By definition, Telluride Art Walk — the monthly event at which galleries and venues stay open late — is a celebration of the new.
There are new exhibits, for starters.
And new works by established artists.
What’s more, a few of the venues themselves are new to Art Walk. That’s so for Bella Fine Goods: The high-end home furnishings and jewelry purveyor is no stranger to gorgeous locales (additional shops are located in Jackson Hole, Scottsdale and Sedona), but Bella’s Telluride locale has not participated in Art Walk before, said Evan Tueller, the event’s communications and programs manager. That changes tonight: The shop will display paintings by Stan Natchez, whose canvases, inspired by iconic pop artists Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and others, “often begin with artifacts of American culture.” Also on exhibit this evening (from 5-8 p.m.) at Bella: pieces by New York City artist Aida Izadpanah, who specializes in “large-format mixed-media and porcelain sculptural painting.”
Tony Newlin’s images aren’t new to lovers of wildlife photography but his image “Room With a View,” which juxtaposes a soaring fourteener with a squat, purpose-built lakeside home not for sale at any price, will be: it’s one of five fresh images, along with “Aspen Mist,” “Beach Bum,” “The Sheriff” and “Tranquility,” captured by Newlin earlier this year.
Other venues have participated in Art Walk in the past. “The Wilkinson Public Library sort of took a break for a while,” Tueller said. “They’re back” tonight, with an exhibit by someone well-known in this region for his musicianship and, increasingly, his wood works: Cie Hoover, one-half of the musical duo You Knew Me When, has a show titled “Within the Woods” at the library that conjures “the solitude, peace and inspiration” the artist has found “within the mountains and forests” since he and his wife, Carissa, relocated to Ouray from Nashville several years ago.
Telluride Arts, which sponsors Art Walk, never asks artists to adhere to a monthly theme. After all, the goal is to encourage creatives to express themselves, not to squelch the artistic process. So it’s surprising that — completely unbidden, Tueller pointed out — an overall theme emerged this month. The topic, Tueller said, is the past: one way or another, “Everybody seems to be going for a retrospective,” she explained.
Mixx gallery’s show, for instance, is titled “Retro Fit.” It’s a backward glance at comic books, ski suits and more.
Telluride Arts’ HQ Gallery will showcase “proof prints and exposure strips” leftover from photographer Ingrid Lundahl’s shoots between 1978 and 2002. The result is a kaleidoscopic walk forward, or backward, depending on how you approach it, through the gallery in the company of visiting film stars, local cowboys, careening KOTO Halloween partiers and spent Imogene Pass competitors, all captured by Lundhal over two-and-a-half decades.
The Telluride Gallery of Fine Art also offers a look back at the works of two well-known artists, James Hayward and Tony Berlant, over a half century through something less-well-known: their friendship. There are several reasons for pairing these individuals in an exhibit, Ashley Hayward, the curator of the show, titled “Old Friends,” has explained.
“First, both Berlant and Hayward have dedicated hundreds of thousands of hours to perfecting their signature styles for five decades.” Also: “We bring you this exhibition to share a lesser-known reality: Berlant and Hayward’s half-century-long friendship, the support they provided one another without stifling their unique approach in creating art, and the appreciation of each other’s personal mastery.”
“They’re kind of lookin’ backward and bringin’ it forward,” Tueller said of the more than 20 venues that make up Art Walk this month. “It’s an organic development, which makes it even more fun.”
Telluride Art Walk venues are open from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, during regular business hours and by appointment. For a complete guide to what’s on, visit telluridearts.org.
