Show Preview | American Impressionist Society

St. George, UT
Illume Gallery of Fine Art, October 22-November 21

Diane Frossard, Entourage, oil, 8 x 14.

This story was featured in the October 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art October 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

FOR MANY event organizers around the country, lately the mantra has been “the show must go on,” whether that entails hosting it in a physical location with precautions in place, or entirely online. Some events, like the American Impressionist Society’s 21st annual National Juried Exhibition, are being presented as a combination of virtual and in-person offerings for art lovers. Starting on Thursday, October 22, the AIS show hangs at Illume Gallery in St. George, UT, and its two sister galleries located next door, The Mission Gallery and Authentique Gallery. Opening-night activities include an awards presentation at the Electric Theater at 5 p.m. that’s also being live-streamed. Then, from 6 to 9 p.m., the festivities continue with a reception at the galleries.

: Jim McVicker, Backlit Roses, oil, 20 x 16.

: Brienne M. Brown, Burning Leaves, watercolor, 14 x 10.

: Bill Cramer, Deep Time, oil, 24 x 24.

Gracing this year’s show are around 20 paintings by AIS Masters, founders, officers, and board members, and approximately 180 juried paintings by many other top artists from around the country. The selection represents just a “small sliver” of the 1,300 entries the group received, says AIS executive director Liz Ahrens. A blind jury evaluated each piece while being “mindful of the fact that this is an impressionism show,” she adds. “Elements of light, of soft edges—loose but not sloppy—that’s very key to our shows.”

Indeed, eloquent and painterly impressions of color and light abound in works as diverse as Barbara Jaenicke’s landscape SHIMMER AND SHADOWS AMONG THE PINES, portraying a snowy scene near Bend, OR, in the sun’s morning glow; Jim McVicker’s plein-air still life BACKLIT ROSES, completed outside his California studio; Lindsey Bittner Graham’s DRIVING LINES, featuring a pair of palomino horses waiting to be unhitched; Brienne M. Brown’s watercolor BURNING LEAVES, depicting the artist’s family working together on their Pennsylvania farm; and Sheryl Thornton’s SOLACE IN TROUBLED TIMES, a portrait of the artist’s own brushes, “painted during the Covid-19 pandemic as a tribute to my art for giving me respite and solace,” she says.

: Allie Zeyer, Patchwork, oil, 20 x 20.

: Donald A. Carter, Toroweap, pastel, 28 x 23.

: Julie Davis, Gatekeepers, oil, 11 x 14.

For art lovers who journey to see the exhibition in person, it’s an exquisite show worth every mile traveled. But for those unable to make the trip, all works are available to view on the gallery’s website in a special virtual showcase, where visitors can zoom in on the details of individual paintings. Illume Gallery owner Jane Bell Meyer is more than happy to assist interested collectors with inquiries and sales remotely. For example, she says, “I’ll take photographs of a painting up close so that someone can see the brushwork and frame.” In some circumstances, adds Meyer, she’s also willing to deliver and hang a painting in a collector’s home, allowing him or her a period of time to consider the work before purchasing it.

As in years past, a paint-out for AIS members is planned for the Saturday of opening weekend, when the artists fan out around designated areas of St. George to capture the inimitable beauty of southwestern Utah. All fresh pieces then go on display in a wet-wall competition and sale from 4 to 6 p.m. at Illume Gallery. —Kim Agricola

contact information
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www.illumegalleryoffineart.com