs. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided at the reception, to be held at the Center for the Arts Artspace Gallery, at 240 S. Glenwood St. Contact the Art Association at 733-6379 for more information.

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Not quite six months into its existence, Ciao Gallery in Victor, Idaho, keeps the artists and the art coming, this week with Michele Walters, co-owner of the art cooperative, presenting surreal landscapes along with the ceramics of Eli Preston. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. tonight and include a modern dance performance by co-owner Heather Keller and videography by Tony Birkholz.

 “Most of my work is derived from my imagination with influences from my local landscapes, my heritage and personal relationships,” Walters said.

Walters sometimes sketches in her sketchbook before she begins a piece, “but I usually end up ‘paint sketching’ directly on the canvas with an under painting. This method of working allows me to the freedom to experiment with color.”

Walters’s work is presented as a timeline of her artistic pursuits, beginning with the first piece she ever produced and leading to her newest works, many of which were completed in a frenzied, two-week period of creative output. Newer works explore themes of natural beauty and serenity juxtaposed with modern destruction and harried lives, a search for balance that Walters sees in all things, she said. In one painting, Walters incorporates geysers in Yellowstone National Park with a man with an hourglass strapped to his back. Current events and issues also find their way into her work, she said, which often invite a second look.

Eli Preston, originally from Utah, teaches pottery classes for adults and children through the Teton Arts Council in addition to experimenting with his own work that has evolved into more natural organic forms. He has built his own kiln for salt glazes and has a background in Raku glazing.

“I’ve been experimenting with different textures – incorporating different woods and objects by imprinting the patterns on the bowls while they’re still wet,” Preston said. “Other pieces, I just beat them up” in attempts to achieve a variety of surfaces on his pots and bowls.

Preston studied under the well-known potter Andy Watson, who teaches visual arts at Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, and has also been an instructor at Brigham Young University. Preston’s work, all wheel-thrown pottery, consists mostly of a mix of functional pieces, larger bowls and vessels of differing sizes. His contribution to the show, over 30 pieces in all, include some traditional and symmetrical, others distorted and cut apart, the artist added.

The reception for the featured artists will be held 6-9 p.m. and will include food and beverages. Ciao Gallery is located at 145 N. Main St. in Victor, Idaho. Contact the gallery at (208) 787-4841 for more information.
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Spence makes case for new images; Walters revels in the surreal at Ciao | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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