Priscilla’s Blog » Campbell Steele Gallery, Marion, Iowa

Thomas Agran

July 22, 2010, 6:01 am

Being “in the zone” for many artists is that alchemical moment when the literal representation of a subject is overwhelmed by the sheer momentum of working spontaneously with materials, marks, form, color and light. This is possibly how I should have started my comments about Thomas Agran the night of his opening here at Campbell Steele this past Thursday.

Looking out at an audience of happy faces, however, I found myself intimidated by the thought of sounding too serious in a moment that demanded a casual, but authoritative sharing of information; and I squandered the perfect moment to speak about work for which I have an unalloyed admiration.

Near Fort Dodge / Oil on Canvas / Thomas Agran

You can, in fact, look at this young man’s aerial landscapes and see passages that are brushed in with a confident facility for line and gesture contrasted with frenetically painted areas exploring form, or with boldly brushed expanses in which the rhythm of marks and luminosity of paint lift the viewer past the artist’s sweeping horizons to the radiant margins of his paintings.

It’s an odd, oxymoronic exercise to talk (or write) about the visual experience. But, it’s also true that well-chosen words can enrich our ability to “see”. Frankly, during Thomas’ opening I did not want to diminish his achievement with the wrong words- and I seemed to be on an unprecedented roll with the “wrong words” as I flippantly referred to him (too often) as a “latter-day Monet”.

With 20/20 hindsight I would allow that the scale, love of fluid, painterly form, and aggressive embrace of abstraction in Thomas’ work evoke the brilliant series of water lily paintings of Monet’s later life. But, it’s important to add quickly that those qualities are refracted through the prism of twentieth and twenty-first century experience. Abstract Expressionism, belonging to a generation that has learned of global warming from its earliest memories, globalization, and the inter-net, together, have all forged the conceptual and visual aesthetic of Thomas Agran.

Perhaps it’s excessive to describe him as a “prodigy”- but I think not. I hope that you’ll make it a point to visit the gallery while we exhibit this remarkable young artist’s work. For those of you who may have wished that I had ventured these thoughts during Thursday night’s opening, I offer my apologies- they just weren’t there yet.

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Introducing Thomas Agran

July 8, 2010, 7:09 am

Thomas Agran, working in his studio

I remember instructing Thomas Agran to look for a small, gray-haired woman at the Grinnell College’s Bucksbaum Center for the Arts opening for the summer of 2009’s exhibit.

I had a few pieces in the show, and I wanted to meet Thomas and visit his studio during the same trip to Grinnell. I felt more than a bit lame using such a generic description that would easily apply to a third of the women likely to attend the event. I don’t remember how Thomas described himself to me so that I might recognize him, but I did pick him out rather quickly in the crowded gallery. He has a shock of very dark brown hair that shoots out at dramatic angles framing his affable features.

This meeting had been machinated because Victoria Brown, a tenured history professor at Grinnell, had encouraged me to contact Thomas. She believed his work to be “remarkable”. Victoria’s is not an opinion to be taken lightly, and I contacted Thomas very shortly after our conversation- making arrangements for a studio visit.

I wasn’t disappointed. Craig and I viewed work from Thomas’s senior thesis show. It’s scale, painterly fluency, and conceptual punch gave the work all the power Victoria had described and more.

A year out of undergraduate work, Thomas has continued an exploration of aerial landscapes on colossally sized canvases. I’m so pleased to announce that an exhibit of this exciting young artist’s work will open to the public at Campbell Steele Gallery next Friday, June 16. Thomas has said that he’ll attend the Music in the MUD events next weekend- might be just the time to meet a fantastic new artist to the gallery and enjoy an evening of visual art and musical performance.

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Sunday in Des Moines

June 30, 2010, 7:54 pm

“You have a magic carpet
That will whiz you through the air,
To Spain or Maine or Africa
If you just tell it where.
So will you let it take you
Where you’ve never been before,
Or will you buy some drapes to match
And use it
On your
Floor?”
- Shel Silverstein

Ours was a glorious, if brief, summer’s idyll this past Sunday. Taking a route to Des Moines that threaded around or parallel to Route 80, Craig and I drove through countryside that was ridiculously, lushly fertile and green.

Ancient Forest by Deborah Butterfield at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park (photo by Rodney White / Des Moines Register)

Alternating between walks through the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the displays of artists participating in the Des Moines Art Festival, we found favorites and friends: Deborah Butterfield’s bronze horse, “Ancient Forest”, in the sculpture garden was powerful to see in person. We were also reminded of her husband’s (John Buck) relief prints exhibited last year at CRMA.

