Roots and Anchors: Painted stories of freedom, flight and grounding by Christine Sutton

New paintings by Bozeman artist Christine Sutton will be unveiled during the September artwalk. In her latest series, Roots & Anchors, Sutton explores a landscape of nostalgia, melancholy, loneliness and hope. These otherworldly paintings play with images of weight and lift to create abstract portraits of mood, time, and place to examining her own real-word experiences. Christine’s images are rough, yet deliberate, exposing the hidden tensions and meanings underlying daily existence. From a small cast of common elements including the prairie horizon-line, the “sage brush ocean”, and open sky, Christine conjures up an emotional and contemplative space that is continually evolving.

10% of the proceeds from this show will be donated to Pintler Pets, a no-kill animal shelter in Anaconda, MT.

Opening reception will be held in tart, rooms 107B & C in the Emerson Center, 111 S. Grand Ave. Visit www.tartique.com, call 406-582-0416 or email tartress@tartique.com. The show will be on display through October 6th, 2011.

Francesco Gillia paintings @ Exit Gallery

Embrace an exhibition of paintings by MSU graduate student Francesco Gillia at the Exit Gallery.

Art is much like writing, but an artist can speak volumes in only a few inches of paint and canvas. He can paint what is difficult to comprehend or even what is difficult to look at, if he feels. One might have a very conflicting experience standing in front of the colossal nudes by MSU graduate student Francesco Gillia. This artist’s work is stunningly beautiful but the women that he paints have been separated from their most defining features, their faces, arms and legs, and are distilled to a view that focuses directly on their most feminine parts. Not only that, but they are simply massive.

Francesco is Italian and anyone who talks to him for more than ten seconds will have figured that out. His paintings certainly resonate with the great classical Italian statues. One of his models, Tamara Christians, said that Gillia’s paintings “are massive displays of femininity, each one coyly revealing something about the model.” She goes on to talk about the “formula” that develops each work: “belly buttonlandmark, vaginas eye level, hung such that feet, if the giant headless women had them, would stand flat on the floor.” There is much mystery to the women but what they present to the viewer is a beautiful truth about the female body and all its imperfections.

The exhibition Embrace by Francesco Gillia will be in the ASMSU Exit Gallery September 6-16 with an opening reception on Wednesday, September 7th at 5:00 pm. The Exit Gallery is located in Strand Union Building room 212, Montana State University and hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. For more info, please call 406.994.1828 or email exhibits@montana.edu.

Photography of Butte by Cornish and van Coller

The exhibit Butte: Common & Private Spaces represents an ongoing and collaborative effort between Bozeman photographers Dan Cornish and Ian van Coller. Their goal is to explore the culture of Butte by investigating the dynamic landscape of the town and its people as it emerges from an identity deeply rooted in copper mining. While these projects provide distinct perspectives of Butte, the shared focus on local history and narrative reveal the simultaneous stillness and reemergence of a distinct cultural identity. The work is a selection of photographs taken from February 2009 to the present. Ian van Coller is a professor of photography at Montana State University, Bozeman; Daniel Cornish graduated in photography from MSU and is a Butte native.

Meet the photographers at their fall reception in the Weaver Room on Thursday, September 8, 7 – 9 pm, with a gallery talk at 7:30 pm. There is also a gallery talk Sept. 1st, 6 pm, with reception 5:30 – 7 pm. The exhibit will remain on view through October 6. For further information or to schedule a tour, please contact Ellen Ornitz, ellen@theemerson.org.

Holiday Bazaar Vendors Needed!

The Emerson’s Holiday Bazaar is a celebration of local and regional artists. The show is a fundraiser for the historical Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture in downtown Bozeman. Exhibitors display original fine art and distinctive crafts. This year it will be held on Saturday, December 17th 10:00am to 5:00pm in the Emerson Ballroom. If you are interested in being a vendor at the Bazaar, please visit: www.theemerson.org (emerson event) or call/email Jordan at: 587-9797 or jordan@theemerson.org.

“Montana Women in the Visual Arts” exhibit @ The Emerson

The Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture in Bozeman, Montana presents a comprehensive exhibit: Montana Women in the Visual Arts, a two-venue show featuring historic, modern and contemporary works of art in all media. The shows will be on display from September 9 – November 11 with an opening reception, September 9, 5-8 pm. The last time Montana viewers had the opportunity to see such a survey was in the 1980s in Custer County, Montana.

The Emerson’s Jessie Wilber Gallery will feature a survey of works by accomplished women artists from 1850 – 2011. Most of these works are borrowed from the permanent collections of Montana’s major art museums. Emerson’s guest curator Mimi Harris selected compelling artworks that reflect a visual relationship to Montana and represent an overview of women’s interests and concerns. Women artists of both Native and European traditions have representation in this show. The show will feature works by such renowned local artists as Christine Joy, Deborah Butterfield, Frances Senska and Jessie Wilber. Exceptional beaded Native American pouches and dolls highlight the historic components in the exhibit. On display in the Emerson Lobby is a juried exhibit of emerging professional women artists from throughout Montana. Selections for both exhibits included originality of idea, creative use of materials and professional craftsmanship. The combined shows are a springboard for the Emerson’s “Schools in the Gallery” program that offers exhibit tours for students of all ages, with a focus on K-5 elementary school children.

The Emerson is grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts, the Montana Arts Council, the Montana Cultural Trust and the Yellowstone Community Foundation for supporting these programs. For additional information about this exhibit and our education programs please consult www.theemerson.org. or contact Ellen Ornitz: ellen@theemerson.org.

Spencer Simon @ 406 Brewing Company

The 406 Brewing Company will host an exhibit of Spencer Simons‘ art works during the month of September 2011; they may be viewed during normal business hours, daily from 12 – 8 PM.

The artist will attend the reception on September 3 from 6 to 8 PM. More of Simons’ work can be viewed at his web site, spencersimons.com.

406 Brewing Company  101 East Oak, Suite D (map to the pub).

Wilbert and Williams works @ Artists’ Gallery

Artists Ann Wilbert and Linda Williams will be displaying new work during the month of September at the Artists’ Gallery in The Emerson. Come to the Artists’ Gallery in the Emerson Center, to meet the artists at a wine and cheese reception on the evening of Friday, September 9th from 5-8 p.m., during Bozeman’s last Downtown Art Walk.

Ann Wilbert has been making lampwork glass beads for 15 years. She continues her fascination with taking something as solid as glass and molding it into a unique piece of art.

Linda Williams continues to develop her skills as an oil painter. After graduating from MSU with a degree in Studio Art and a focus on watercolors, she has since taken numerous classes to hone her talent in oil. She has recently shown her work in the MIA, Sweet Pea, and Danforth juried shows.

Landscape paintings by Jessica Mongeon @ the Flying C

A Place Apart, a collection of contemporary landscape paintings by Jessica Mongeon, will be on display September 1- 30 at the Flying C Gallery, Community Food Co-op, Bozeman. An Artist’s Reception will take place September 9, 5-8 p.m. during the Bozeman Art Walk, Refreshments will be served. 10 % of the proceeds will benefit the Gallatin Valley Land Trust’s “Make Tracks for Trails” project.

Jessica is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at MSU Bozeman and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. Being an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast, Jessica takes many of her source photos in the Bozeman area. She is currently represented by Tart Gallery in Bozeman, Montana.