Bridgette Meinhold, from her “Family of Trees” series, Encaustic, 2010

Last fall, I purchased one of Bridgette Meinhold’s figurative encaustic and mixed media works from Phoenix Gallery’s miniature show. The artist dropped by my gallery a few weeks later and introduced herself. As I came to learn more about Meinhold (formerly Steffen), I decided to add her works to our 2nd Annual Local Fireworks show, here at Gallery MAR this weekend.

Where she lives, this artist has nature at her beck and call, and her pieces are inspired by her surroundings– aspen trees, mountain vistas, wildlife, and the changing seasons. In her latest encaustic works, we are seeing families of trees as they grow and change with each season (see above). The surface quality of her wax paintings is thick and lush– many layers go into each work, and graphite transfers are common. Later this summer, we will feature a group of works inspired by the plight of the honey bee, for our “Bee Conscious” series.

Last night, I visited Meinhold in her studio in Brighton Estates, over the back of Deer Valley. She lives there with her fireman husband Matt, on what they call the “Meinhold Compound.” Dog Cooper met us at their door, and we got a tour of the grounds (see below for pictures). Her studio and Matt’s workshop are each a divided half of a reclaimed shipping crate. They’re insulated and rigged the crate into a lovely (albeit narrow) space in which to work. Their whole space is incredible, and the hiking straight from their front door is divine. What a life…

Come by the gallery on Saturday from 3 to 5 pm to meet Meinhold and all of our local artists for our “Local Fireworks” celebration.

The Meinhold compound and [shipping container] studio

Jennifer Carr, Fine Art Consultant at Gallery MAR, will be contributing to our Park City blog this spring, with her Italian Insights and Adventures. This week’s adventure brought Jennifer through the volcano cloud to Paris, France, where she begins her three month trip. Look for more updates and inspirations from her travels throughout Italy and beyond.

We arrived in Rome on a rainy afternoon. Our plan was to see the Coliseum and the ruins but (with the rain) that was not going to happen. We stopped for an espresso to get warm and to figure out our next option. We looked up, and saw the sign for Monet’s exhibit at the Museo del Vittorian.

This answered what our next move would be… it ended up being  a wonderful exhibit including Corot, Monet, Sisley and Pissarro showing more of Monet’s water lilies, but also some of his work outside of his garden. The theme brought the impressionist artists together, with 150 pieces of artwork, all linked by the “representation of nature” from 1870s. This was a wonderful ending to a rainy afternoon.

A few day later the Borghese park was the plan for the day. We went to the Borghese Gallery in the morning, then we were heading to The National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. This museum had been highly recommended by a local woman we had met at dinner a few days before. She told us we couldn’t miss this museum, and recommended we stoll through the park afterward.

Now to preface the Borghese visit, I had been told by a Gallery MAR client before my trip began that if I didn’t see the Borghese Gallery then I had “missed Rome,” so my expectations were very high. After my visit I would have to agree. Not only do they house some of the great pieces by Caravaggio and Raphael but the exhibit “The Passage (a commissioned art work’s story)” which was incredibly insightful and worth seeing.

What had the biggest impact on me was the Museum of Modern Art. You start on the outer circle of the museum, which is surrounded by a garden, putting you in a very serene vibe. You see sculptures by Canova, paintings by Van Gogh, and as you circle into the middle you begin to see the modern and contemporary art. They truly captured the 19th and 20^th century with such a wide variety of works of art.

We continued to take on Rome one day at time. After spending the day in Vatican City enjoying the Basilica (I loved the Pieta, Michelangelo) and the Sistine Chapel, a day roaming through the middle of the city to see Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon, we eventually made it back to the Coliseum and the ruins.

Rome has so much to offer and it was wonderful to have a good amount of time to really see it, experience it, and stumble onto a few highlights as well. Next on the list is Cinque Terre…

Ciao!

Jennifer Carr, Fine Art Consultant at Gallery MAR, will be contributing to our Park City blog this spring, with her Italian Insights and Adventures. This week’s adventure brought Jennifer through the volcano cloud to Paris, France, where she begins her three month trip. Look for more updates and inspirations from her travels throughout Italy and beyond.

As the train pulled up to the station, I couldn’t help but feel like I was looking at a postcard. The canals, the gondolas, the multi colored building bunched together. It was a bright and sunny day and the streets were packed with people. All the little shops lining the street selling gelato, masks, murano glass…  and as you pass by every canal, or break between buildings, there is the picture-perfect scene of Venice. San Marcos Piazza is massive and the basilica has such detail to it, you could stare at it for hours.

