The Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture is pleased to host its newest shows featuring emerging artists from our community.
Michigan-born ceramic artist Nathan Goddard showcases Subduction, an array of his work, in the Jessie Wilber Gallery.
Similar to the strata of earth, Nathan’s work is comprised of layers, of daily human observations and the geo-historical knowledge that is held inside of clay. “I see making my work as archived memories deep beyond the surface mantle, the earth survives as physical documentation of recollection and reflection,” he says. “The act of utilizing clay and earth from specific places therefore, literally and conceptually connects my work to a place of origin and the layers of nostalgia associated with it. Place is my material and my vehicle for addressing these ideas.”
Kalispell paint artist Tessa Heck unveils Big Thaw in the Weaver Room.
The exhibit is a series of contemporary landscapes of Glacier National Park, incorporating bright and bold abstracted shapes. “Created in the depth of winter and huddled around my space heaters in my studio, I was attracted to the hyper pigmented colors that could be found on those miraculous alpenglow evenings, where the neon brightness reminds you spring is coming soon and it hasn’t forgotten you,” she says. “Painting can be a lonely process, particularly up in the Northwest corner of Montana. Peering out my window to see the glacial peaks on bluebird days gave me a sense of hope and wonderment.”
Birds showing in the Emerson Lobby is an exhibition by paint artist Victoria Daily.
Victoria’s paintings, which revolve around a deep passion for nature, explore patterns of migration and seasonal change. “Patterns have always appeared to me in nature,” she says. “Patterns of the scales on a butterfly’s wing or the feather molting patterns of waterfowl. Patterns of migration along the Mississippi Flyway that I watch from the flooded cypress woods. Patterns in the crystal of a snowflake, each one similar but different. I am obsessed with these things to the point that I structure my year around them, seeking to be where they are as they move and appear with the seasons.”
All exhibits are open the public, on display through May 17th. For gallery hours and more information, please visit www.theemerson.org. Located at 111 S Grand Ave., the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture serves as a primary resource for the arts, arts education, and cultural activities in Southwest Montana. •
