Opening Reception Tuesday, May 17, 5 – 7 PM
Patton-Malott Gallery at Anderson Ranch
Snowmass Village, Colo. (May 9, 2016) — Anderson Ranch Arts Center, a premier art making destination and catalyst for critical dialogue in the contemporary art world, presents a group exhibition of new works by Kevin Bell, Trey Hill, Cristiane Mohallem and Nicole Pietrantoni entitled “Seeing It Again: Nature Reconsidered.” The exhibition is on view at the Patton-Malott Gallery at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colo., May 13 – June 7, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. The public is invited to a special opening reception taking place Tuesday, May 17, 5 – 7 PM.
The group’s first exhibition at Anderson Ranch, “Seeing It Again” examines human connection with the natural world. While each artist uses different processes, materials and perspectives, all are concerned with similar central questions: In an age of environmental degradation and global warming, how do we now experience landscape? With our connection to nature receding, how can its presence be more viscerally felt? The show will feature a dozen works ranging in size from twelve inches to twelve feet, and represents a diverse range of media and process, including clay, print, thread and paint.
The idea for “Seeing It Again” came about as several of the members were discussing new ways artists are approaching landscape, particularly with an eye towards current ecological changes. Kevin Bell organized the group, as their work fit together both conceptually and aesthetically. This is their first show together.
“Landscape is a well-worn subject for artists,” notes Bell. “We hope the various perspectives in this show combine to give the viewer a slightly new and unexpected view of nature, so that the subject can feel fresh and relevant.”
Kevin Bell’s paintings reexamine our depiction of landscape to reflect a more contingent and mediated relationship to nature. His work explores a new sense of the fragmented and partial in our contemporary view.
Trey Hill’s large clay sculptures are muscular and sensual, yet incomplete and hybrid. His tree-like forms draw an instinctive line between the human and organic; symbiotically combining natural and man-made elements but stopping short of full articulation.
Cristiane Mohallem depicts singular natural elements, preserving and highlighting what is threatened and fragile. Her dense, highly tactile compositions of layered embroidery thread imply a visceral and intimate connection between the individual and the environment.
Nicole Pietrantoni’s multi-panel prints question the relationship between the cultural/historical signification of nature and our contemporary experience. Her work employs familiar representations and repositions them through scale, manipulation and juxtaposition.
Anderson Ranch Arts Center’s opening reception for “Seeing It Again: Nature Reconsidered” will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 5 – 7 PM. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, please visit andersonranch.org or call 970/923.3181.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Kevin Bell’s work is informed by experiences growing up in the western United States. His artwork is exhibited nationally and internationally, including recent shows in Hong Kong, Dublin, Vancouver B.C., Shenzhen, Houston, New York City and Chicago. His work was featured in the publication New American Paintings, and art fairs such as SCOPE NY and Art Chicago. He is currently an Associate Professor at The University of Montana and serves as Editor-in-Chief of FATE in Review, a national journal dedicated to college-level art pedagogy. Bell studied history at Bowdoin College and completed an M.F.A. at University of Oregon.
Trey Hill is a sculptor and Associate Professor at The University of Montana. He received his B.F.A. from Bowling Green State University and his M.F.A. from San Jose State University. His work has been shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States and internationally. Hill has extensive travel and creative experiences through artist residencies including: The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Mont.; the LH Project Joseph, Ore.; Da Wang Cultural Highlands, China; HAP Studios, Beijing, China; Fule International Ceramic Art Museum, Fuping, China; and the Rojal Art Laboratory, Roja, Latvia. Trey was recently featured on the cover of Ceramics Monthly.
Cristiane Mohallem is a Brazilian artist living in São Paulo. She received a degree in Clinical Psychology from the Catholic University of São Paulo and coordinated an art therapy program at Rim e Hipertensão Hospital for six years. Her interest in becoming an artist initiated during graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in 2008. She has received many awards, including the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. Mohallem’s first solo exhibition, Skies are Skies, was held at DConcept Escritório de Arte Gallery, in São Paulo, 2012. Her visual works have been exhibited in Brazil, the United States, Germany and Italy.
Nicole Pietrantoni is the recipient of numerous awards and residencies including a Fulbright to Iceland, a Leifur Eiríksson Foundation Grant, an Artist Trust Fellowship, and a Larry Sommers Printmaking Fellowship. Her work has been in over 80 national and international exhibitions and is in collections including the University of California, Santa Barbara; University of Iowa Museum of Art; Zayed University, United Arab Emirates; and the Proyecto Ace Print Collection in Buenos Aires. Pietrantoni received her M.F.A. and M.A. in Printmaking from the University of Iowa and her B.S. in Human and Organizational Development and Art History from Vanderbilt University.
ABOUT ANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER
Founded in 1966, Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a premier destination in America for art making and critical dialogue, bringing together aspiring and internationally renowned artists to discuss and further their work in a stimulating environment. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., the Ranch hosts extensive workshops for aspiring, emerging and established artists in eight disciplines, including Photography & New Media, Ceramics, Painting & Drawing, Furniture Design & Woodworking, Sculpture, Woodturning, Printmaking, and Digital Fabrication. In addition to the Summer Series, Featured Artists & Conversations, the Ranch also hosts engaging events throughout the year including: the Recognition Dinner (Thursday, July 21, 2016) honoring the National Artist Award recipient; the Annual Art Auction & Community Picnic (Saturday, August 6, 2016), a thirty-six-year-old tradition which features works of local, national and international artists; and the Artists-in-Residence Program, fostering artistic growth for emerging and established visual artists. In 2016 Anderson Ranch will celebrate its 50th anniversary, furthering its mission to provide transformative experiences that celebrate artists, art making, creative dialogue and community. Learn more at www.andersonranch.org or 970/923.3181.
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Photo credits:
Top row: Kevin Bell, Cutbank, 2015, oil on Board, 12 x 12 x 8 in; Trey Hill, Slow Tides, 2016, clay, 35 x 21 x 13 in.
Bottom row: Nicole Pietrantoni, Precipitous, 2015, inkjet on Awagami Inbe ink, 14 x 6 ft; Cristiane Mohallem: Through This Night a Mightily Form Moves, 2015, cotton thread on cotton fabric, 14.5 x 19.6 in
