Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/513510
photography by Scott DreSSel-Martin (fractal echo); courteSy of tania DibbS (red nature) fluidity in stasis: nancy lovendahl For Nancy Lovendahl, artistic evolution came not from moving, but from being static. After a couple successful decades focusing on everything from large-scale sculpture to prints and drawing, Lovendahl, 60, said she felt "stuck." A friend urged her to push the boundaries, advice Lovendahl interpreted quite literally: In 2009, she participated in a two-month residency at the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, an experience she says was "vision- altering" and "like launching off of a rocket ship." Last year, she had four seminal shows, including a 12-piece solo exhibition at the William Havu Gallery in Denver, works at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, a two-person exhibition called "Being" at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and another exhibit at the Wyly Arts Center. Her show at the Wyly included works on paper, an intentional departure from her regular medium of sculpture (her BFA from the University of Illinois is in ceramics). Now that the years-long "marathon" of creating such a large number of works has ended, Lovendahl, who grew up outside Chicago and moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 1974, is taking a moment to recharge and reflect on where her transformative experiences in China have brought her. While much of her recent work has been displayed in public places—she's won numerous awards for contribu- tions to public art—the best setting to see that work now is to visit her studio in Old Snowmass. Large sculpture pieces adorn the neighboring 150-acre field, and she invites the public to tour the swath of land during daylight hours. (For those passing through Snowmass Village, the town commissioned an installation from Lovendahl that now sits outside of the Snowmass Village Recreation Center and welcomes residents and visitors year-round.) "I appreciate having the chance to stand back," says Lovendahl. "I feel so complete. I'm really recharging to take it to the next step." Lovendahl's new, public rock sculpture, called Our Place, Our Refuge, is on view on Brush Creek Road, in the park near the Snowmass Recreation Center. "The Landscape Show" at Denver's William Havu Gallery is on view through June. 1040 Cherokee St., Denver, 303-893-2360; williamhavugallery.com dissonant nature: tania dibbs The turning point in Washington, DC, native Tania Dibbs's career involved looking back and greeting what she saw with what felt most appropriate: apathy. "It was boredom," says Dibbs, 49, of her recent shift from traditional, realist landscape painting to more abstract presentations. She says her newer works "maybe have some dissonance, and may have some beauty, [but] that all ref lects our relationship with our world." Dibbs, who moved to Aspen in 1988, says that humanity's relationship with nature has changed. Accordingly, her art, formerly known for warmth and calmness, now mirrors the new interaction she interprets. Her two newest series since 2013, "Metanarrative" and "Anthropocene," demonstrate this dramatic shift in thinking and style. "The idea of nature as a broad, creative, controlling force is gone. Now there are only little pockets to preserve," she says. "That's what's going on in our world, and art should be reflecting that." That's where her art headed, and to display that transition Dibbs opened a pop-up gallery on Restaurant Row last winter, which will remain through August. Afterward, she'll continue to display her visions of a changing nature in her recently purchased workspace and gallery in Basalt. Tania Dibbs pop-up gallery, 308 E. Hopkins Ave.; and the studio and gallery in Basalt, 227 Midland Ave., Ste. 17A, 970-948-4075; taniadibbs.com AP center and its annex—on an annual basis, a showcasing of some of the valley's top talent like Linda Girvin (see profle on page 118), Ingrid Magidson, Sarah Peterson, Allison Stewart, and Campbell Hutchinson. For many, the Wyly offers a space to point up the skills they have refned over the years through workshops and teaching at Anderson Ranch. But it may be the Wyly's non- gallery programs that are having the most impact. Several of its initiatives focus on art as a therapeutic tool. Its powerful Journaling with Images program allows youth in recovery from substance abuse to participate in work- shops that foster self-expression. The Mountain Valley Development program brings in developmentally disabled adults for art instruction, which is then displayed in public spaces around the valley, and Imagination Bloom, a collaboration with the Carbondale Council on the Arts and Humanities, is an eight-week course aimed at inspir- ing valley teachers to fuel their own creative side in order to create more colorful classrooms. carbondale rising these organizations have set carbondale's identity as an arts and culture hot spot. Powers Art Center: A tribute to local collector John G. Powers from his wife Kimiko, this center, which opened last year in a cow pasture just outside town, contains the Powers' permanent collection of Jasper Johns's works on paper. 13110 Hwy. 82, 970-963-4445; powersartcenter.org Carbondale Council on the Arts and Humanities: The Council has been promoting the arts, artists, and arts education in the valley ever since its founding 40 years ago. This summer, it stages photo exhibits, plays, and more. 520 S. Third St., Ste. 9, 970-963- 1680; carbondalearts.com Studio for Arts + Works: A collab- orative space with artist studios and offces for creative professionals, SAW opens its gallery to the public upon request and hosts local art events all summer long. 525 Buggy Cir., 970- 510-5523; sawcarbondale.com Fractal Echo by Nancy Lovendahl, 2013, on display at the Arvada Center for the Arts through September. arvadacenter.org. below: Red Nature Improvement by Tania Dibbs, 2014, whose title mocks the likes of DuPont and Monsanto, who advertise their genetically modified and "improved" foods. aspenpeak-magazine.com 123