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum mug by Amanda Barr / No Tengo Miedo Clay (photo by Amanda Barr)

We purchased work from a delightful “emerging” artist, Amanda Barr, who explained that she was lately and happily single as well as “emerging”. Craig Lossing sent us away with new, exotic wood vases. And, George Lowe did not let us leave his booth empty-handed. We chose the most cunning small pieces from an array of his sensitively crafted ceramic vessels.

One of Craig Lossing’s beautifully delicate turned wood boxes

BTW, George’s parents, George and Alyce Lowe donated the land on the north edge of Marion for the creation of Lowe Park. It is there that my pup, Buddy, and I have most recently been doing our morning run. I am currently working on drawings of the wild flowers that bloom in the tall grass prairie tracts that surround Lowe Park’s Arts and Environmental Center. The generosity of the Lowe family and the work of dedicated volunteers have made this park an incomparable escape for our community!

Running with Buddy at Lowe Park

If you have visitors for the Fourth, I hope that you’ll stop by while Carlos Ferguson’s “Suspended Worlds” are still being exhibited. Delights await you.

Happy firecracker day!

Posted in Artists, Carlos Ferguson, Craig Lossing, Deborah Butterfield, Events, George Lowe, Marion | Comments (0)

June’s bounty

June 23, 2010, 1:06 pm

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. ~Gertrude Jekyll

Drawing my amaryllis

With the summer solstice just past and the Fourth of July hard upon us, there is a delightful proliferation of festivals of all types. One treat of summer in which sand, ants and sun block do not figure prominently, is the Iowa Summer Rep presented by the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Iowa. I’ve enjoyed many productions from the Summer Rep, and I’m pleased that my own botanical drawings are installed in the theatre lobby throughout the Rep’s month of productions. Three shows by playwright Theresa Rebeck are being presented through July 25th. Plan on attending!

This weekend, along with thousands of others I’ll travel to the Des Moines Art Festival to check out artists and, as importantly, visit the lately completed Pappajohn Sculpture Park.

And, coming right up on the Fourth of July, you can view the restored and re-installed Grant Wood stained glass window at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Precede that visit with a stop at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, where curator, Sean Ulmer, has dramatically exhibited the life-sized drawings that Wood executed in preparation for the window. I could go on.

Summer’s activity is at a fever pitch, and the fall seems far away right now. Go on, get up, get out and enjoy!

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Steve Lauterwasser + Talk in the MUD

June 8, 2010, 3:14 pm

“… John Preston and Steve Lauterwasser who sometimes paint together on god-forsaken roads have the big sky thing down…” James Duncan, Des Moines blogger

Indeed, I know for a fact that Steve does have the “big sky thing down,” so to speak. When he lined his latest paintings up against the gallery’s baseboard, my first thought was that I could almost feel the intensity of the sun and hear the late summer drone/buzz of locusts. My fellow gallery worker, artist Karen Hoyt, commented with the objectivity of a seasoned art teacher, “I admire the restraint of the palette.” She then rejoined with the UN-restrained farm girl’s observation, “That looks just like the ditches on my dad’s farm!”

This immediate identification with the land is a natural response to Lauterwasser’s works. He paints in fields as well as the aforementioned god-forsaken roads, and captures an unsentimental view of the rural landscape. Ditches and expanses of weedy pastures cresting at hazy horizons push the viewer to find poetry in what is commonplace.

Lauterwasser is participating in our artist’s talk on Thursday evening at 6:30 with two additional landscape artists, Gordon Kellenberger and Marcia Wegman. I’m genuinely intrigued to learn about the distinctions and aesthetic kinships of their work.

The customary pot of soup, fresh bread and Irish oatmeal cookies will be laid out for any and all takers for as long as they last. I hope that you’ll join us. This event is free, in case you were wondering!

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Uptown Marion is abuzz!

June 3, 2010, 8:44 pm

Periodically I am reminded that I share Uptown Marion with an assemblage of personalities who are all laboring in a universe roughly parallel to my own. Sure, the variables change, but they too ponder hours and staffing. They fret over display, and delight in sharing their goods with their customers.

I had one of these moments this morning. Craig had commented to me that Dori Vogel, the owner of The Dreaming Bear right around the corner from the gallery, has a fun web-site and blog. So, as I sipped my morning coffee, I treated myself to a peek.

Dori’s blog positively bursts with excitement about what’s new with her work, enlargements of studio space and on and on with loads of fun photos of funky stuff.

I felt shamed. Why wasn’t I busily assembling photos of Deb Martin’s long-awaited stoneware delayed by a succession of unfortunate events, or Louise Rauh’s new beautifully formed aluminum floral pendants?

May Apple in progress in my studio

A day in my life includes work on some new drawings for one of my favorite long-time customers, helping Craig lift the “History of Orthodontics” into the van for eventual installation, finding the perfect place for Ben Jensen’s wood-fired ceramics amongst Marck Nystrom’s substantial plates and bowls, taking down Kim Nalley’s posters in the wake of her marvelous concerts this past weekend. Tana Acton is in this morning at nine- more about that soon.

