D.art
A Big Bike LOVE In this issue: Manny Valenzuela Caitlin Connaughton Mary Kenez Jo Ellen Bourg Expose yourself to Plastography Durango Exhibit
durangoartnews.com June/July 2012
“A Big Bike Love” Exhibit • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO • 303-442-7790
Summer 2012
D.art to the point 1....................... Letter from the Editor 3............. Manny Valenzuela 5...................... Plastographer Jo Ellen Bourg 7...................... Plastographer Mary Kenez 9.................... Pottery on 203 10....... Caitlin Connaughton 11........... Durango Art Walk 13............. Debra Greenblatt 15................... Tim Kapustka 17.................. Ravelle Celaya 19............. Connie Townsend 21................ A Big Bike Love
“chicken-tini” - Jo Ellen Bourg
“Bikin’ Betty Luna” - Mary Kenez
“Expose yourself to Plastography “ • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO • 303-442-7790 Summer 2012
Photo: Clay Patton
Dear Readers, Welcome to the second issue of D.art , Durango Art News! D.art will focus on showcasing contemporary artists from the four corners area. The first off-shoot of Telluride Art News, my hope is that this small regional publication climbs to a national audience via Art News Group. Thru the technology of ISSUU we will instantly be an online publication as well as a short run local print magazine. Thank you to the artists of Durango who sent in their info for these first 2 issues Drop by Gallery 530 located at 530 Main Ave in beautiful downtown Durango, Colorado. Gallery 530 features local artist Manny Valenzuela, Caitlin Connaughton, Jo Ellen Bourg and Mary Kenez
D.art welcomes artists to submit art of all media types, to be considered for Gallery 530, in Durango and Kamruz Gallery, in Telluride. Submissions will be considered for D.art /T.art magazine and for durangoartnews.com/ tellurideartnews.com. Celebrating the BICYCLE as art and as a way of life is “A Big Bike Love” exhibit. Photographs and prints from myself and other local artists including, Dieter Runge. Timely with the Pro Cycling Challenge coming to the area. Timely, because bikes season is here...Iron Horse 2012 looms! Call for entries for “A Big Bike Love” is open thru May 2012. Please contact me : editor@durangoartnews.com
D.art explores Plastography in this issue. “Breathing Life into Plastic” continues as an exceptional exhibit in Durango. Gallery 530, 530 Main Ave in Durango - open 7 days a week. Gallery530.com
Mary Kenez Editor
Gallery 530 is thrilled to be a part of the Thursday Night Art Walk. Inaugural Walk , June 7th 2012 5-8 pm. (see Page 11) cover: “Leader of the Band” - Manny Valenzuela
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“Maggie’s Bike” - Mary Kenez
Durango Art News is published and printed by: Telluride Paper Chase 333 W. Colorado Ave Telluride, CO 81435 (970)728-0235 editor@tdurangoartnews.com tellurideartnews.com Editor: Mary Kenez Publisher: Katie DeFrancesco
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Design and Website: DigitalChloe.com logo and images ©2012 D.art & Mary Kenez
Plastography.com
“Bikin’ Bettys” - Mary Kenez
“Leader of the Band” - Manny Valenzuela
“Maggie’s Bike” - Mary Kenez
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Manny Valenzuela Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona Hispanic Heritage Principal works are acrylic on canvas paintings, cast bronze and welded steel sculpture.
Manny is a dynamic, Contemporary Artist. His sculptures and paintings are inspired by his colorful heritage. “Many of my paintings are metaphors of personal relationships that convey a message using western influences. I love using my artwork to express that special bond between a parent and his/her kids. Bright colors and textures are mixed in a contemporary fashion creating a unique interpretation of the world around us. The combination of subject and technique brings character and flair to a room while still embracing a deeper meaning. Everyone has something to say I just prefer to communicate with metal or paint.” “I mainly work with western figures because of the poetic lifestyle they lead. It appears simple yet contains a complexity that goes beyond what seems obvious. I love creating paintings that stir emotion. It’s a great feeling to know you’ve touched someone’s heart or put a smile on their face. My style is minimalistic because of its ability to best convey the message with very little distraction. Some of the designs are derived from childhood memories and others represent my relationship with my own kids.” Pre-historic art, western icons, and personal life experiences influence the designs for his sculpture. A contemporary touch coupled with a southwestern flavor is evident in his artwork. His contemporary abstract pieces consist of visual metaphors, symbolizing both personal and global representations. Manny creates sculpture using welded steel and cast bronze. These mediums are selected for their permanency and value. He is involved in every step of the process to ensure the highest level of quality. His goal is to create artwork that provides enjoyment and a sound investment.
