When » Exhibit runs Sept. 8-26. Panel discussion is Sept. 11 from 7:30-8:30 p.m., preceded by a reception at 6:30 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Where » I.J. and Jeanné Wagner Jewish Community Center, 2 N. Medical Drive, Salt Lake City. Call 801-581-0098 for more information or visit www.whatithought isaw.com to read some of the stories or submit a story of your own.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
The Utah Arts Council has announced that Kristen Hileman, associate curator of the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, will jury the Arts Council's 2009 Visual Art Fellowship Program.
When » Applications for the Visual Arts Fellowship program are due Sept. 18.
Where » For information and application materials, contact Lisa Abersold at 801-533-3581 or labersold@utah.gov. Information also can be found online at www.arts.utah.gov.
Russian art this season
No need to worry. Despite the McCarthey gallery's closing in Park City - at least for now - you can still get a solid dose of Russian art at the Springville Museum of Art, where Vern Swanson has been intimately involved with the subject for some time. A monthlong exhibition, "Nikolai Terpsikhorov: Master Artist of Mother Russia," is a retrospective of genre and landscape paintings from the Soviet era. The museum has let on that the entire Terpsikhorov collection on display is owned by a single collector who will entertain offers for the sale of some. Eventually, many of the remainder will be auctioned at Christie's and Sotheby's. Meanwhile, the museum has purchased two of the works and is expecting to be gifted with others. Swanson's latest book, Soviet Impressionist Painting, is a great place to start to contextualize Terpsikhorov's work, and the good news is that the hard-cover book is $78, as opposed to the earlier and out-of-print edition that can run more than $200. Swanson's acquisition of 20th-century Russian art for Utah collections will be the subject of a longer story.
Also at Springville, the biennial Signature and Two-Star Exhibit of the Utah Watercolor Society opens Sept. 13, with a reception from noon to 3 p.m. This honor invitational show celebrates the society's most accomplished artists.
When » Sept. 13-Oct. 15 for both shows, with a reception Sept. 13 from noon to 4 p.m. for the Russian art and a reception from noon to 3 p.m. for the watercolors. Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday 3-6 p.m.; closed Mondays and holidays. Admission is free.
Where » Springville Museum of Art, 126 E. 400 South, Springville. For more information, call 801-489-2727 or visit sma.nebo.edu.
Last-minute trip to redrock country
Today is the second, and last, day of the fifth annual Moab artists' studio tour. If you're already in town or you feel like taking a nice long drive to redrock country, you can visit the inner sancta of 15 Moab artists. The tour runs in conjunction with the Moab Music Festival. If you can't get there now, the tour will run again Dec. 6-7.
When » Sept. 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where » Throughout downtown Moab. Download a list of participating galleries and artists at www.moabstudiotour.com.
Nobility
Chris Noble's collection of photography, "Desert," is a testament to his more than 30 expeditions to Everest, Mount McKinley, Pumori, Aama Dablam, the jungles of Borneo, and the Arctic, among other far-flung places.
When » Through September. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. An artist's reception will be held during gallery stroll on Sept. 19 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Where » Utah Arts Festival Gallery, Artspace City Center, 230 S. 500 West No.120, Salt Lake City. Call 801-322-2428 or visit www.uaf.org.
More geographic work
National Geographic Greatest Portraits Exhibit is an exhibition of 56 striking color and black-and-white photographs curated by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and National Geographic Magazine.
When » Sept. 11-Nov. 1, with an opening reception Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.
Where » Braithwaite Gallery, Southern Utah University, 351 W. University Blvd., Cedar City. Visit www.suu.edu/pva/artgallery or call 435-586-5432.
Keeping it fresh
Karen Horne's most interesting recent work, featured in "Fresh Paint," is a series of paintings of crowd scenes from the 2008 Utah Arts Festival - potential entries in the UAF contest for poster art for 2009. Also on display are landscapes by Phyllis Horne.
When » Sept. 10-Nov. 8. Extended evening hours Sept. 19 from 6-9 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Where » Horne Fine Art, 142 E. 800 South, Salt Lake City, 801-533-4200 or www.hornefineart.com.
Illustrating illustration
The Bountiful/Davis Art Center features the illustrations of artists Mark Robison, Anne Marie Oborn, Robert McKay, Greg Newbold, Rob Colvin, Sherry Meidell, Robert Barrett, Nathan Paret, Ben Sowards, Bethanne Anderson, Joel Izatt, Ron Brown, Mark Buehner, Rebecca Mann, Chris Hawkes, Paul Mann, Steve Kropp and Micah Harmen, among others.
When » Sept. 12 Ð Oct. 10, with an opening reception and talk on Sept. 19.
Where » 745 S. Main St., Bountiful. For more information, call 801-292-0367 or visit www.bdac.org. Exhibit hours are Mondays, 5-9 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturdays, 2 p.m. BDAC is closed on Sundays and holidays.
Race against time?
The proliferation of Plein Air competitions in Utah has me amazed and baffled. On the upside, it's a great excuse to stand outside in beautiful spaces and paint what you see. And maybe win some dough, which most starving artists can use. On the downside, there's so much pressure. Is art really meant to be a competition about the quickest, best depictions of things? You got me. The good news is that the Spring Plein Air Competition is combined with an annual artists' studio tour. Plan ahead for two weekends from now to see the streets of Spring City lined with easels and palettes and the studios hung with art that was made, one assumes, under less (intentionally) intense conditions.
When » Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 17 is artist registration, and painting goes on the next two days, from morning's light until dusk, with the competition winner announced Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. Best of Show Award is $2,000; second prize $1,000, third prize $500, with various merit awards. The juror for the competition is the distinguished Tom Alder, of Williams Fine Art. The artists' studio tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 20. Tickets for the tour are $10, available at the corner of Main Street and Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Where » Spring City. For more information, visit springcityarts.com/events or call 435-462-9751.
Photography at Covey
Mark Finch Hedengren, first-place LDS Film Festival winner and professional photographer, is opening an exhibit of his art, "Journeys: A Retrospective." Hedengren earned a bachelor's in fine arts in photography at Brigham Young University and a master's of fine arts at the Glasgow School of Art.
When » Through September. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where » The Covey Center for the Arts gallery, 425 W. Center St., Provo; 801-852-7007 or www.coveycenter.org.
Teachable moments
Lester Lee, a self-taught watercolor artist, is the guest teacher at this month's Intermountain Society of Artists education meeting.
When » Sept. 9, 7 -9 p.m.
For more information visit www.springcityarts.com or e-mail info@springcityarts.com.