In the meantime, grab a cup of coffee and check out Dori’s blog at The Dreaming Bear.

Posted in Marion, Performers, Priscilla Steele | Comments (0)

Summer hours!

June 1, 2010, 12:57 pm

Practicing expert customer service!

Craig and I spend a lot of time discussing what gallery hours should be; far more than you would imagine! Almost all of our “traffic” happens on Fridays and Saturdays and during events, but we also want to be available to you and open as much as we can be. We’re only two people, though, and two very busy people with several irons in the fire, at that.

As of June 1, we’re starting with new summer hours! We will be open on Wednesdays from 12-4, Thursdays from 11-9, Fridays from 11-5, and Saturdays from 11-5. And, though you may not have known this - we are open by appointment any time. Just give us a call if you’d like to stop by! (The photo above bears testament to the reality of this statement.)

And, of course, the gallery is open for business during all of the events that we host as well. It’s a pleasure to work with each of you, and please don’t hesitate to call with any questions that you may have!

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Artist Talks: Carlos Ferguson & Peter Feldstein

May 21, 2010, 6:40 am

I found myself laughing out loud all this week when I recalled how Charlotte, our seven month old granddaughter, would squeal as loudly as she could, until she turned red in the face, to see how excited we would be by her antics.

Blowing on dandelions with Charlotte at Squaw Creek Park

Other than play with Charlotte, I think that one of the most enjoyable things that I have done of late has been to host the artists’ talks here at the gallery. Last Thursday night, Carlos Ferguson showed us how he made boxes with “little worlds” inside them. The worlds can be viewed through lenses placed on either side of the box, after pulling each box to eye level from a counter-weight system suspended from the ceiling. The boxes are magical. Seldom have I seen people look at art with such a sense of delight.

Carlos Ferguson speaking about his little worlds at Campbell Steele

And Peter Feldstein talked about shooting at least two photographs each of all the residents of Oxford, Iowa- twenty years apart. The Oxford Project, the book that he produced with Stephen Bloom, marries photographs with text that absolutely and unsentimentally portrays the humanity of each individual, and penetrates to the core of life’s experience- anywhere.

Carlos’ and Peter’s works remain at the gallery, and I hope that you’ll stop to see them. Our next artists’ talk is June 10 and features Marcia Wegman and Gordon Kellenberger.

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18th Annual Marion Arts Festival!

May 12, 2010, 7:54 pm

It was over eighteen years ago now that Craig sat with the Marion Small Business Committee and suggested that the creation of a high quality, juried, fine art fair might be a great tool for generating a bit of a buzz about our town. We have had several great directors who never wavered from that initial commitment to quality. Marion continues to host a show marked by the excellence of the work shown and sold. Great work and good prices have garnered a much deserved, enthusiastic audience for the Marion Arts Festival.

None of this could have been achieved without some truly fearless, visionary leadership. Victoria Quinn-Stephens invented the wheel in the creation of the First Annual Marion Arts Festival. And now, as our intrepid director, Deb Bailey, brings the 18th Annual Marion Arts Festival to the historic Marion Uptown District’s City Park, come and join the fun, see and buy some art. Finally, if you’re across the street in the park, come across the street to the gallery. Wander through the wonderful shops around Marion’s prosaic town square. All of Marion’s uptown folks are proud to open their doors to the excitement of this singular event. In this instance, it has never been truer: ”It takes a village”!

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Spring ephemerals

April 30, 2010, 9:06 am

…”springtime ephemeral –simply meaning it disappears back underground after its early display…”

Violet

“These will be so great for a Mother’s Day post!” Maggie crowed after I sent her my first drawings of some spring ephemerals that we hope to use for a collaborative project. In short, I’ve done the drawings and the plan is that Maggie (and Charlotte) will produce letterpress cards from them.

I was genuinely excited to get to these drawings after finishing a commission that had dominated my time. (I’m not complaining.) First, the “spring ephemerals”–those most delicate and stalwart of flowers that are the first to show their faces in the woods—were just about to be past their brief, blooming peak. Second, few things delight me more than to find these harbingers of the change from Iowa’s punishing winters to glorious spring.

Dutchman’s Britches

I did many drawings. The Dutchmen’s Britches were the most problematic, and caused me to conclude that it was best to render of each plant only as much as you might furtively pinch off in a woods that is not your own.

Oh, and Mother’s Day is BEFORE the Marion Arts Festival. Our jewelry, pottery and glass make particularly wonderful gifts that no other mother but yours can receive!

Posted in Announcements, Artists, Maggie Campbell, News, Priscilla Steele | Comments (1)