Twice a year – in the spring and fall – the art galleries of Durango get together on a Friday night, fling open their doors and celebrate the arts with live music, snacks and artist receptions.
This Friday (May 12), is that day for the Spring Gallery Walk. Head downtown around 5 p.m. and see what’s new and support the local arts.
Here are a few events that will be featured:
Toh-Atin Gallery will feature a selection of large Navajo rugs. Several weavings to be featured in the showing took more than two years to complete. The works primarily come from estates and collections, and most are at least 40 years old. Many are highly collectible, award-winning weavings. And for the first time since 2019, the gallery will have live music on its deck provided by local band The Assortment, who will play blues, folk, jazz and country from 5 to 7 p.m.
“In Between Everything: A Solo Exhibition by Tim Kapustka” opening reception 5 to 9 p.m. It’s been four years since Kapustka’s last all new body of work. The show features 18 new pieces focusing on the in-between of life. “The stories told by tangential items that stand witness to everyday magnificence. We often think of the story of our lives as being composed by the extremes – the wonderful, the terrible. The wedding day, the day of our child’s birth, the phone call telling us of a loved one’s passing,” Kapustka said. “With ‘In Between Everything,’ viewers are encouraged to take a second glance, to notice and ponder the overlooked, the mundane, the forgotten. For it’s the in between that truly makes up our life.” The exhibit will hang at Studio & through May 21.
The gallery will host a two-person show, “Anticipation,” during Spring Gallery Walk featuring Colorado artists Elsa Sroka and Bryce Pettit, who will both attend the opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Sroka finds that anticipation for upcoming events tends to create “a buzzy bee” feeling in her studio. Imagery will feature her favorite subject, the cow, and possibly a sheep or a few birds. “More than outside influences, I’m finding inspiration in slowing down, deepening my understanding of my own work, anticipating new discoveries and new paths along the way,” she said. Pettit organizes creating a new body of work around shows and events, both professional and personal. This year, after years of trying, he won a river permit to raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. This once-in-a-lifetime event has already started to influence his work. The anticipation of spending time in this protected environment has him working on pieces that reflect the wildlife of that region. While still maintaining his paired-down style to create a rattlesnake, a roadrunner, a ringtail, and other animals, he’s also including a botanic element. “It’s hard to go anywhere for a month these days and be completely off the grid. The length and depth of this trip are perfect for anyone who loves the outdoors,” he said.
Diane West will feature Arizona artist Kathleen Hope for the show “Fluent in Cement.” To be fluent, both your voice and your material must merge, a bond that is not necessarily immediate, but more a journey of experimentation with many painting methods and products, Hope said. Her background in interior design and color psychology has helped her find her way to concrete. “Concrete has always intrigued me. With characteristics similar to fired clay, I use it in a painterly way,” she said. “Preparing my own mixes, I combine cement with plaster and dried pigments giving my completed works a sculptural dimension. The porous surface also allows me to create unusual markings. Over time, this foundation has allowed me to become ‘fluent in cement.’”
The gallery will feature the art of Anthony Gallaher from 5 to 8 p.m. There will also be live music by local musician Ely Cartwright. After doing years of art shows in the Pacific Northwest as an artisan of bronze and copper jewelry, Gallaher changed his path and began to create stunning and colorful art on sheets of copper and brass, and Salted Copper Art was born. After introducing his new art style in 2018 in Spokane, Washington, “Salted Copper” was a hit. He moved to the Four Corners in 2021 and introduced his work at Create Art and Tea.
The ArtRoom Collective at The Smiley is a diverse, working studio gallery where artists create, collaborate and share their passion with the community. The ArtRoom Collective is Durango’s working studio gallery where 22 artists, jewelers, potters and others create and sell their handmade goods.
Check out the DAC’s current show, “The Looking Glass Collective Presents Art Inspired by Nature.”
Blue Rain will feature “Epoch Floral: A Guadalupe Street Feature,” by Andrea Peterson. An artist reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.
katie@durangoherald.com
