The opening reception for artist, Andrew Kent-Marvick, will take place on Friday, October 25, 2019, from 5-8pm. The show, entitled Forget-me-nots will feature a selection of new work by the artist. As you can read, this is sure to be a wonderful exhibit. The artist's statement:

“A fresh rose — what French perfumers call “the queen of flowers” — is almost universally seen as among the most beautiful things on Earth. As meltingly lovely as a living flower can be, however, I have always found the dead or dying blossom more emotionally compelling. A genuine pathos — the condition of tragedy, even — that abides in these fallen works of nature draws me to them again and again. The humblest discarded bloom can tug at my heart; a desiccated leaf can move me nearly to tears. In the western tradition flowers and flower studies are associated with the female: when figure-painting was denied them, countless women artists of the past were at least allowed to paint floral still-life compositions. Yet even in this genre preeminence was given to male artists. The proportion of flower painters who, not being men, remain unheralded by the public and inadequately studied by historians is as great as that of the whole population of female artists still in the shadow of their male colleagues.
 
My “Forget-me-nots” are primarily flower studies. My placement of some of these modest floral elegies over the surfaces of obliterated pre-existing paintings is intended not only to complicate and enrich the still-life elements in an aesthetic sense, but also to draw attention to continuing gender imbalance in the history of western art. Whose earlier painting has mine erased? What woman’s rose does my effort hide from view? Even more consistent than the traces of forgotten work just glimpseable beneath the surfaces of a few of the new canvases is a clear absence of simplification, generalization, idealization and unification in the still-life imagery itself. I am not interested in art’s capacity to make nature more accessible through application of the principles of design. On the contrary: because nature herself defies explanation or understanding, it is important to me that my studies of plant life reflect the conditions of chaos, randomness and deterioration that are always at the heart of the natural world. These are not particularly attractive paintings; they are, I think, honest and meaningful ones.”

Rae Lewis and Steve Thomsen, longtime friends and artists, will exhibit their very different work together! Join us for their opening reception on Friday, November 22, 2019, from 5-8 pm for their show titled, Latitude of the Observer. Rae Lewis is a painter and Steve Thomsen is a collage artist. We are definitely looking forward to exhibiting this collaboration!

Red Acre Farm is here every Thursday from 11-1:30 in 18 N (the new home of StateraArts) for the Pop-up Cafe. You'll find more of everything that makes this local farm special! Follow their Instagram for additional information and updates


CALL TO ARTISTS
We are proud and excited to be curating the art exhibit in conjunction with Read Acre Center's annual Utah Farm and Food Conference taking place on February 6-8, 2020. As part of the Conference, a screening of The Real Dirt on Farmer John will be shown. It is with the inspiration of Red Acre Center's mission and Farmer John Peterson's contribution to CSA farming, that we are seeking art for this exhibit. Art in a wide range of genres will be considered. Please visit Red Acre Center, Red Acre Farm CSA, Angelic Organics, and view The Real Dirt on Farmer John for inspiration. Visit our website for more particulars.

Our mission is to facilitate a culture that validates artists at all professional levels, and cultivates the idea that “good” art is defined not only by formula, but by the viewer’s emotional response.