Don Weller’s heroes have always been cowboys. After studying fine arts, however, he reluctantly left them behind, and began a long career as a graphic designer and illustrator. His dynamic and often whimsical work appeared on record covers, posters, in advertisements, and on hundreds of magazine pages. Weller rediscovered his love for rural lands and the world of cowboys when he moved to Utah in the 1980s, creating the ongoing inspiration for his current paintings. Working exclusively in watercolor, he expertly captures the grit of cowboys and the striking landscapes of the west. This retrospective at the Kimball is a unique opportunity to view works from all stages of Weller’s celebrated career—from sketchbooks and early illustrations to the iconic western scenes for which he is now well-known.
Take Flight: Alaska From Above
Located in the Kimball’s new Café Gallery, Take Flight: Alaska from Above presents stunning photographs by Mark Reed. From the remote Arctic plains to the old-growth forests of the coastal southeast, Alaska’s vast landscapes encompass much of America’s last remaining wilderness, and much of it is accessible only by air. In addition to celebrating Alaska’s precious beauty and promoting the protection of these wild lands, the exhibition is also about Reed’s spirit of adventure and encourages others to explore beyond the end of the road.
Reed, an experienced backcountry pilot who explores Alaska with his family each summer in their homebuilt bush plane, will be doing an Art Talk later this year. He is also the founder of Prism Designs, the world’s leading kite manufacturer. This exhibition is co-sponsored by Prism Designs and the Alaska Wilderness League, who have generously donated copies of the book We Are the Arctic. A copy will be given to each person who fills out a postcard for President Obama in support of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Learn More about the Alaskan Wilderness League:http://www.alaskawild.org/
Learn More about Prism Kites:http://www.prismkites.com//
Summer Rainfall
Summer Rainfall is the culmination of over five years of collaborating with the monsoon rains of Northern New Mexico, the gentle rains of the Napa Valley and the mountain rains of Utah. The works in this exhibition represent Sibylle’s continuing efforts to expand the vision of this collaboration through the use of various media; from Rain Paintings on watercolor paper, printing onto Silks and creating her Desert Silks, mixed media printing of intense radiant colors, to digital manipulation and photographic expressions laminated between plexi. In addition, you can experience her Rain Art Films on her website, and here at the Kimball Art Center.
With each interpretation of Original Rain Art, Sibylle has never lost her mission as an Environmental Multimedia Artist in order to raise awareness of our changing climate and weather patterns by presenting something beautiful through this collaboration of Artist and Rainfall.