Art Association, Ciao feature local artists

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

By Henry Sweets

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Hidden in the folds of Jackson’s ritzy art market is a vibrant community of talented local artists. Two shows opening this weekend feature these artists, both professionals and “dabblers.” The receptions, offering wine, hors d’oeuvres, and crowds of art appreciators, will be a great opportunity to meet local artists and shop for affordable works.

From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday the Art Association is hosting its Member Only exhibition in the Artspace at the Center for the Arts. which will feature work from over 100 Art Association members. The Members Only show has been going on as long as Art Association executive director Karen Stewart can remember, years before they moved into their new space in the Center for the Arts, and for the first time the show will hang in the Artspace, the Art Association’s centerpiece gallery.

“This year, our third year in this building, we wanted to take an opportunity to really recognize our community of artists.” Stewart said. “It is … a thank you to the community of artists for hanging with us. They are the Art Association.”
For the past two years the Members Only show hung in the lobby gallery, while other shows occupied the Artspace gallery.

Jenny Dowd, administrative assistant and ceramics instructor at the Art Association, has been keeping tabs on work as it comes in. She said to expect a wide variety of works and “traditional and non-traditional materials and subjects” in this year’s show. Entries are composed of many different media: drawing, painting, pen and ink, bronze sculpture, ceramic sculpture, wood sculpture, mixed media and wearable fiber. Each member can only enter one piece of work and many members have been showing their art at this event for years. Most instructors at the Art Association have entered pieces in this year’s show.

Prices range from $50 to $1000, with 30 percent of proceeds going to the Art Association to pay rent and other gallery expenses and 70 percent going to the artists. About 100 local artists will show this year, with several members from cities like New York and Chicago.

For more information call 733-6379.

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After 11 months of business in Victor, Idaho, the Ciao artist cooperative has moved over the Pass. Their new space is located on Teton Village Road next to the Christian Andersen Realty.

“We literally turned the lights off over there and turned them on over here,” said owner and operator Michele Walters.

The new space is bright and airy, set back from the road and bordering willow groves and open space. Clusters of works from different artists cover the walls, including landscapes, figure paintings, photographs and more abstract pieces. The space is professional and chic, a far cry from their space in an aging Victor building that they recently vacated.

 Ciao’s main priority is to promote, and provide exposure to, local artists. Walters, a painter herself, said that she tried to get gallery representation in Jackson when she moved here and was ignored because she wasn’t an established artist already showing her works in other galleries. After realizing that other local artists shared in her struggle, she decided to open the gallery.

“There’s a huge community of artists here, but there is nowhere for them to show their work, and that is the basis for Ciao,” said Walters.

Emily Boespflug, who is showing her oil landscapes in the new gallery, was a charter member at the Ciao gallery and will continue to show works in the new location. She, too, was discouraged about her chances of selling art when she moved to Jackson, but thinks Ciao can open up new possibilities for art and music in Jackson.
“It’s a completely open opportunity for artists,” she said. “You don’t have to know someone to be a part of it … it is a chance for artists to come together, and it can evolve into something strong.”

This weekend Ciao will feature photographs by Brian Crowder and Andrew Wyatt; paintings by Emily Boespflug, Eliot Goss, Kari Hall, Matt Montagne, Ruth Sauerbreit, Shannon Troxler and Michele Walters; and sculptures by Martin Hagen and Matt Montagne. Sauerbreit lives in Idaho Falls, while all of the other artists live in Jackson or Wilson. Walters says that in the future she might represent some national artists and also get national exposure for the local artists currently represented. 

The first year anniversary and grand reopening exhibition will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Ciao gallery, 1921 Moose-Wilson road. Call 733-7833 for more.

Courtesy Jenny Dowd
Detail image of “Leaf Journal” by Jenny Dowd.

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Art Association, Ciao feature local artists | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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