ST. GEORGE AREA
St. George Art Museum UP: Homecoming: Paintings and Sculptures by Mick Reber through March 25, 2006 Artist Mick Reber is coming home for an art exhibit of his work at the St. George Art Museum. Born in St. George, he's had an impressive art career both teaching and creating. His artwork inspired a PBS documentary in the 1980's titled, Wild William Bill and was used in the film starring Richard Widmark, When The Legends Die.

A prolific artist, whose bold artwork has appeared in numerous publications, Reber has explored many subjects and styles. The recent work concerns the journey home; as he said, "journeys are an important part of our lives". Included in the Museum exhibit are pieces from the "Far From Home" series. This work is fresh from a one-person show at the Texas Art House Gallery in the fall. Art critic, Nancy Moyer, wrote in October 2005 that "Reber seems to inhabit a loftier aesthetic domain." The paintings are confident and forceful, as we have seen in his previous works. These, however lean more toward abstract qualities and deeper personal expression. Bold geometric shapes and hints of nature commingle with complex textures and saturated colors. Ceramic lips and an occasional ceramic nose sometimes appear as part of the surface."

ALSO SHOWING: Batiks & Stitches: Fabric Art by Anne Munoz through March 25, 2006. Batik is the basis for the work of award-winning fiber artist Anne Munoz. Her work is then sometimes painted and quilted. Batik or wax painting is an ancient art form thought to have originated in India over 3,000 years ago.

In addition to her work with fabrics, Muñoz has also worked in graphic design for years, as well as drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and photography. "Batik," she explains, "can be a very limiting medium unless you love and revel in it which she clearly does."

Muñoz says that while she plans each piece in detail, another part emerges "when I turn off that left part of my brain." As she describes the process, it's like being on creative cruise control. She emphasizes that a successful piece is one you never tire of looking at.

OGDEN
Eccles Community Art Center The Eccles Community Art Center's Main Gallery will open a juried exhibition of artwork from our 10th Black & White Statewide Competition. This exhibition will open Friday, February 3rd, and continue on display through Saturday, March 25th, 2006. An opening reception at which awards will be announced will be held February 3rd, from 7 to 9 p.m. .

Opening in the Carriage House Gallery on the same evening, from 7 to 9 p.m. will be an exhibition paintings by Ilona R. Fellows of Ogden.
Fellows was born and raised in Nebraska. She still feels that she has strong ties to the Midwest. Marriage and children followed after her graduation from the Immanuel Hospital of Nursing in 1962. She and her husband, Roger, a radiologist have four children. The family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in the early seventies, living there for over 20 years. Ilona says "the beauty of Alaska and the love of nature pro'vided her with the inspiration for artistic development. An avid outdoor person, she enjoys fishing, hiking, taking long walks with her Airedale, Gage, as well as her art. Ilona concludes "living in Utah offers new artistic challenges and the opportunity to be close to family and friends."

Universe City (2556 Washington Blvd): Weber State University faculty and Department of Performing Arts theatre costume designers will be the featured artists during the month of February. Catherine Zublin, Professor of Theatre and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities; and Jennifer McGrew, instructor of English, have all made their mark designing costumes for WSU Department of Performing Arts and Utah Musical Theater, as well as many dance and theatre companies a cross the United States. Also included in the exhibit will be jewelry by Justina Parsons-Bernstein, masks by Barbara Bernstein, and costume-like creations by WSU Visual Arts instructor Amy Adams.

Zublin’s work will include actual costumes, original color renderings, photographs of the costumes on stage, and other aspects of the design and construction of costumes for the stage. Justina Parsons-Bernstein is once again teaming up with creative costumer-extraordinaire Jen McGrew to bring you unusually themed “Body Suites”. Justina has created three over-the-top “jewelry massacres” to complement Jen’s “Combat Tutus: Costumes for a New Theatre of War.” People brave enough to sport these satirical pieces might almost need a weapons permit to wear them out on the town. Barbara Bernstein creates crocheted sculptural works that run the gamut from whimsical to grotesque. Barbara blends found objects with various of yarns, strings and other fibers to form her one-of-a-kind objects. Universe City to add to the Arté Gras/Mardi Gras spirit.

Opening night will be held in conjunction with Downtown Ogden’s First Friday Art Stroll, Friday, February 3rd, 5:00 - 8:00 pm.A closing night Arté Gras/Marde Gras costume contest party will be held Saturday, 6:00-8:00 pm. Tickets are $5 per person at the door. Prizes:free tickets for the March 3rd opening night of “Pirated!” For more information about the artists, contact Caril Jennings, 626-6431 or crjennings@weber.edu

Gallery at the Station (Union Station, 2501 Wall Ave., Ogden, 629-8446) Paintings by Shanna Kunz and jewelry by Kate Holland through February. Opening reception Friday February 3 from 6-8.

PARK CITY
Julie Nester Gallery UP: Fiction, a one-person exhibition of new paintings by Tom Judd. An artist reception will be held on Friday, February 3, 5:30-8:00pm. Judd’s art work is a series of collages and fragmentations of surfaces, imagery and metaphor. He combines landscape, still life, patterns and figures to imitate the eclectic nature of our memories. He uses everything from wallpaper samples to vintage botanical prints, maps and sewing patterns. His work has the personality trait of a found object that has been transformed by its context.

