20 artists help Aunt Dofe kick off 2010

The Montana Arts Council, a state agency, awarded Aunt Dofe’s Hall of Recent Memory a 2009 award for innovation in the arts. The award singled out Aunt Dofe’s approach to presenting art as a unique experience that the artist shares with the rest of us.

Aunt Dofe makes some assumptions in presenting work. There are a lot of rooms in the house we call ‘contemporary art’. And we often take a certain pride in “knowing what we like”. But, by dismissing work that falls short, we have sadly excluded one more person, one more experience from our lives. Maybe, with a little effort we could expand our community. That effort becomes much easier if we can think of it as taking a walk through the world with another person, the artist. One artist might be taken by a sunset, by a mountain valley, or by every hair on a bobcat; but others are just as taken by a leaf, the horizon, or by the way gray wax separates from white lines etched into it. Aunt Dofe has always tried to give such artists a place to present those experiences, but even more importantly she has tried to give us a place to experience along with them.

Aunt Dofe is acknowledging the Montana Arts Council award by beginning the new decade with a special show. Rather than emphasizing one artist or a medium; the show presents work by 20 artists. “It’s meant to be more like fireworks than an art show,” says curator Dave Kirk. “Unrelated images are crammed together. Each one has its own glow or report. Some days one will hit you harder than another. The next time through that one will seem quiet, and another will sing out. I hope that experiencing this show will be a lot like experiencing the world the way an artist does.”

The show is up now and will be constantly changing until early March. Call Aunt Dofe’s at 285-6996 to get directions or arrange an appointment.

The Joys of Winter @ Artist’s Gallery

During the month of January the local artists of the Artists’ Gallery will be displaying small pieces inspired by this snowy season. Since winter lasts at least half the year here in Bozeman, it is sure to bring about some creative imagery. Though some people can find things to dislike about this season, this show will prove there is so much more to love.

Join us for an artists’ reception January 8, 2009 from 5:00-8:00pm at the Artists’ Gallery in the Emerson Center, 111 S. Grand.

Show runs January 4th – January 25th, 2009.

Angst, Corrigan, and Dunbar @ Artists’ Gallery

The Artists’ Gallery at the Emerson invites the public to a reception for featured artists Sarah Angst, Mary Jane Corrigan, and George Dunbar, to be held on Friday, December 11 from 5 to 8 PM. Their show will be on display from November 30 through December 26.

Printmaker Sarah Angst will be featuring a selection of her new, never seen before, hand painted linocuts.

Mary Jane Corrigan will be showing a selection of 2009 paintings, with a focus on simple kitchen still-lifes in water soluble oil on linen.

Local potter George Dunbar has fired two kilns for his show of beautifully thrown vessels, sinks, dinner ware and functional hand thrown pieces, with colors as varied as a Montana skyline.

OST.ONE: Paintings by Liz Compos @ Exit Gallery

ASMSU Campus Entertainment presents OST.ONE, a collection of oil paintings by Liz Compos. The exhibit will be showing in the Exit Gallery November 30 – December 11. There will be a free public artist reception Wednesday, December 9th from 5 – 7 pm.

Liz Compos is currently a student at Montana State University, working towards graduating with a BFA in painting. Last May she returned from a semester of studying in Italy, and also worked on her Bachelors degree at The Art Institute of Boston in Boston, Massachusetts.

The works shown in the exhibit are oil paint and mixed media on canvas.  They are part of a larger body of work that is still in progress. Through her work, Liz responds to the struggle between mankind and the manufactured object to create paintings that reflect the state of human culture and the age of technology.  According to Compos, in this day and age people are no more important than their increasingly complex inventions. She demonstrates the battle between the human organic state and the surroundings we have fabricated for ourselves with an intricate layering process of structurally correct charcoal drawings, sculptural, fleshy masses of oil paint inspired by the human form, fields of flat artificial color, and a geometric breakdown of the space.

The Exit Gallery is located in Strand Union Building room 212, Montana State University, Bozeman. Hours are Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm.

Galleria Art Walk

New exhibits and refreshments at the Emerson Galleria Art Walk this Friday, 5-8 pm:

Artists’ Gallery: Gerri Carlson showing “Tom Morgan’s Favorite Flies Favorite Waters” handbound book and Joan Pribanic showing new oil paintings based on favorite sites along nearby rivers
Beaucoup Framing and Gallery: Panoramic Photography by Craig Hergert
ECCE: Peter Moore Visions of the North Fork and scarves by Sarah Pilgrim
Glasscrafters and Infusion Jewelry: Mixed Media Work by Debb Rogers and Jewelry by Vickie Raisler
Mia Anima Studio and Gallery: work by local and Tibetan artists
Montana Panoramic Gallery: Panoramic Photography by Craig Hergert
tart: “Birds and Beasts”: Mixed Media Constructions by Vicki Fish

Landscapes: Prints by Gesine Janzen @ Exit Gallery

ASMSU Campus Entertainment presents Landscapes, a collection of new prints by Gesine Janzen. Janzen, Associate Professor of Art and Head of Printmaking at MSU, received a Scholarship and Creativity Grant from the University to help support the work. The exhibit will be showing in the Exit Gallery November 2 – 13. There will be a free public artist reception Wednesday, November 4 from 5-7pm.

