Spring Salon Review
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Sculpture? Well, I don't know what the statistics would be for the numbers of it in the exhibitions over the years, but I do know this - - there are some real beauties in this show. For example, right in front of the Meacham is a nice and playful geometry in cast bronze by Jeanine Young. This 2001-dated piece is called La Jeune Femme (44" high), and all I can say here is that it would have made the great Larry Elsner of USU proud to have claimed it as his own! Other sculpture? Well, this year's Juror's First Place Award has gone to Fall, a 1999-dated welded steel piece by Michael Hullet. It is a very tasty minimal figure (88" high), one of this U of U-trained artist's best ever, and something Springville ought to buy for its permanent collection, if it can.

Black Rhino by Michael Coleman

And then, over on the other side of "Glory Room" are two really interesting developments in sculpture. Indeed, this year's Director's 3-D Award has gone to both Black Rhino and Cape Buffalo, two realistic bronzes (25" high each) by none other than Michael Coleman, Utah's most successful painter of western subject matter! Hey, when you got it, you got it, and this certainly goes for Mr. Coleman. As another aside, pieces by this artist and other very well-known Utah masters are in this Salon because they are now part of Springville's "100 Most Honored Artists of Utah" who "may submit work ... without a fee, and ... have one entry accepted ...automatically." HEY, this may be elitism big time, but the Salons will be more representative of what's actually being done around here than they have been for many years past, in my estimation.

Meanwhile, the Director's 2-D Award winner is a really big (48 x 80") Michael Workman tonal landscape called Red Mountain. And this is a very strong piece too, in its atmosphere and majestic form. What's in a name? Well, "Michael" seems to have worked rather well this year, at least up to this point. Yet, among the other very striking examples surrounding the Michael Workman is Kathryn Affleck's closely-worked Hog Heaven (2000, pastel, 31 1/2 x 19 1/2"), this being only one of the Juror's Third Place Award winners apparently. Then among my own remaining favorites from the merit award group is a creation by Sandy Freckleton Gagon. It's a still-life of a surreal kind, and I think she is really getting good! And Frank McEntire's small bronze Lazarus, presented upon a McEntire-made wooden stand, is a fine little understatement.

Also there is an exceptionally effective collage by Adrian Van Suchtelen of USU. How somebody like Adrian, who has been so good, can be getting better is a mystery to me, but it is happening. And an oil on panel by a certain Sharron Evans of American Fork is strong in a kind of busy "Kershisnikesque" sort of way. Also a great big Tony Rasmussen red rock country piece is there (three canvases, each 96 x 48") that was/were once in the Olpin Union at the University of Utah, but which is/are now part/parts of Springville's permanent collection. And one the finest Bill Whitaker pretty girl paintings I've ever seen is also among a number of others selected as meritorious by the jurors.

Mark Twain by Gary Price

Elsewhere, works by the following artists also "caught my eye": always effective Judith Mehr, another fine bookstore by our friend Gibbs Smith; a very appealing Stroll Through the Ages by Scott L Wallis; a sofa-sized tonalist "triptych" by Bradley Ethan Aldridge called In Seduction of Subtle Waters (Get your "Music for Lovers Only" album out!); a really good landscape by Kathryn Stats; a bronze Garden Boy, who sits on a real museum bench so nicely, by my friend L'Deane Trueblood, a wonderful and big Mark Twain by Gary Price (He's got his own bronze bench!); a couple of David Meikle's roadside cubist realist scenes, a David Argyle saddle (I'm wondering if he is related to Barney Argyle, the boot jack artist.); another fun clay thing by Heidi Moller Somsen, an equally effective clay thing by Rita Lambros; an excellent example of Willamarie Huelskamp's unique work; two little jewels of watercolor by Ed Maryon; and a very deft collage-like Roman Holiday #2 by Deseret News critic Dave Gagon.

What else? Well, here's another "news flash." I really like this show. It has real variety, and it actually has wildlife art in it too! In fact, this exhibition does not show any tendency whatsoever to either "all-knowing mod./post-mod. preciousness" or prissy traditionalist "federal judge vision" either. That is, the jurors were looking for "the good stuff" evidently, and it seems to me they found it.

*Robert S. Olpin has been an art history professor at the University of Utah for the last 35 years. He began writing about the artists of Utah in the 1970s and, for some unknown reason, has never stopped.

AOU SPRING FUNDRAISING

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the past months and helped Artists of Utah develop a website that has become a crossroads for Utah's visual arts community. Artists of Utah is continuing to expand as an organization.  Starting this summer, we will begin a series of forums and  workshops designed to help both artists and art lovers and expand everyone's involvement in their community. 

With help from generous donors we are planning two exhibitions this fall.  35 x 35 will feature thirty-five works by Utah artists under thirty-five. Our larger exhibition, Visioning Utah,  will be a juried exhibit for all Utah artists  exploring Utah artists' visions of their immediate surroundings, the places they live. 

In the meantime we are continuing to develop our website.  We are continually adding features to the site to fulfill the needs of the community.   We want to make sure the site remains a place for those interested in the visual arts to be able to connect, interact, and explore.

This is where we need your help.  We are always in need of volunteers to help with our organization and would welcome anyone interested in getting involved.  In addition, we are asking the members of the community to help support our non-profit organization financially.  Your $20 donation will go directly to the costs of developing and maintaining the website -- making sure 15 BYTES has a home.

Alternative Venue Spotlight
Lamb's Grill Cafe in SLC

Lamb's Grill Cafe has been an important downtown restaurant since 1919. Besides the excellent menu fare, Lamb's has provided a convenient place to conduct business in Salt Lake.  Over the decades, many an important business deal or legal agreement has been hammered out over lunch or dinner there.  For the past three years, it has also been an important alternative venue for local artists.

 
It all started when owner John Speros was taking classes and workshops from the Salt Lake Art Center's Photography Department. A serious photographer himself, Speros was impressed by the work of the other photographers in the group and it dawned on him that most of their beautiful work was not being shown.

So, with plenty of wall space in his restaurant to offer, Speros began hanging their work. The experiment has evolved into a very successful practice for both Speros and the artists.

Today, Lamb's hangs all kinds of fine art, mainly from Utah artists.  Exhibits typically hang for one calendar month and usually feature an opening, with snacks and refreshments provided by Lamb's. Sales are frequent, and Lamb's takes a modest 25% commission.

May features the photography of Robert Barberio. During June, the Salt Lake Photo Print Society will display a group show of their members' impressive work.

AOU INVADES LAMBS CAFE

On Wednesday April 10th, Artists of Utah held the first of a regular series of informal gatherings for artists and art enthusiasts at Lambs Cafe in Salt Lake City.  An open invitation was issued in the April edition of 15 BYTES for all interested parties to meet.  Most of the individuals involved had never met, but lively discussion soon sprouted up amongst various groups. 

Our second Artists of Utah gathering will be held Wednesday, May 29th, at Rio Grande Cafeat 1:00.  Everyone is invited to attend.  Our gatherings will be announced in each edition of 15 BYTES and can also be found on the AoU Announcements page.


Enjoying lunch and a spirited discussion are, clockwise from left Thomas Howard (Kearns), Ondre Pettingill (Springville), Chris Miles (SLC), Mark England (Alpine), Allen Bishop (Granite), Shawn Rossiter (SLC).