Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Exhibition and Public Programs with WY Artist Neltje

Neltje (American, b. 1934), Summer Passing, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 72 inches, courtesy of the artist



Wyoming artist and arts advocate Neltje will have a solo exhibition of her large-scale paintings at the UW Art Museum this fall, and she will present two public programs.  The exhibition, Neltje. Painting. 1990-2012. is the first to fully explore the evolution of her work in painting.  Neltje's work is rooted in Abstract Expressionism, but is also influenced by her work in sumi-e, an Asian style of ink drawing.  Her paintings have traditionally been large in scale, but her most recent series, the Moroccan Suite, establishes a new size for her paintings - 10 x 30 feet. 

The exhibition will open on Saturday, September 7 and be on view through Saturday, December 21, 2013.  An opening reception to celebrate all new fall exhibitions will be at the Art Museum on Friday, September 6 from 6 to 8 pm. 

Neltje will present an Art Talk on Thursday, September 5 at 7 pm in the Visual Arts Building, room 111.  She will also give an informal Gallery Walk Through on Friday, September 6 at 10:30 am.  All of these events are free and open to the public.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Actor and Art Collector Cheech Marin to Visit UW

August 16, 2013 — Well-known entertainer Cheech Marin, who has gained additional acclaim as a collector of Chicano art, is scheduled to visit the University of Wyoming campus and present two public programs on Sept. 6-7.

Marin will speak about “Chicano Art: Cultivating the Chicano Future” at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in the Wyoming Union Ballroom, followed by a book signing. On Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10:30 a.m., he will give an informal gallery walk-through at the UW Art Museum. Both programs are free and open to the public.

An opening reception to celebrate the exhibition is planned Friday, Sept. 6, from 6-8 p.m. at the UW Art Museum. This event also is free and open to the public.

While on campus, Marin also will meet with faculty members and students from the Chicano Studies, American Studies, Art and History departments.

Marin, who is best known for his work in movies, television and improvisational comedy, has been acquiring art for more than 25 years and has amassed arguably the most renowned collection of Chicano art in private hands.

“Cheech Marin’s efforts as a collector of and advocate for Chicano art have made this important art genre visible and accessible to main street America,” says the UW Art Museum’s director and chief curator, Susan Moldenhauer. “His public lecture will illuminate the importance of this art and explore its connections to the broader genre of American art.”

A selection of paintings from Marin’s private collection will be on view at the UW Art Museum Sept. 7-Nov. 23. “Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection” features paintings all under 16 by 16 inches, and showcases 26 established and emerging Chicano artists. The painting styles include photo-realism, abstraction, portraits and landscapes.

“’Chicanitas’ is drawn from Marin’s most recent interest in collecting works that explore the personal lives and daily routines of the Chicano experience,” Moldenhauer says. “Smaller in scale than the large canvases that Chicano artists have used to convey the political and social realm of their experience, the paintings in the exhibition offer more personal yet powerful perspective of their lives.”

The exhibition and Marin’s visit are made possible in part by the Wyoming Humanities Council, Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, UW Chicano Studies, UW Multicultural Affairs, UW Student Activities Council, UW Art Department, Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research, ASUW, MEChA, UW National Advisory Board Endowment, and UW Art Museum Gala funds.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Laramie Mural Project Summer Progress

 The Laramie Mural Project is making great progress this summer!  Meghan Meier has completed, Grainery Grove, which she expanded and now covers three walls of the Big Dipper!

 Travis Ivey's mural, Crossing Sherman Hill on the Modern Printing building, is coming along, with more details being added daily!

 The larger-than-life prairie dogs of Jeff Hubbell's mural, Prairie Dog Town spans three downtown businesses - Atmosphere Mountain Works, the Herb House, and the Curiosity Shoppe - and certainly spruces up the alley!

The most exciting news is that another mural will soon be underway!  This is the concept sketch by Dan Toro for a mural called Book Shelf, which will be behind the Laramie Vision Clinic.  It incorporates the unique inset doorways of the building, and the result will be an exciting mural with lots of three-dimensionality!

Stay tuned this summer as murals progress and we continue to lay the groundwork for the addition of even more murals next summer!