“Gaucho 5 Red”-Sculpture “Country Road”
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“Visionary”
“Summer Breeze”
“Stetson”
“Back in Black”
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Jo Ellen Bourg On plastography? It’s not for eveyone...but if if it’s for you, you know it; you love it. What some have called “dark”, “pointless”, or “disturbing”- I call funny. Hence, the beauty of art. Actually, in all honesty, I did capture a few shots that may have given me slight nightmares.
“Hula She-Weed”
“Martini Babies”
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“The Bath House”
“Shadow Woman”
Plastography Jo Ellen Bourg
“Smokin’ Chicks”
“Dino Latte”
“Peppermint Patty”
“Plum Crazy” “B/W Malts”
art imitating life.
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Plastography Mary Kenez
“Zeiss Ikon”
“Cabbage Cowboy”
“Cabbage Cowboy”
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“Squirrel Party”
Mary Kenez For me Plastography is the natural world combined with the unatural world... of plastic. I attempt to incorporate the living with the “dead” in most of my plastography. The art is also about movement and storytelling ... a rooster crowing, a ravenous dinosaur...an angry bear, all come to life in the world of plastography. Hopefully you will find a plastograph that inspires you... “A Life of Plastic is Fantastic!”
“Durango Damsel”
“Frisky the Snowman”
“Dorothy and Toto Float”
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Kay Harper Roberts My pots are slabs of clay that give me a surface to decorate with colored slips,glazes and texture. I have been doing this for over 25 years. About 10 years ago I engaged in the unique process of clay mono printing. A clay mono print is a print pulled from a clay slab using colored clay slips. The process involves applying these slips creating patterns, color, and textures. When I am working I try to avoid thinking to much and allow the process to expose itself. A close interaction with the materials is essential in the exploration of space and spontaneity within the slab. Being an emotional response to the natural world around me or the abstract that evolves without a preconceived image or theme, the slab always leads me to tell a tale.
“Mystery Man”
clay monoprint
“Big Red House” clay monoprint
Scott K. Roberts In the best of handwork there is a quality which exist beyond technique alone. Those who are open to it will recognize it as life, human spirit manifested through the marriage of reason and intuition. This is the promise of possibilities. That something as common as a cup or bowl might somehow transcend its intended function to become something much greater than a simple utensil for the holding of food and drink. This quality keeps the handmade pot not only relevant but vital to our daily lives.
Pottery On 203
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4246 CR 203 Durango, Colorado 81301 970.247.3393, quiensabe@frontier.net , KHRobertsClayandCloth.blogspot.com skroberts@frontier.net , SKRobertsPottery.blogspot.com
Caitlin Connaughton caitlinconnaughton@gmail.com (970) 759-0781 I am an artist and art educator who grew up in New York City and graduated from the School of Visual Arts. As an intuitive painter, I paint with the intention to use the creative process to connect with my inner life and journey into the world of the soul mind. I trust my intuition to bring me to engage with Spirit and let the painting lead me to express from an open heart, letting go of control and being present without judgement. It is both a playful and transformative experience that allows me to create authentically.
“Lyric of the Black Cloud”
“Emergence”
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first thursdays
art walk
Inaugural Walk June 7, 2012 5 to 8 p.m. and continuing every first Thursday of the month
first thursdays
first thursdays
art walk
art walk
durango
first thursdays
art walk
Featuring Durango Art Galleries Durango Arts Center • Earthen Vessel Gallery Gallery 530 • Sorrel Sky Gallery Toh-Atin Gallery • Wildshots Gallery Other Venues Offering Art Eno • Rochester Hotel & Bar Steaming Bean • Steve Gates Architect
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“A Big Bike Love” Poster available at Gallery 530 & Gallery530.com
©2012 Kamruz.com
“A Big Bike Love” Summer 2012 • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO “A Big Bike Love” Exhibit • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO & Kamruz Gallery • 333 W. Colorado Ave • Telluride, CO • 303-442-7790
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Debra Greenblatt I was raised in the exurbs of New York City and spent a fair amount of my youth at museums, galleries, and other cultural hot spots in NYC. I migrated to Vermont and Montana to study visual art and then found myself being an artist in California ( both northern and southern) for 16 years. To educate and raise my children in a more real place, we moved to Durango almost 20 years ago. Because of the geographic isolation of Durango, I became more involved in conceptual, installation, and public art. The Dumpster Beautification Program grew out of the desire to see more art in unlikely places while giving kids-at-risk a legal way to express themselves. Lately established artists in Durango have come onboard drawing designs and mentoring the youths through the paint process. The project is open to anyone in the community. Paint on.
