Show Preview | Altamira Fine Art: Sanders & Vhay

Jackson, WY, August 1-14

Jared Sanders, Montana Sea, oil, 36 x 36.

This story was featured in the August 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art magazine August 2012 print edition here, or purchase the Southwest Art magazine August 2012 digital download here. Or simply click here to subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!

Altamira Fine Art presents two separate shows this month: Totem by September Vhay and Home Ground by Jared Sanders, which run concurrently from August 1 to 14. “We are excited by the synchronicity of these shows,” says gallery director of sales Dean Munn. “Collectors, patrons, and newcomers alike will be delighted by the harmony of each artist’s body of work, linked by sophistication and elegance.” An opening reception for both artists is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 2.

“September Vhay’s artwork has the quality of lilting music,” says Munn. “She constructs flawless compositions with a lyrical sense of positive and negative spaces. Her soft yet defined edges unconsciously keeps the viewer’s eyes moving, flowing with interest while engaged in the melody of the piece. As with any great piece of music, where the space between notes is as important as the notes themselves, September’s art provides just the right amount of information.”

Vhay’s great-grandfather Gutzon Borglum envisioned and sculpted Mount Rushmore and other national monuments. “He was very talented,” Vhay says, “and we grew up around his artwork.” Largely self-taught as an artist, Vhay received her bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon in 1993. She moved to Jackson, WY, in 1997 and worked in architecture for 10 years, painting in her spare time. Eventually, she opened her own gallery, which she operated until recently.

September Vhay, Bokeh, oil, 15 x 41.

“Being part of Altamira has inspired larger pieces, since the space itself is larger,” Vhay says. “There’s been an expansiveness in my creativity.” She expresses this in her new 5- and 6-foot canvases, sparsely inhabited by Black Angus, grizzly bears, ravens, horses, swans, magpies, and foxes. Native American animal totems inspire her images and the exhibition’s title, Totem. With their abundance of open space, Vhay’s realistic and impressionistic oils and watercolors have an Asian feel.

Hailing from pioneer stock, Jared Sanders lives in the small community of Midway, UT, near Park City. He attended Utah State University and studied under Glen Edwards, emerging as a career artist soon after graduation. Sanders paints the familiar landscapes of his childhood and current life—farmlands, barns, cows, hills, rivers, and trees—in dusky, muted browns, yellows, and burnt reds that contrast with subdued blues and greens. Modified realism describes his style, which emphasizes composition and draws inspiration from the landscapes of New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.

“I’m calling this show Home Ground,” Sanders says, “because it’s made up of very familiar scenes to me of those states. You can take scenes from any of those states and mix them up. It’s all just home to me and really inspires me. I call myself a regionalist. The West is just a part of me.” Through his strong, serene paintings, Sanders hopes to share his deep connection to, and appreciation for, the West with his audience.
“Whether a distinctive landscape or a signature barn, Jared’s ability to present the important elements and eliminate the noise is paramount,” says Munn. “With a directness of applying paint with stiff brushes and palette knives, his style attracts the eye, moves the soul, and is not easily forgotten.” —Reed Glenn

contact information
307.739.4700
www.altamiraart.com

Featured in the August 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art magazine August 2012 digital download
Southwest Art magazine August 2012 print edition
Or click here to subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!