Ringholz one-ups Western

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

By Aaron Wallis

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Amid all the shows and usual summer outdoor activities, many of you probably did not catch the Amy Ringholz opening at Altamira Fine Arts. The show titled “Resonance” is up through August 17, and I recommend stopping by.

As my loyal readers are no doubt aware, this column is frequently critical of wildlife, Western and landscape art. It is the type of art the majority of galleries in town show and my taste in art lies elsewhere. But if I was going to identify one gallery in town that has a roster of artists who try to put a fresh spin on the usual suspects, it would be Altamira. Altamira’s artists include Bill Schenck and Amy Ringholz. I was told Schenck used to be involved with Warhol’s Factory, though as far as I know, that gig could have consisted merely of running out to score Andy some heroin. Nowadays, Schenck is making Western pop art that uses the paint by numbers technique. Schenck is not the first artist to paint Clint Eastwood, but his painting is the first paint-by-numbers Clint Eastwood I have seen. It’s a very successful painting, and I would hang it in my TV room, but first I need a house, and a TV.

Ringholz is one of the more successful artists in Jackson who I know personally. She paints lions, birds, wolves, rabbits and other animals in a style that references both children’s illustration and painting. Again, art with animals is not usually my cup of tea, but now there is a child in this world that calls me “Grandpa.” My 20s are only recently behind me, and I am not genetically related to this child in the slightest, though my view on animal art has definitely softened.

Color is one of the most important elements in a good painting, and Ringholz has a natural sense of it. Like athletic talent, people are either born with color sense or they are not. Color theory can be developed – Josef Albers and Mark Rothko are a great place to start. But some people just have a natural eye for powerful color combinations and Ringholz is one of them. She uses primarily a bright orange/red vs. light blue-green color combination. The colors are consistently upbeat and applied in bold faceted patches across the picture plane.

Some of her work, such as “Living Off of Faith,” employs simple flat backgrounds in a contrasting color to the figure. Her most successful work, like “I have often been called, this time I was sent,” moves in a different direction and employs art noveau backgrounds inspired by Alphonse Mucha. Ringholz's references to art nouveau and the baroque ornamentation separates the work from most wildlife art. JHW

photo by AARON WALLIS
Amy Ringholz opening at Altamira Fine Arts


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Ringholz one-ups Western | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

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