Ann Korologos Gallery presents Barns and Bones, a group exhibition featuring the contemporary and historic structures and influential figures of the American West as captured in the paintings, color intaglio prints and mixed media work of Terry Gardner, Donna Howell-Sickles, Tomás Lasansky, Simon Winegar, and Dinah Worman, complemented by 40 contemporary artists. Barns and Bones is on view at Ann Korologos Gallery both in-person and virtually from August 17th through October 3, 2020.
“Barns and Bones is an examination of Western foundations in a literal and figurative sense,” shares gallery owner, Ann Korologos. “These artists are studying and honoring icons of the American West from physical structures of barns and ranches, to cowboy and Native American figures, to wild horses that intersect all cultures.”
Terry Gardner was born and raised in Missouri and moved to Colorado to paint outdoors as a plein air artist. A contemporary painter of the American West, Gardner depicts the hard work of ranchers and farmers, capturing herds and ranch hands, and barns both working and forgotten. Gardner strives to paint what is not visible to the eye by capturing the mystery and intrigue of the past and present through his moody palette and subject matter.
Donna Howell-Sickles redefines the wary stereotypes that represented Western women during her childhood in Texas and New Mexico in the 50s and 60s. Using charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on paper or canvas, Donna portrays ranching women as she knew them: strong, capable, humorous and bonded as sisters. Her work is rich with symbolism and allusions to classical mythology that “fits the American West like a glove.”
Tomás Lasansky was born in Iowa City, IA. The artist plays in two dimensions – painting, drawing, printmaking – but his portrait work jumps off the page. He juxtaposes a wildly creative style with very careful method. “Our greatest leaders, artists, and thinkers,” according to Lasansky, “are portrayed in larger-than-life portraits that invoke the complexity behind the lore, often with symbolic and bold backgrounds such as the American flag.” His subjects include the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Sitting Bull, Hopi maiden, and more.
Simon Winegar is a Utah-based painter inspired by his love for the natural beauty of the outdoors, including man-made additions like weathered barns and ranch houses. While his subjects vary, he most enjoys painting en plein air, and “creating moods that are often romantic and thought-provoking,” shares the artist. Winegar’s landscapes are meant to beautify the world and move the viewer. One must look closely to discern the hidden elements in each work.
Dinah Worman lives in Taos, New Mexico where she creates representational yet imaginative variations in oil that focus on the human relationship to the landscape, seen from extreme angles, often with a bird’s eye perspective. Worman views the landscape as one might see an arranged still life, objects in relation to each other, but on a grand scale. Instantly recognizable for its clarity, depth, and quality of light, Worman’s work shows the interaction of man and nature in the contemporary “Wild West” of New Mexico and neighboring Colorado.
Barns and Bones featuring Terry Gardner, Donna Howell-Sickles, Tomás Lasansky, Simon Winegar, and Dinah Worman will remain on view through October 3, 2020. For more information, please visit Ann Korologos Gallery at 211 Midland Avenue in Basalt, call (970) 927-9668 or email art@korologosgallery.com.
