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by Kent Rigby

A Gallery is big – on sculpture. The new group sculpture show at A Gallery features many of the area’s finest sculptors. Represented in this knock-out exhibit are artists David Adams, Brian Berman, Laurie Burns, Brian Christensen, Anne Gregerson, John Haley III, Deborah Jong, Nnamdi Okonkwo, Ed Pogue, Trevor Southey, Cordell Taylor, Darl Thomas, Dahrl Thomson, Craig Varner and Myron Willson.

The 15 artists have contributed more than 75 pieces of sculpture for the exhibit. If you are a sculpture fan, A Gallery is the place to visit. Virtually every media and genre are represented, from found object assemblages, mixed media pieces, cast bronze figures, carved stone images, and abstract fabricated aluminum, steel and stainless steel pieces, from large to small.

The sculptures are on exhibit amongst the vast selection of paintings, except for the fabulous sculpture garden area of course. This makes for a very vibrant atmosphere in the gallery. The various exhibit areas are virtually oozing art. It’s so “alive” and colorful as to be almost “kinetic.”

Exhibit standouts include:
Anne Gregerson’s “#1, Peace Like A River,” |1| is a modeled ceramic figure. This piece is as peaceful and serene as the title suggests, and is very emotionally expressive. Gregerson is a great technician. She not only handles ceramic media very well but also is an excellent sculptor.

Myron Willson’s “Curve,” |2| is another fine ceramic piece. It is non-representational, and also well crafted with a speckled glaze that contrasts nicely with the curvilinear form, giving the piece a decidedly contemporary feel.

Ed Pogue’s “Sweep Column” |3| is a smaller -- 20 inches tall -- but expertly made cast bronze piece with a strong vertical emphasis and well-done patina.

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David Adams has contributed a larger scale piece, “Orchid Garden with Thoughts Turning,” |4| a fabricated bronze piece with granite. This is an abstract figurative piece with what appears to be a found piece of granite for the head, bronze ‘halo’ and textured bronze torso. This bronze also has a great patina.

Trevor Southey is perhaps better known for his figurative paintings and lithographs. However, he is a very accomplished sculptor as well. His bronze, “Brothers Keeper” shows his excellent modeling skills and ability to translate human emotion into cold metal.|5|

Vortex,” by Kraig Varner, a BYU sculpture program graduate, is a strong figurative piece and, like Southey’s, exhibits a strong emotional content. |0| The male figure is posed in a modified fetal position and looks to be in the throws of some great inner trauma. Varner and Southey are continuing the strong figurative tradition established long ago by the BYU art school.

Dahrl Thompson just keeps continuing to amaze. Her work progressively gets better and better. One really has to admire, if not envy, her moxie. She handles and carves stone -- and recently stainless steel -- with an expertise and surety that only comes from countless hours of working with the media. She understands stone and exploits all of its myriad qualities to maximum effect. “Skimming the Surface’ is no exception. |6| It is apparent she determined to carve a fish form from this piece of Honeycomb Calcite because of the ‘scale’ like appearance of the stone’s inherent structure. Fracture lines through the stone depict the lines of the water surface the fish breaks through. The dorsal fin and tail are left unpolished which helps to delineate the bony structure of those parts.

Darl Thomas, not to be confused with Dahrl Thompson, although they are both talented and dedicated artists and beautiful people, is the master metal technician and craftsman. Darl studied under Richard Johnston and Steve Connell at the U of U and then earned a Master of Fine Art from Cranbrook. Darl is a machinist by trade, which vocation is carried through to his art. His piece, “Two Circle,s” fabricated aluminum, continues his longstanding tradition of immaculately crafted and finished metalwork, expertly joined with concealed fasteners.|7| One might think it was milled from a solid aluminum billet. However, it is comprised of at least ten separate parts. Like Johnston, Thomas believes strongly in the sculptor as inventor tenet. He has been heard to say, “I keep producing art to see what the next big surprise is going to be”.

