Local Utah painter Ron Russon will visit Gallery MAR on Friday, August 6th from 6 to 8 pm to paint in the gallery. Friday night is the “Locals’ Night” of the Park City Arts Festival, and the KAC is asking for $10 donations for non-locals. This is a great night to come by the gallery and see the newest works on and off the street.

Russon’s latest works are exhibited right now, in the “Color Theories” show. Mary Scrimgeour is also featured. Stop by and see the artist at work!

Park City Art Gallery

Park City Kimball Arts Festival 2010 dates will be August 7 – 8, 2010.

To apply to our 2010 show please go to zapplication.org and register.

The application deadline is March 1, 2010.

Check out the newest feature of the Arts Festival, 2010′s RELEVANT: BE CREATIVE, BE MENTORED, BE INSPIRED, BE IN PARK CITY.

RELEVANT 2010 is a five-day artist-in-residency program for a select group of undergraduate and graduate level college students working in the media of sculpture, painting and mixed media. Set in the beautiful mountains of Park City, Utah, students have the opportunity to be mentored by leading artists in their field, connect with industry experts and meet nationally acclaimed gallery owners. The residency culminates with the Opening Night Auction and Gala of the 41st Annual Park City Kimball Arts Festival, where student’s work will be on display and sold to an audience including top art collectors.

RELEVANT 2010 is looking for emerging cutting edge artists dedicated to developing their artistic career. Students are given the experience of developing art for sale, while being challenged to expand their artistic boundaries. During the residency each student’s primary goal is to create a piece of artwork that will be sold at the Opening Night Art Auction and Gala and be on display during the Arts Festival. Students are given a theme, timeline, budget and private studio space. Daily work sessions will include critiques by mentors and peers. The residency requires dedication, long hours, deadlines and flexibility.

RELEVANT 2010 is a platform for discovery. The residency will place students in the spotlight, through interaction with the public, interviews with film crews and participation in the Opening Night Auction and Gala. The Park City Kimball Arts Festival is rated as one of the top ten festivals in the country. The three-day festival attracts 45,000 attendees and national press, providing students with great exposure and the opportunity to foster relationships with future collectors.

RELEVANT 2010 will fund accepted students. expenses including airfare, lodging, meals and a stipend for art supplies. Students will keep 50% of their art sale.

In conjunction with a completed application, the following must also be submitted…

* 5 images of your work created within the last two years

* 2-minute video answering the question “Why are you RELEVANT?”

* $25.00 non-refundable application fee

* Applications due April 18th, 2010

Annual Art Auction and Gala

It will be a hot time in the old town Thursday, July 30th. That’s when art patrons from the west converge at the 2009 Kimball Art Center’s Annual Art Auction and Gala. We hope you’ll be one of them. Besides the opportunity to enjoy the excellent food and drink alongside some of your favorite artists, you’ll have a chance to get heated up bidding in both silent and live auctions. Not only will you leave the evening with your imagination ignited, but you’ll feel warm all over knowing you contributed to some of the most valuable assets in our community-art, artists, and art education. We thank you in advance for your generosity. Thursday, July 30, 2009 Kimball Art Center, 638 Park Avenue, Park City, Utah. Gallery MAR artist Ron Russon is featured in the art Auction.

The Complete Canvas: 5:30 p.m. Includes a reserved table for eight of your guests plus cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, auction preview, and everything below.

The Full Palette: 5:30 p.m. Same as above minus the reserved table for eight

6:30 pm – Seated dinner with the artists

The Petite Palette: 7:00 p.m. Entry into the silent and live auction plus deserts and drinks

8:30 p.m – Live auction

RSVP by July 23rd at 435-649-8882 or events@kimball-art.org. Party attire

Ron Russon, “American Bison, Oil.

Park City Arts Festival

Celebrate the 40th Park City Kimball Arts Festival by volunteering August 1st & 2nd.

The Park City Kimball Arts Festival is Utah’s oldest and longest running Arts Festival. This year’s festival will host over 40,000 visitors and feature 225 nationally acclaimed artists and craftsmen, along with great food, live entertainment and fun family activities. Volunteers are the heart and soul of our festival. Be at the center of this exciting event!

