Rosemerry Trommer & Jill Sabella

October 5, 2016 - November 29, 2016

For two years artist Jill Sabella and poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer experimented with simplicity—a leaning toward less and the more that blossoms out of it. They took turns sending each other work to respond to. The result: 45 intimate pairings, in which three-line drawings and three-line poems reflect each other. Some are framed individually and others are framed as triptychs. The result: Elegant. Provocative. Inviting. Poignant.  

The artwork began with charcoal thoughts, and later the same drawings were done on rice paper with Sumi ink and brush.  

 In addition to the framed artwork, the pairings have been made into a book, even now (Lithic Press, 2016).  

 The show runs thru November 2016 at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6pm or by appointment.   

Ryan Cronin

July 3, 2016 - October 4, 2016

“What interests me is using color to steer the eye across the plane. I present the subject, but the meaning is not dictated, that is left to the viewer. I look to find that perfect balance, where less is more.”  

 For over two decades, Artist Ryan Cronin has been using Rust-Oleum paint to create his own unique iconography. His work has been described as Pop that teeters between Abstract and Representational. It is a mashup of high and low culture, driven by a deep sense of color and placement. It's large-scale, bold, and marked by his signature gloss finish. It is accessible and emotional, with a playful edge.  

 Cronin has exhibited his work in galleries, museums, and art fairs throughout the United States and has completed several large-scale murals including the silo at Tuthilltown Spirits/Hudson Valley Whiskey and a mural in Wynwood during Art Basel. In May of 2015 Ryan and his wife Melanie opened a gallery in New Paltz, New York. The gallery features a mix of Cronin’s original works, museum quality prints, sculpture, and a line of wares designed by Cronin. 

 Cronin was born in 1972 on the front seat of a late 60’s Plymouth station wagon. He made a bold entrance into this world and he has kept his family, friends, and fans on their toes ever since. From as far back as he can remember his father told him “you can be the garbage man, you can be the president.” These words stuck with him and shaped him into the artist he is today. 

 The show runs until August 30, 2016 at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6pm or by appointment.   

Link to Artist Page

Steven Derks

June 1, 2016 - July 2, 2016

Steven Derks’ exhibit, “Remnant Aluminum Sculpture,” is composed of constructivist inspired aluminum wall sculptures, which juxtapose the lyrical with the mechanical. Derks’ intention with this work is to make sculpture that represents fragments of industrial or mechanical apparatus. “I’m interested in the post-industrial aesthetic and the tension between regular geometries and irregularity.” The artwork is intended to suggest remnants of painted machines. 

Steven Derks is a practicing full-time, self-taught artist focusing primarily in metal sculpture with an emphasis on as-is found object art, as well as a minor practice in non-objective painting and photography. His work can be found in numerous public, corporate, museum and private art collections both in the United States and abroad. His most notable showcases include a six-year exhibition in the Oval Office during the Clinton administration, and an ongoing residency exhibit at the University of Arizona Bio 2 in Oracle Az. He maintains a prolific studio practice that is influenced by such artists as Jim Dine and Sir Anthony Caro.  

The show runs until July 5th, 2016 at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6pm or by appointment. 

Link to Artist Page

Tania Dibbs

March 2, 2016 - May 20, 2016

“I have never considered man to be separate from the environment, either physically or spiritually. All aspects of life and existence are intertwined and interdependent, an idea that was only confirmed by my study of biology in college. A reverence and concern for the planet is not a concern for something external to our selves.” 

 The exhibit, “Second Nature,” is comprised of pieces – both paintings and sculptures, from Dibbs’ series, “Anthropocene” and “Metanarrative”. Both series explore the dynamic and intriguing relationship between man and nature.  

 “Anthropocene” refers to our current geological era, which is marked by the effects of mankind. This body of work explores the complicated relationship between the natural world and mankind’s endeavors.  

 Tania Dibbs is an artist based in the Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen. At the beginning of her career, she was a landscape painter, but upon learning the skill of capturing nature accurately, she realized the style was meaningless and pretty landscapes seemed irrelevant to the status quo. The relationships between Mankind, his endeavors and ambitions, and the physical world are what Dibbs is exploring in this work. 

The show runs until May 20th at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6pm or by appointment. 

Link to Artist Page

Jena Schmidt

February 3, 2016 - March 1, 2016

“I am seeking for a place that may only exist in spirit or imagination through my own experience in nature and on the canvas.” Through her artistic practice, Jena Schmidt explores concepts of direction, wilderness, spiritual guidance, and exploration.  

 When Schmidt’s grandfather passed away, her family inherited his old camping gear. One of the items which was given to her brother was a brass compass. Inside the lid, Schmidt’s grandfather had etched the words, “Black North.” Upon seeing this, her mind lit up imagining this was a clue to an undiscovered place, one only her grandfather knew about. Schmidt later found out the words were just a reminder that the arrow for North on the compass was black, yet she still found Black North pulling at her towards its wild and mysterious landscape. 

 The search for a place Schmidt knows doesn’t exist allows her to build her own myths, and at the same time demystify the unknown when she finds answers. This art process has become a metaphor and guide for navigating Schmidt’s own life. “For me, painting is about a search, though I don’t always know what I am searching for. But as I allow my eyes to be open to possibility, my perspectives are changed both in life and in art and a new piece to the story is uncovered.” 

Jena Schmidt is a Salt Lake City, Utah native. She grew up with a love for art of all genres. She began serious study of fine arts at Utah Valley University in 2006 and graduated from Brigham Young University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting. Jena's professional experience has included 7 years of studio assistant-ship and mentoring with professional artist, Hyunmee Lee.  She is currently living and working in Salt Lake City. 

 The show runs through the month of February at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6pm or by appointment. 

Link to Artist Page

Sharon Feder

December 3, 2015 - February 2, 2016

Feder’s exhibition, titled Δ t (delta t = Change in Time) contemplates the geometry and emptiness of structures, both visually and metaphorically. Like silent sentries, they record, observe, and imply change in time. Buildings, as elements in the gigantic still life constructions that form our urban environment, inform both an understanding and unity with both the made and natural world.  

 The paintings, themselves, derive from an intersection of realism, abstraction and surrealism. Simone Kussatz, in ArtScene, writes that Feder’s paintings “are more about color combinations… and how paint is applied than subject matter… at once an aesthetic expression and a spiritual engagement.”  

 A third generation Coloradoan, Sharon studied painting since early childhood, then with Colorado Modernists Ed Marecak and Mark Zamantakis, at the University of Washington in Seattle with Norman Lundin and Michael Spafford and then with Bob Froese of Ouray and Montrose in the 1980's.  

 Her work has been enriched and informed also by decades of technical experience as a set designer, muralist, and sign artist, along with a life richly lived as a mother, mate, and student of nature. Her paintings and murals are included in numerous corporate, private and public collections. 

The show runs through the month of January at Gallery 81435, located at 230 S Fir Street in Telluride, Colorado. Open daily from 12-6pm or by appointment. 

Link to Artist Page