The Exit Gallery is located in Strand Union Building room 212, Montana State University, Bozeman. Hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

Tibetan Sand Mandala Project at the Helen E. Copeland Gallery

The MSU School of Art is proud to present a Tibetan Sand Mandala Project at the Helen E. Copeland Gallery. The Venerable Ngawang Chojor, who is a senior monk from Namgyal Monastery, will construct the mandala, a sacred Buddhist practice, in the Helen E. Copeland Gallery at the School of Art. The presentation begins Thursday, October 29 at 11 a.m. with a blessing ceremony. Chojor will work on the mandala, an intricate design “painted” with various colors of fine sand, continuously on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 12-noon to 3:00 p.m., for public viewing. Chojor’s visit to Bozeman concludes with the traditional destruction of the mandala and the burial of the sand in the ground outside Haynes Hall. Chojor will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions about the mandala. A lecture will be held, Thursday, October 29 from 5:10-6:00pm in Cheever 215 that will discuss the project.  There will also be a special presentation by the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation at the Bozeman High School Cafeteria, Thursday, from 7-9pm. Admission to all events is free and open to the public.

Created meticulously by hand, sand mandalas follow traditional patterns and are objects of meditation that represent the universal qualities of harmony, balance, community, and pure wisdom. The construction of the sand mandala begins with an opening ceremony in which the Tibetan monks bless the area. After drawing an outline of the mandala on a wood backing, the monks carefully lay colored sands over the design using traditional metal funnels called chak-pur. There are many types of mandala images, each with it’s own cosmology, symbols, and meanings. Traditionally, most sand mandalas are destroyed shortly after completion, as a metaphor for the impermanence of life. The intricate geometric design is swept up and the sands placed in an urn and dispersed, a process, which Tibetans believe carries the mandala’s blessing throughout the world. Chojor will bury the sand from the gallery’s mandala at the conclusion of the demonstration on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

The Venerable Ngawang Chojor is the most accomplished sand mandala constructor alive today and is the primary teacher of the monks who construct sand mandalas. His visit is made possible by the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation in Helena, serving Tibetan refugees.

The Helen E. Copeland Gallery is located on the second floor of Haynes Hall on the MSU-Bozeman campus.  Haynes Hall is on 11th Avenue near the duck pond.  For more information, please call Erin W. Anderson at 994-2562.

Forty Years! Student Print Sale @ MSU

The MSU School of Art is proud to present a Forty Years! Student Print Sale: 1970 – 2009.  Forty years of student prints will be on sale at the Helen E. Copeland Gallery on Thursday, November 5, from 10:00am – 7:00pm. Prints will be priced from $5 – $20, and the proceeds will go towards visiting artists in printmaking. There will be a reception with music from 5 – 7pm in the gallery.

The Helen E. Copeland Gallery is located on the second floor of Haynes Hall on the MSU-Bozeman campus.  Haynes Hall is on 11th Avenue near the duck pond.  For more information, please call Erin W. Anderson at 994-2562.

Exit Gallery Call for Entries!!!

ASMSU Arts and Exhibits is now accepting applications for exhibits in the Exit Gallery during the Spring 2010 semester. We’re looking for anyone and everyone, whether you are a student or an established artist. If accepted you will show your artwork in a two week solo exhibit with paid advertising and reception. This is a chance to promote yourself as an artist, promote the arts on campus, and sell your work! Seven spots are available. For an application or for more information please contact Stacey Ray, ASMSU Arts and Exhibits Director at  exhibits@montana.edu. Applications are due December 15, 2009.

jROD and Pyper Hugos: “The Creative Life”

Living an inspired life isn’t always easy, making a living off inspiration can be even harder. So, is the creative life worth it? Jarrod Eastman (aka jROD) and Pyper Hugos think so. They are the husband and wife behind jRODaRT and You Got Mojo. They met 11 years ago in Granada, Spain. Magnetized by their mutual love of life and creativity, they have been pursuing careers in the arts ever since they met. Jarrod has always been drawn to painting while Pyper’s love for anything old and rusty, especially metal, has led her to jewelry. jROD’s work leans towards an urban aesthetic while holding true to a painterly style. His paintings appear kinetic and surreal with the essence of a story just beginning or of one in progress. Pyper’s jewelry is beautiful in its simplicity of design and color. Using reclaimed automotive steel, found objects, and sterling silver, she reinvents pieces that transcend time and genres, creating art that is at once retro yet modern.

These two artists have teamed up with Amy Kirkland of Altitude Gallery to bring you a one night art extravaganza…“The Creative Life”. They will be showing new artwork from the last few months in the studio. jROD will also be releasing a new 16 x 20 limited edition print series, and Pyper will be unveiling new bracelets and rings in her line of jewelry. This event is sponsored by Altitude Gallery and Montana Ale Works and will take place at the gallery located at 134 E. Main St. from 5 to 9pm on November 6th, 2009. Stop by for some great art and libations.

For more information contact Amy @ 406.582.4472 or visit www.altitudegallerybozeman.com, www.yougotmojo.com, or www.jrodart.com.