What’s a Salt Lake sculpture show without Cordell Taylor? Incomplete. Luckily, Taylor has contributed several pieces to this show. Talk about a welder, this guy could run a straight bead in his sleep. His piece, “Untitled Totem 98,” is a smaller scale fabricated steel sculpture with a strong vertical emphasis. |8| Taylor, like Thomas, is a fabricator. This work is comprised of many steel rods, built-up and joined together with small unobtrusive spot welds. It sits on a Mahogany base and has a very nice finish.

Shadow,” a bronze figure by Nnamdi Okonkwo, another BYU graduate, is a fine example of Okonkwo’s ‘rotund’ figurative style.|9| This piece is well modeled, has nice textural contrasts, and a great patina and finish. While not sculpted with a lot of detail, it nonetheless has a strong sense of gesture and emotion. The bronze is also well cast and chased with no indication of mold or sprue marks. It is easy to see why Okonkwo is one of Utah’s new rising art stars.

David Adams, another excellent metal fabricator, exhibits several strong wall pieces. “Pond Goddess Whitecaps #3, Skyrocket” is expertly constructed from stainless steel and showcases his minimalist approach.|10| Comprised of multi-textured and faceted planes with various sized and shaped ‘spikes’ protruding from the top, the piece is reminiscent of a playful, mono-wing shape.

One of the more unusual pieces in the show is Brian Christensen’s, “Spline,” fabricated steel and bronze.|11| This piece stands on it’s own legs, literally. It is abstract but has a definite animalistic look about it, perhaps an alien animal. This is definitely a sculptural “invention”.

Deborah Jong’s “Scaredy Cat” is an interesting mixed media assemblage made from found objects. |12| The body consists of an old Underwood typewriter. The tail is some kind of a lever, the legs are made with metal pipes and chains, the neck is some kind of insulated refrigeration pipe, and the head looks like some kind of farming implement part. Very fun and playful.

The final two pieces included in this review are fused glass “Shamans” by Laurie Burns. |13| These are large (for glass), freestanding, abstract figures. The colors, textures and shapes work well together and the pieces are seemingly well constructed. They look very good displayed together, as if meant to be a pair. They are nice, attractive and decorative pieces.

All in all, this is a well-rounded and professional body of work. Many thanks to Brent Godfrey and Greg Rogler at A Gallery for displaying this many sculptures at one time.

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by Shawn Rossiter

When a couple begins collecting art seriously, it is always a team effort. Collecting art is a time (and money) consuming process, and the effect it has on a couple’s home -- and consequently their lives -- can be significant. Dean and Bonnie Stephens have worked well as a team to create a stunning and focused collection that is a reflection of their love for the West and Utah in particular.

Bonnie is the energy. When speaking about their collection, she sits perched on the edge of her sofa, talking energetically about the art and artists they have come to know and enjoy over the years. When showing me around their lovely home, she is the first to arrive at a piece, picking up a pot or turning a canvas around. Dean, on the other hand, rests easy on the couch, speaking in a slow drawl. Calmly, easily, he lets Bonnie take the lead in the discussion. But, inevitably it is to Dean that Bonnie turns to verify the name of an artist or a piece. It is Dean that knows the provenance of the work, and it becomes apparent that though his demeanor is quiet and reserved he has been an active and enthusiastic partner in the collecting process.

The Stephens’ art collecting days began years ago when Bonnie was working for the Gable House Gallery as a gallery consultant. “I didn’t ever take a salary,” Bonnie says. “I just took art.”

In the early days, the couple began collecting Western art. The Stephens’ own a ranch near Wendover and Bonnie describes Dean as a cowboy. They bought a number of pieces from Utah cowboy artist Jim Norton. During these days, Dean enjoyed going to Montana, purchasing art at the Western Art Roundup. It was at these events that Bonnie noticed her husband would inevitably bid on the pieces that would receive Best in Show and she realized Dean had a great eye.

After Bonnie left Gable, the Stephens began to collect in earnest and their interests shifted from cowboy art to Utah art. “We became enchanted with early Utah art,” Bonnie explains. “Both the history and the art itself . . . There is no disconnect in my mind between the art and the history of the art. We buy the art because it’s beautiful and appeals to us and tells us a story, but to me the history of the art of Utah is really a beautiful story.”