Describing the exhibition Fiction Judd says, “My artwork suggests the finding of an artifact from another time. It imparts a contradictory sense of loss and discovery on the viewer. The paintings explore the notion of traveling to exotic places at another time in history. The boats, trains and ships feel like something out of an old encyclopedia, which they are. The title Fiction points to the illusion of a story or journey. The destination is not clear, nor is the origin of the traveler.”

PROVO
Brigham Young University Museum of Art is currently showing a selection of Juan Rulfo's photographs in an exhibition titled Photographing Silence: Juan Rulfo's Mexico. The exhibition, which features 62 black and white silver gelatin prints, follows the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rulfo's best-known novel, Pedro Páramo, and marks the first time his photographs have been shown in Utah.

Rulfo’s photography does not idealize rural life in Mexico, but quietly observes and critiques the forces that have shaped that way of life,” says BYU Museum of Art Curator of Photography Diana Turnbow. “The integrity and poignancy of his images equitably places Rulfo amongst the distinguished photographers of Mexico.”

One of the most influential members of his generation, Rulfo experienced first hand as a child the violence and social unrest of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917) and subsequent Cristero Revolt (1926-1928), events that dramatically shaped modern Mexico. Twenty years later, Rulfo documented the architectural remnants of the past : archaeological sites, decaying buildings, colonial edifices, and vacant towns. In contrast, the people in Rulfo’s photographs speak of the reality of life after the Revolution. Amidst the gravity of life and death they communicate a quiet persistence - even resilience - of spirit and activity, as people farm, gather at market, and participate in festivals and religious rituals. Ever present in Rulfo’s photographs is the landscape. At times seemingly harsh and overwhelming, the landscape, which delineates and supersedes human history, has its own soul and beauty.

Parallel themes of death, solitude, and devotion occupy Rulfo's writing. His literary pursuits culminated in the publication of a collection of short stories, El llano en llamas (1953) and the novel Pedro Páramo (1955). Both works have become classics of Mexican literature and have been acclaimed internationally. To a large extent, Rulfo's literary success eclipsed his significant work in photography, film, and indigenous studies. Rulfo, himself chose not to exhibit his photographs until late in life. Yet the opening of his archive revealed a rich and extensive visual record of rural and urban Mexico at a formative period in the 20th century.

The BYU Department of Spanish and Portuguese is sponsoring a film and lecture series related to Rulfo’s life and art that will run concurrent with the exhibition. The series will include 10 film screenings, five lectures and conversations with two Mexican directors: Roberto Rochín Naya and Juan Carlos Rulfo, the author's youngest son.Gallery information will be available in both English and Spanish. Exhibit continues through May.

ALSO SHOWING: Nostalgia and Technology: Embracing the New through Art and Design is sponsored by the George S. and Dolores Eccles Foundation, Bruce and Barbara Christensen, and the Robert and Amy Barker Foundation. Thru May 29, 2006 (see Dec. 2005 edition).

Harold B. Lee Library Gallery at BYU: Through the month of May, Richard Gates: Various Librations.

B.F. Larsen Gallery at BYU: Accumulations, sculpture of Tyler Meadows Davis. Davis' work combines strong formal elements of steel fabrication, kiln-cast glass, and wood turning to explore a strong spiritual and philosophical basis.

Terra Nova Gallery: UP: Terra Nova Gallery starts out the year with a collaboration of three emerging artists who come from all over the country. Jordann Wood, Colin Nesbit and Melanie McGee have combined their talents to present paintings, prints and ceramic sculpture that focus on color, form, and simplicity.

The oils on canvas by Jordann Wood are large, bold representations of floral patterns. Her layers of bold colors create a pleasing harmony that gives evidence to the influence of growing up in the deserts of Arizona. Colin Nesbit, a printmaker/sculptor from St. Louis, Missouri, will be featuring several of his latest works in print. These pieces are elegantly simple in color and context and focus on the capturing the sense of presence left in a previously occupied room. The final member of this trio, Melanie McGee, was raised in the central valley of California. Her series of ceramic works are an abstraction of biological shapes with a focus on form and color. Her inspiration comes from minerals and the works of artists Barbara Hepworth and Anish Kipoor. Two Much for One will be on exhibit at Terra Nova Gallery through February 24 with an artists reception on Friday February 3rd from 6-8 pm.

Freedom Gallery (225 W. Center, Provo) Artwork by Robert T. Barrett through February. Opening reception tonight from 6-8 during First Friday Gallery Stroll.

EPHRAIM
Central Utah Art Center: Casey Jex Smith, see page 1

LOGAN
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art UP:Semina Culture: Wallace Berman & His Circle (see page 6)

BRIGHAM CITY
Brigham City Museum-Gallery (24 N. 300 West, Brigham City, 435-723-6769) — Women of Biblical Proportion, featuring 50 art quilts inspired by the Old and New Testaments by national artists, through Feb. 22.