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Bonnie Ward
artist and owner “ The Clay Room” Durango, Colorado I have been an art instructor and early childhood professional for over 20 years. I currently teach for the Shared School / public school art program as well as for The Durango Art Center’s summer and after school art enrichment program. I am married, have two amazing children and Cyrus, the dog. My mission for this paint your own pottery studio is to provide a creative environment for people of all ages and abilities to feel successful and be happy. Thus my web site’s name… ”artandlaughter.com”
Plastography...
2012 Exhibit
530 Main Ave - Durango, CO
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Tim Kapustka
Tim Kapustka is a Graphic Deisgner. Tim’s forays into the design world happen under the banner of Cabbage Creative. Tim is also a founding member of Studio & in Durango, Colorado. You can find him there most days, spinning plates and yarns. Tim was born and raised on the lower peninsula of Michigan. His midwestern roots are something that he’s very proud of. He still has a thriving love affair with the city of Detroit and that city’s baseballers, the Tigers. He’s happy to be here and likes your shirt. To find out more about stuff like this, please visit www.cabbagestudio.com or www.anddurango.com
Year One, Digital print, 18"x24 The Garden of Eden, Digital print, 14"x18 Atlantis, Digital print, 14"x18 The Bermuda Triangle, Digital print, 14"x18
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Elizabeth Kinahan is a visual artist who creates representational images of scenes common around her Southwest Colorado home. The magpies that confer on the front lawn each morning, the poppies that grow with relentless force every Spring, the jersey heifer who nods her hello from behind the fence on the county road. These are the pictures of life in the four corners region, and they are exactly the things Elizabeth seeks to highlight. Often positioned against a stark or abstract background, the subject now lives in a world which exists only to support it. With animals being her first love and greatest passion, the goal of all her work is to impart to the viewer a sense of joy and splendor, an awakening to the magnificent nature of the world we share.
Danielle, oil on panel, 24”x18”
Durango June, oil on canvas, 40”x30”
How Now, oil on canvas, 36”x48”
Bobby Diba began documenting his life with snapshots of friends and family when he was given his first camera at the age of eleven. As his interest grew, Bobby began experimenting with traditional darkroom and digital photography. His talent and passion won him a scholarship to the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He graduated in 2009. He has been living in Durango for two years working on ranches and running a wedding photography business.
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Ravelle Celaya
i began painting in high school and very soon fell in love with watercolor for its immediacy and spontaneity. i loved to watch the paints paint themselves, then i would fill in with the details. Since that time i have learned a more disciplined way of painting and maybe even a little more successful in terms of painting a subject and having it look like what i’m envisioning or feeling at the time. my intention these days is to simply paint what i am attracted to around me in the most interesting way i can. creativity for the sake of creativity. which these days happens to be watercolor on yupo. yupo is a very smooth paper much different than traditional watercolor paper. it has its own challenges and its own charms.
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Bradley Kachnowicz Bradley Kachnowicz studio Durango, Colorado
970 375 7796 bkachnowicz@gmail.com www.bkachnowicz.com Bradley’s artistic works blend abstract, impressionistic and representational styles to inspire a deeper understanding and heightened awareness on a variety of themes. Working primarily with oil, acrylic, gesso and fibers, Bradley endeavors to challenge his viewer’s thought processes and emotions, layering color, substance and texture to create a provocative tone for each painting. A lover and advocate of nature, the environment, authenticity and truth, Bradley’s passion and values are reflected in each piece that he creates, calling forth his talent and insight to emerge on the canvas. His artistic style and vision are continuously evolving to meet new and fresh perspectives. Bradley is a full-time artist, maintains a studio in Durango, Colorado, and is represented by the Arroyo Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Colluvium, oil and acrylic on canvas, 60”x60”
Butterfly, (detail), oil and acrylic on canvas, 60”x48”
Rose Sitting, oil and acrylic on canvas, 48”x48”
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Kamruz Gallery - welcomes Connie Townsend
“You Make My Heart Wag” 24 x 20 - oil “4 X 4 X 2” - 30 x 24 - oil
“Dog Heaven” 14” x 18” - Oil
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Connie Townsend
“Rovers 30 x 24”- oil
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“A Big Bike Love” Exhibit • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO • 303-442-7790
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Summer 2012
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Photography - Mary Kenez
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Photography - Mary Kenez
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“A Big Bike Love” Exhibit • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO • 303-442-7790
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“Plastography” Exhibit • Gallery 530 • 530 Main Ave • Durango, CO • 303-442-7790
Summer 2012