Set out early to dash across Utah from dawn until night, conducting studio visits with an array of creative workers. It was a spectacular example of the breadth and depth of thinking, and innovation, going on in contemporary art in this state; again, the first state in the country to have a state funded arts council (1899)…
Read MoreToday was the second of our two critical sessions. Artists, directors, curators and thinkers from across Utah gathered to discuss art criticism…
Read MoreRandall Lake is a veteran painter, and Utah stalwart, who draws from Impressionism, Fauvism, and Expressionism. He utilizes an angular figurative momentum redolent of Whistler or Manet. His subjects cover a wide range, from landscape to political statements in the vein of Soviet Realism…
Read MoreToday was the first of our Critical Sessions at Granary Arts, and it was deeply affecting. A group of committed, inventive, and inspiring educators, artists, directors, writers and curators from across the state came together to discuss the role of criticism in the Utah art world; perceptions, issues and challenges faced by art organizations and institutions in Utah, from funding to geography; how to galvanize art workers to build community…
Read MoreSpring City—like Ephraim—is located in Sanpete County. There I met Joe Bennion, a potter of international renown. Joe makes functional wares in a wood fired kiln at his local Horseshoe Mountain Pottery. He has a great interest in the vessels he makes being part of the ritual and experience of sharing, of communion, and of connecting through the handling of his bowls, cups and plates…
Read MoreGreat to finally meet my super-host and dynamic Utah art leader, Amy Jorgensen, who had the idea of bringing me here to Utah, out of discussions we'd had about art criticism and its role across the United States.
We began the day with John Sproul who founded Nox Contemporary, and is a great supporter of Utah artists. A meaningful conversation…
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