Volunteers receive the 2009 festival t-shirt, access to all weekend festivities, lunch & refreshments and a sponsor gift bag including a gift certificate from Knead a Message. Questions? Contact The Kimball Art Center at 435-649-8882 ext. 105 or volunteers@kimball-art.org

A Private Evening celebrating “Native Species” by William Morris

Saturday, December 6th at 6:30 p.m.

The Colony, Park City.

Polly and Buzzy Stasser, along with the Kimball Art Center, bring you a discussion of glass artist William Morris’ “Native Species” exhibition of 38 glass vessels. This art talk is led by Linda Turner, curator of the George R. Stroemple Collection. Following will be a screening of the film “Creative Nature” by John Andres.

Tickets are $100 per person and you can reserve your tickets by contacting Michelle at the Kimball Art Center: events@kimball-art.org or 435-649-8882. All proceeds from this special event support the Kimball Art Center’s education and exhibition programming.

A little background on William Morris, excerpted from Regina Hackett:

When William Morris went to school at California State University at Chico, he fell in love with the potter’s wheel and the old gas furnaces that brought the surface of his ceramics to life. He might be a potter still if he hadn’t been diverted by the studio glass movement in the 1970s and showed up to study at a new glass school in the Pilchuck woods outside of Stanwood, Washington.

To pay tuition, he drove the Pilchuck truck. Dale Chihuly was one of his first passengers, and Morris soon became a key member of the Chihuly team. After Chihuly’s loss of an eye and later, a shoulder injury, it was Morris’ rock steady presence that helped convince Chihuly he could continue to forge his own aesthetic without blowing glass himself. “I was never as good (a glass blower) as Billy,” Chihuly said later.

Ultimately, “Native Species” is a result of [collecting experiences], what he has seen walking through forests and hiking through deserts, combined with what he has learned from art history and anthropological museums: Nature direct and nature filtered through cultural history.

Beginning earlier this year, a group of Park City gallery owners and directors made the move to take ownership of the Park City Gallery Association into the hands of the galleries. They are working to create their own website, www.parkcitygalleryassocation.com (love the new logo), along with their own awareness, advertising and marketing campaign to promote the stroll and Park City arts. From what I’ve heard, everyone is working well together and “good things” are happening… Congratulations!

Previously, the Kimball Art Center headed the Association and was known as the starting off point for the monthly stroll. And prior to that (a few years back) there was an individual association run by gallery owners. It seems that the group is now coming full circle with the Park City galleries as heads of the Association. From what I have been able to discern, with this new organization, the Kimball Art Center will be a part of the stroll and Association, but there will not be a charge for the stroll (previously $7) paid to the Kimball. This means more responsibility, time and effort for the galleries, but also more say in the organization and operations of the Association.

I’m looking forward to joining the new Park City Gallery Association and participating in the strolls along with the promotion of Park City arts. The Kimball Art Center does a fantastic job of bringing arts to our locals and visitors, and we’re fortunate to have them as a part of our arts community. Check out their current exhibit of Erin Berrett’s work if you’re in town. With their new leadership, I’m optimistic that the Kimball will work together with the Park City Gallery Association to do great things.

Watch in the coming months for the new brochure, the completion of the website, and a new energy and level of involvement from the galleries here in town. Gallery MAR will be featured on the new map/brochure, as well as the website, and will participate in every monthly stroll.

What a fantastic weekend for our Park City art community! Many thanks to our local artist Brooks Yates for coming by the gallery to paint here and delight our guests. This weekend was incredibly hot (both the temperature and the art!) and packed to gills every day with festival-goers. Friday night was the best night by far, in my opinion, with locals streaming through and picking up artistic goodies to add to their collections. Favorites of the 225 artist? Salt Lake painter Erin Berrett and Seattlite Brian McGuffey. Congratulations to the Kimball Art Center on their very successful annual auction on Thursday night and the popularity of the festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.