The Stephens have collected a number of pieces from early Utah artists including John Hafen, Donald Beauregard, Mabel Frazer, Florence Ware, Waldo Midgley, and A.B. Wright. Their largest collection of works by a single artist is LeConte Stewart, of whom they have pieces representing the breadth of the artist’s career, from the early teens to the artist’s last years in the eighties.

The Stephens met Stewart in the late seventies. Indicating a couple of the works hung together in their living room, Dean says, ““We bought these in 1979. I went out to their house and said ‘I’d like to buy some art’ and they just kept bringing this stuff out and laying it against the wall . . . His wife sat on the couch and LeConte just kept bringing them out and she said ‘Well do you see anything you like?’ And I said, ‘Well, gee, I see a lot that I like but I honestly can’t afford too much.’ She said ‘Well, you choose one or two you like and you can pay a hundred dollars a month,’ and I said ‘Okay’ and I did . . . As long as you paid her every time you promised she was just fine with it.”

Stewart and the other early Utah artists are what Dean refers to as “those old dead guys.” The Stephens’ collection has as many if not more works by contemporary Utah artists. Many of these artists are friends of theirs The same energy that infuses Bonnie when she speaks about their collection propelled her through eleven years as the director of the Utah Arts Council. During this tenure she became close to many of Utah’s working artists and speaks of them and their works with affection.

“I think we have as many fine artists as any place in the world,” Bonnie says. They have collected multiple pieces from some of these artists, including the late Danny Baxter, who painted portraits of each of the Stephens’ as well as many smaller works. Gary Ernest Smith’s works occupy prominent positions above their mantles, both upstairs and downstairs.

The Stephens purchased work from many of these painters when the artists were still young. Dean’s eye spotted the work of a young Warren Kimball at a High School art show, and, seeing that he had talent, purchased the piece, the artist’s first sale. They have also invited many to their ranch to paint. Works by Warren, Baxter, Frank Huff, Chris Sharpe, and David Merrill, all done at the ranch, hang together in a room in the Stephens’ home.

Bonnie is adamant that Utah’s working artists be treated well. She thinks collectors should have the integrity to pay the price asked for a work. And she disparages people who ask artists to donate work to a show. “We should pay for them,” Bonnie says. “We don’t ask people to do our kids’ teeth for free.”

While working at the Arts Council, Bonnie refused to accept gifts, always paying for the work she acquired. The only time she accepted a gift was one from Joe Ostraff upon her retirement. She bought an accompanying piece by the artist, “to make things even.” Ostraff’s contemporary work stands out in their collection. Along with an abstract by Lee Deffebach, it is one of the only pieces that doesn’t fit the aesthetic unity of the Stephens’ taste. Their works, from Lee Green Richards to Lee Bennion, are predominantly modernist landscapes and figure works (think Maynard Dixon, who is also part of their collection) with a strong emphasis on design and color.

The Stephens enjoy sharing their collection and take obvious pleasure in showing people around their home, in which every wall is covered with artwork. Bonnie says that a painting by Royden Card, hanging at the end of a stairwell, is the perennial favorite. “It strikes everyone,” she says. “Even those who know little about art.” A nearby piece by Brian Kershisnik is the favorite of Bonnie’s friends. “All my friends want that because that is their life. It’s called “Spoon Tricks” and young mothers know all about that.”

After balancing her own spoons for eleven years at the Utah Arts Council, Bonnie retired Dean, who owned his own business for many years, is also retired. Bonnie’s involvement in Utah art continues. She now serves on the board of the Museum of Utah Art and History. The Stephens are not sure if they will continue collecting – they already have so much work that not all of it is on display – but with the enthusiasm they show for the work they have collected and the artists they have supported, I imagine it won’t be long before Dean’s eye spots another piece the couple decides they can’t live without.

	images 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Other artists in the collection include Kathleen Peterson, Pilar Pobil, Al Rounds, Karen Horne, Jack Sears, David Rosenbaum, Ella Peacock, Robert Marshall, Ted Wassmer, Bevan Chipman, and Earl Jones.
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If you are a collector of Utah art and are interested in having a photographic record of your collection and making these images available to researchers, contact the Utah Artists Project.