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Mar 17
Love4

Review: How the West Was Weird

By Art and Design, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, Exhibitions, News, Shows

wrongmove, giclee on canvas, 12 x 20 feet

By .  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

Feb 10
Love1

Art Word – Shafer Exhibit Opens at the Nevada Museum of Art

By Art and Design, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, Exhibitions, News
Top: Tallac Rex; Bottom: Upper Truckee Gambol

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

Jan 29
Love0

Phyllis Shafer Featured in Tahoe Arts and Mountain Culture

By Art Advisory, Art and Design, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, News, Shows
Top: Tallac Rex; Bottom: Upper Truckee Gambol

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

Jan 21
Love0

Phyllis Shafer to Exhibit at the Nevada Museum of Art

By Art Advisory, Art and Design, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, Exhibitions, News, Shows
Top: Tallac Rex; Bottom: Upper Truckee Gambol

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

Nov 07
Love1

Video Blog – An Artist’s Talk, with Phyllis Shafer (Part Five)

By Art Advisory, Art and Design, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, Exhibitions, News, Shows

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.

Nov 06
Love0

Video Blog – An Artist’s Talk, with Phyllis Shafer (Part Four)

By Art Advisory, Art and Design, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, News, Shows

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.

Nov 05
Love0

Video Blog – An Artist’s Talk, with Phyllis Shafer (Part Three)

By Art Advisory, Art and Design, Artists, Exhibitions, News, Shows

Phyllis Shafer – “Rock Creek Morning” from Stremmel Gallery on Vimeo.

Phyllis Shafer stops by Stremmel Gallery to chat about her latests exhibition, Under One Sky. This is the third installment of her video chats. In this segment, Phyllis discusses the making of "Rock Creek Morning" – a piece that reminds her of knitting.

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.

Nov 04
Love0

Video Blog – An Artist’s Talk, with Phyllis Shafer (Part Two)

By Art Advisory, Art and Design, Art Collections, Artists, Exhibitions, News, Shows

Shafer – Mallow’s Hideaway from Stremmel Gallery on Vimeo.

Phyllis Shafer stops by Stremmel Gallery to chat about her latests exhibition, Under One Sky. This is the second installment of her video chats. In this video, Phyllis discusses the making of "Mallow's Hideaway" – a familiar spot in the field for the South Lake Tahoe artist.

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 x 36 inches. "Beneath One Sky" serves as the preamble to the Nevada Museum of Art’s February 2014 exhibition for the artist.

Jul 22
Love0

Art Word – RGJ Focuses on The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction

By Art Advisory, Art Auctions, Art Collections, Art Market, Artists, News
Frederic Remington's "Cutting Out Pony Herds (A Stampede)"/Photo courtesy: The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction

Frederic Remington’s “Cutting Out Pony Herds (A Stampede)”/Photo courtesy: The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction

The proof is in the details when it comes to Norman Rockwell’s work.

The 20th-century American painter went to great lengths to capture Americana life in his paintings. His efforts can be seen up close in every brush stroke of the paint, Stremmel Gallery auction coordinator Parker Stremmel said.

In the annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Rockwell is making an appearance with his “A Scout is Loyal” oil on canvas painting. A presale estimate is $4 million to $6 million dollars. Stremmel said in May at a Christie’s Norman Rockwell auction in New York, Rockwell’s “Starstruck” was estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million and sold for $2 million.

“Rockwell’s work is incredibly detailed,” Stremmel said. “He was so painstaking that he would take countless photographs just to get that right shot so he could replicate that on paper. I think that people appreciate that. Rockwell is a known commodity, and collectors with a discerning eye know that.”

The Coeur d’Alene auction is one of the largest Western art auctions in the country. Since it came to Reno more than a decade ago, it has netted more than $225 million for clients, Stremmel said.

This year’s auction will be held at the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, where 310 pieces of Western, sporting and wildlife art will be auctioned off one-a-minute during the course of five hours. Stremmel said the auction will feature Western art from the 1800s, the early part of the 20th century and some contemporaries, like Howard Terpning and Bill Anton.

The auction is entering its 29th run, but Reno was not always its home. It began in Las Vegas in 1984 and then moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, until it outgrew the area in 1999.

To read more from the Reno Gazette-Journal, click here.

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