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Exhibition Review -- Salt Lake City
Jennifer
Worsley: The Artist's Eye
by Shawn Rossiter
On Friday March 7th, Sugar House's
Chroma Gallery
opened a new exhibit featuring the work of many talented Utah artists,
including Salt Lake's
Jennifer Worsley
. In their front gallery, Chroma has introduced a couple of new names,
including abstract painter Linnie Brown, from Lehi, and sculptor Colby Brewer
from Provo.
In their rear gallery Chroma has staged the first substantial exhibition
of Salt Lake City artist Jennifer Worsley. Worsley was raised in
Salt Lake and has been living here for a few years after having studied
art on the east coast. Chroma's exhibit of her work entitled River Paintings
features three oil paintings and over fifteen pastels all showing
scenes of rocks and running rivers. The works are displayed together
in one room, allowing the repetition of the images to play on the viewer's
consciousness.
Worsley's touch is light and her attention to detail subtle and
alluring. The interplay of light and shadow created by tree filtered
sunlight on the rocks and river is so subtle that one must remain with
the works for a time before it becomes fully evident which portions
are lit and which are not.
Worsley's astute eye has found a seemingly endless
source of material in one simple spot, overlooked by many artists who travel
many miles south or into the canyons to discover their material. All
the works come from painting sessions Worsley has done over the past two years
in Sugarhouse Park, a location she says gives her a unique opportunity to
study light on the rocks and water because the stream does not run inside
a deep gorge and runs a generally east-west direction.
In the rushing water of this city stream she reveals a complete palette
of colors -- mauves and greens in the deep pools, vibrant blues and whites
racing across the surface of the water, and a range of umbers and oranges
in the rocks. And beneath this mad scratching of hues is the warm red/pink
tones of the paper Worsley prepares herself and allows to peak through in
many sections.
The three paintings in this exhibit are a sort of return for Worsley.
She had spent much of her art education (in New York and Boston)
working with oils, while studying the figure. Her interest in landscape
led her to work in the transportable medium of pastel, for which
she is most well-known in Utah. For this exhibit, however, Worsley
decided to return to oils, developing some of her smaller pastel studies
into larger oils.
I think, however, that the pastels remain her strongest work. For
such a young hand she already seems a master of her medium. The variety
of her pastel techniques makes the works flow between drawing and painting,
utilizing the full effect of the medium. The pastel may be brushed in
in large smooth areas, or scraped across on a fine point to accentuate the
roll of the water.
The paintings do not seem as confident, the surfaces are not as well worked
and the subtle traces which are so alluring in the pastels seems to be lacking.
The smaller size of the pastels also seems to be more appropriate to
the intimate selections she is making.
Grouped together, the individual works become one larger work. The
repetition of the same motif risks overcrowding the viewer, but manages, instead, to force
the viewer to take the individually cropped scenes more seriously. The
viewer is invited to see the differences -- in light, in color in composition.
Worsley asks the viewer to do what she has done, to become intimate with
the subject and see its many facets. You can never swim in the same
river twice and Worsley won't let you. She shows you first this scene,
then another. First this light, then another. Like Monet's many
series, Worsley shows one that light is the subject, and one which changes
from season to season and from hour to hour.
"River Paintings" will be on display at Chroma through
April 7th. Upcoming exhibitions for Worsley include participation
in the Utah Arts Festival and a group show at the Horne Fine Art gallery.
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Art-Professional Profile -- Salt Lake City
Ben Behunin
Strives to “Stay Hungry”
by Laura Durham
I have visited many artists' studios, but none that made me smile
as much as Ben Behunin's. Behunin, born and raised in Salt Lake
City, has been working in ceramics full time for the past seven years.
In addition to his artistic career, Behunin presides over Clay Arts, Utah
and Local Colors Gallery -- two non-profit organizations created and managed
by local artists.
Behunin's two-story studio
sits conveniently behind his Salt Lake City home below the University
of Utah. The gate leading to his backyard is a gate leading to a
world of whimsy and inventive imagination. Ben is primarily a potter,
but I soon noted his creations clearly extend beyond clay. A large
mobile suspended from his studio caught my eye as I stepped through the
gate. Standing wind chimes and other metal works decorate his deck along
with dozens of ceramic heads that made faces at me as I walked toward
the studio entrance.
Inside Behunin's studio, a plate hangs on the wall that says,
"stay hungry," words derived from the philosophy of Plato, and Ben’s
personal motto. Stacks of unfinished platters, piles of pots, mugs
and many other functional wares sit on shelves alongside larger, more
sculptural works such as large urns and odd-looking teapots.
The artist describes these larger pieces as his "higher-end items."
He currently sends 80-85% of his work outside of Utah, but he is hopeful
that clay sales will rise here at home soon. Because of the dipping
economy, he has put these higher-end items aside and focused more on the
smaller, functional and more affordable items. Behunin says the key to
surviving these economic times is diversification. He doesn't put all
his eggs in the same basket and he markets directly to the public as
well as the galleries.