The Peggy Guggenheim museum was my favorite. It housed “Arc of Pedals” by Alexander Calder (he is one of my all time favorites), “On the Beach” by Picasso and “Angel of the City” by Marini. I enjoyed Doge’s Palace and learning more about the history of Venice at the Museum Correr. The gondola ride was a wonderful addition to the experience  and I loved  the guides (if you couldn’t tell by the photo).

I will be back to visit Murano, Burano and Verona before I leave so there will be more from Venice.  But next it up is a week in Rome!

See the updates here… http://www.gallerymar.com/info/press/

Park Record “Bread and Blue” – May, 2010 & 15 Bytes Exhibition Spotlight “Into the Blue” – June, 2010

“This month at Gallery MAR you can view Randall Lake’s “Blue” paintings, a group of work first explored in our profile of the artist in the January edition of 15 Bytes. These deeply personal and stridently polemical paintings reveal a rarely seen aspect of the Utah artist best known for his genteel landscapes and still lifes…”

Southwest Art Magazine “Newsmakers– Scott Lloyd Anderson” – June, 2010

“‘Valentines for Sale’ by Minnesota painter Scott Lloyd Anderson won Best in Show and an $8,000 prize at Salon International, an exhibition of representational oil paintings held each year…”

Southwest Art Magazine “Matt Flint” – March, 2010

“Capturing the rhythms of the natural world. His father once made testers for radar guider systems. His sister is a nuclear power plant manager. Wyoming painter Matt Flint grew up in a science-oriented family is rural Missouri…”

Yesterday evening I took a drive to Salt Lake to attend a fine art tour at a private home in the city. The weather is starting to finally feel like summer, but my friend Melissa Soltesz and I thought it was still a bit too windy to put down the top in the convertible. We parked in front of the home of Jonathan and Leanne Freedman, not knowing what treasures would wait us.  In addition to his retail businesses, Freedman sits on the executive board of the Young Benefactors at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and generously offered his home for the art tour.

We walked into the (modestly sized) home and were handed an art guide for the tour. Each room has a new surprise of fine, contemporary artwork. The pieces ranged from a Gary Ernest Smith painting to Takashi Murakami prints. The traditional work is all by Utah based artists, while the more modern works are from artists from all over the world. I felt like quite the voyeur as I walked through their home, surveying the art.

The variety was intriguing, but you could certainly tell that the Freedmans have a few favorites. Andy Warhol in particular. When I asked what their favorite piece was, Jonathon mentioned that it was their most recent: a Grace Kelly piece by Warhol, which is one of around 15 Warhols in their collection. Getting an excellent value for their art purchases (even buying artworks on Ebay!)  is also important to these collectors.

The largest piece in the collection is a Brian Kershisnik painting, featuring Ruth. The piece is a tight fit for their stairwell, but suits the room and the feeling of the home quite well. I’ve worked with Kershisnik in the past, and his collectors are incredibly loyal. Such is the case with the Freedmans, who have several Kershisnik drawings and paintings in some of their most intimate rooms in their home.

Thanks to the Freedmans for this peek into their home and art collection.

Jennifer Carr, Fine Art Consultant at Gallery MAR, will be contributing to our Park City blog this spring, with her Italian Insights and Adventures. This week’s adventure brought Jennifer through the volcano cloud to Paris, France, where she begins her three month trip. Look for more updates and inspirations from her travels throughout Italy and beyond.

On a whim a friend and I decide to take a quick train ride up to Lugano, Switzerland for a beautiful day in the sun. Right when you get off the train you see the historic San Lorenzo Cathedral which is filled with beautiful fresco paintings dating back to 1470.

The city is known for its beautiful flowers so now is the best time to visit.  We strolled through Park Civico, enjoying how green it is: the flowers in full bloom, and the intricate statues placed through out the park. We stopped for some fruit at the local farmers market, got our espresso at a little café and made our plans for the day. We would take the tram up to Monte Bre and enjoy the view, then hike through the trails along the lake for the rest of the day. To our disappointment the tram was broken so we decided we would hike to the top instead. It ended up being a 12 mile (!!!) hike all around and with a very steep incline the entire way up. We could not have asked for better views;  the huge mountains covered in green luscious trees, the snow capped Alps in the background and a nice breeze coming off the lake.

We celebrated making it to the top with some fondue while taking in the surrounding scenery. We made it through with only a view blisters and a bit of sun burn. Overall the food was great, and although the hike was a bit more intense than we had planned, it was well worth it at the top.

And back to my Italian adventures… next stop Venice!