By Josie Luciano. The following review appears in the March 17, 2016 issue of The Reno News and Review.
“I’m upending a story that wasn’t true and never happened,” said Tom Judd.
He believes that the West, the frontier, and the stories that surround it are part of a mythology that’s worth a more cynical look. In Home on the Range, now showing at Stremmel Gallery, the Philadelphia-based artist subverts one vintage perspective (the myth of the frontier) with another (painting). The resulting work is sad, funny and, above all, weird.
“One of the reasons the story of the West is so weird is because people are so weird,” said Judd in a recent phone interview. “They make up weird stuff and then pretend like it’s real.”
Displacing Native Americans and calling it settlement, going to war with Mexico under the guise of annexation, killing the buffalo and piling their bones in a giant heap of hubris. While domestic policy driven by manifest destiny is thought to be a thing of the past, it’s hard to deny the appeal that the quiet cowboy holds for our national character, even today. Read More
Top: Tallac Rex; Bottom: Upper Truckee Gambol
It feels like you’re lying on the ground watching clouds swirl above.
The landscape tilts and nature’s intrinsic movement performs in the breeze through trees, in the trickle of the creek and as shadows begin overtaking distant mountain ranges.
Phyllis Shafer’s artwork is transporting — straight to the heart of Nevada’s deserts and Lake Tahoe and California’s valleys.
The plein air and landscape artist’s upcoming exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art, “I Only Went Out for a Walk…” journeys through Shafer’s 30-year art career, displaying not only her early and recent work, but showcasing her life’s transformation as an artist and an individual. Read More
Top: Tallac Rex; Bottom: Upper Truckee Gambol
Phyllis Shafer: I only went out for a walk…opens February 8 at the Nevada Museum of Art, Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts, E. L. Wiegand Gallery. The exhibition celebrates the iconic landscape paintings of Phyllis Shafer while also carefully examining her early artistic influences shaped by time spent in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The largest presentation of Shafer’s work to date, the exhibition includes nearly 100 paintings, gouaches, and drawings.
Shafer, a plein air painter based in South Lake Tahoe, frequently finds inspiration in the breathtaking landscapes of the Sierra Nevada. A nod to the creative impetus behind her work, the exhibition title I only went out for a walk… stems from a phrase written by nineteenth century naturalist and conservationist John Muir: “I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out until sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” Read More
Top: Tallac Rex (oil on canvas, 34″ x 42″); Bottom: Upper Truckee Gambol (oil on canvas, 24″ x 30″)
This feature exhibition celebrates the iconic landscape paintings of Phyllis Shafer, while also carefully examining her early artistic influences shaped by her time spent in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. The title of the exhibition, “I only went out for a walk…” is inspired by a phrase written by nineteenth century naturalist and conservationist John Muir, and links to Shafer’s work as a plein air painter who frequently finds inspiration in the Sierra Nevada. Read More
Phyllis Shafer – “Truckee Winter” from Stremmel Gallery on Vimeo.
The final Stremmel Gallery video blog featuring Phyllis Shafer focuses on “Truckee Winter,” one of the very few snow scenes she has painted. So, was mother nature cooperative while Phyllis created?
Stremmel Gallery proudly presents “Beneath On Sky,” displaying on location from October 10 through November 9, 2013. This exhibition of new paintings catalogs Shafer’s observations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains – from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe. “Beneath One Sky” is the fifth solo exhibition for Shafer at Stremmel Gallery. The show is made up of 38 pieces, ranging in sizes from 8 by 10 inches to 24 by 36 inches. “Beneath One Sky” serves as the preamble to the Nevada Museum of Art’s February 2014 exhibition for the artist.
Phyllis Shafer’s “Blue Lakes Road #1” from Stremmel Gallery on Vimeo.
In part four of Stremmel Gallery’s video blogs with Phyllis Shafer, the South Lake Tahoe artist chats about “Blue Lakes Road #1.” The location for “Blue Lakes Road #1” is a special spot for Phyllis – a “gold mine,” as she puts it.
Stremmel Gallery proudly presents “Beneath On Sky,” displaying on location from October 10 through November 9, 2013. This exhibition of new paintings catalogs Shafer’s observations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains – from Yosemite to Lake Tahoe. “Beneath One Sky” is the fifth solo exhibition for Shafer at Stremmel Gallery. The show is made up of 38 pieces, ranging in sizes from 8 by 10 inches to 24 by 36 inches. “Beneath One Sky” serves as the preamble to the Nevada Museum of Art’s February 2014 exhibition for the artist.
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