April 30th, 2010

Jen from CODA Gallery stoops to investigate Dawn Gettler’s installation.

I visited the Spiro Art Center this week to see their most recent residents’ work and took a couple pictures for our out-of-state readers. The Park City art community really came out for this event; the energy was lively and the artists were eager to speak about their work.

Haven’t heard of the Spiro Art Center yet? Spiro selects three to five residents for each of its twice-yearly terms. The artists submit applications and a jury selects participants based on their proposal, resume and samples of their work. The four current artists were recently featured in this Park Record article by Alisha Self.

Leading up to the open house, I purposely avoided information about the exhibit so that I could see it with fresh eyes and an unbiased perspective. Although, to be fair, I had several friends and colleagues tell me I “just had to see the amazing work.” I’m glad I waited. The artists’ works were incredibly unique and would have been difficult (for me!) to comprehend without seeing them in person.

A view of Sjors Vervoort’s stop-motion animation critters

All four artists were on hand to discuss their work and share their viewpoints. From wool sculpture to animation and installation, this show ran the gamut of emerging artists in a contemporary format. What a site to see such fresh and innovative work here in Park City!

We even saw a bit of art in action: Greg Wrenn (a poet and author finishing up his novel) read from one of his latest poems. And Dawn Gettler (an installation artist) perhaps got more action than she was hoping for, when three separate Spiro visitors walked through her art piece and disrupted her sugar-formation pieces (top picture).

2010 Artists-in-Residence, Term I (April)

Mark your calendar for their upcoming events:

  • Open Studio Event on May 28th (6-9pm).
  • May 8th: The Poem You Weren’t Expecting, Instructor: James Arthur (AIR – May)
  • June 7-11th, Artspark Summer Session, Instructors: Susan Parker and Justin Parisi-Smith
  • July 5-9th, Encaustic-painting with hot wax, Instructor: Daniella Woolf
Tags: Artist Residency Program, Dawn Gettler, Faith Hagenhofer, Greg Wrenn, Park City Emerging art, Sjors Vervoort, Spiro Art Center
Posted in Gallery News