Although Ben's signature pieces are his fish platters and "gear
heads" (transmission gears with ceramic faces), his personal favorites
are his large teapots. "I love the challenge about making something that
big. The notion of a three-foot teapot that's shaped like a human form…I
just look at them and they make me laugh. Almost all of them have feet
so they look like they could get up and walk off. I enjoy watching
other people walk past them and listening to their comments. On a smaller
scale, the spout is crooked and bent and sometimes I cut it five or six
times and put it back together so it looks something like Dr. Seuss plumbing."
Humor is a quality that seems to manifest itself throughout
most of Ben's art. The fish on his large platters seem to be angry with
you and the gear heads are inspired by the facial expressions of family,
friends and other people that capture his interest.
Ben is the president of Clay Arts, Utah which was founded over
three years ago when clay artist Etsuko Freeman graduated from the University
of Utah and didn't quite know what to do with her craft. She wanted to
create a community of potters and ceramicists. Freeman rallied other clay
artists in the area, including Ben Behunin, and after several meetings
the organization was established. Ben believes having a community
of artists who share similar interests to discuss ideas and values serves
as a great support system. "I've traveled quite extensively to the west
coast and the northwest and over in Europe as well. There are huge amounts
of artists concentrated in those areas, but here there aren't as many artists
working full time. Coming together to help support each other encourages us
in many ways to keep going when times are hard."
Clay Arts, Utah has two components to its
mission statement: The first is to create a community of clay artists and
potters, and the second is to educate the public about their craft. "It's
more a re-education than anything. All the time we get people coming up
to us saying 'Can I actually use this for food?' Our ancestors have eaten
on ceramic plates and dishes for literally thousands of years. Now
people seem to think if it isn't shrink-wrapped or you can't buy it at
K-Mart, it's not safe to eat on."
It's becoming more apparent that established arts organizations
not only help artists by providing a support system, but they help
the public become more aware that there are indeed artists here in
Utah. "When we send out cards informing the public of our annual Christmas
sale, we take the mailing list of all the artists and combine them. Some
of these people who buy my pottery might also buy Aaron Ashcraft's pottery
or Jim Simister's pottery. Bringing all these people together and letting
them know there are potters here has a lot of strength. It's a real tragedy
that so many artists have to send their work outside of Utah in order
to make a living. I think combining and coming together in mass helps
people to recognize that there really are artists here making a living
at this and do have great things to offer."
One of their most successful outreach programs is the "Empty
Bowls" project with the Salt Lake City Mission. For one night each fall,
they partner with the Salt Lake City Mission for a night of celebration
of bowls and soup. The Mission provides soup for everyone who comes
to buy a bowl crafted and donated by the potters. Each bowl is
unique and, believe it or not, safe to eat out of. So far Clay Arts,
Utah has raised over $13,000 with all the proceeds donated to the charity.
In 2001, Clay Arts, Utah came together to put on a couple
of juried exhibits at the Utah Arts Council's Rio Gallery. The first
was a teapot show and the second was a sculpture show. They will
exhibit at the Art Barn in Salt Lake City this coming July. The show will
be called “Massive” with each piece being at least 24 inches long in one
direction or another.
Not only is Ben the president of Clay Arts, Utah, he
presides over
Local Colors Gallery
in Trolley Square as well. The non-profit co-op is made up
of 42 artists ranging from potters to jewelers to painters. "There are
a lot of artists here in Utah that end up giving up because they don't
have the ability or the opportunity to sell their artwork. It's a discouraging
thing, so I wanted to offer a space that wouldn't be concerned about making
money, but more concerned with giving artists an opportunity to show and
the public to see the wonderful art that Utah has to offer. I just
wanted to avoid any snootiness that's often associated with galleries.
I was basically thrown out of a gallery once in Sugarhouse. The guy actually
said 'If you're not going to buy anything get the hell out of my shop.'
I wanted to create a gallery that was inviting to anyone no matter how
much money they had – no matter what they were interested in and I think
that's really what we've accomplished."
Anyone who walks in to Local Colors will be able to find
something they can afford. The gallery is a member of the Salt Lake
Gallery Association and participates in the Gallery Stroll. The diversity
of the work and the regular change in inventory keep customers coming
back to see what's new. Ben tries to keep things fresh by rearranging
the artwork in the gallery twice a month. "I've been in galleries around
town that if you've been in once, you probably don't need to go in again
for another year because nothing will change."
Behunin hopes his own artwork will never stagnate. "I know of
potters who have been making the same forms with the same glazes and
selling them in the same galleries for twenty years - that's really of
no interest to me. I know if I'm in the same place I am today a year from
now or even a month from now I probably will have failed, even though financially
I may have succeeded. If I'm not constantly evolving or developing,
it's not worth any success to me." As for Ben's aspirations for the future,
he says, "I’m constantly hungry and looking for new opportunities. I'm not
sure what the future holds, but I'm sure it's going to be exciting."
This interview with Ben Behunin aired air on ArtSpeak
on KRCL 90.9 FM Monday, March 24th at 12:30 PM.
Local Colors Gallery will feature the artowrk of Dale Minson,
Shirley McKay and Sharon Mikkelson thru April 14.
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