It was a rare day at Aspen Highlands' LivAspenArt gallery last
Wednesday, as all three artists currently working in the joint studio
and display space were milling about, talking and creating art. And it
seemed only appropriate as the gallery - as well as several of the
other merchants in Aspen Highlands Village - were preparing for their
Independence weekend artist reception.
The event takes place this Sunday, July 6, and features music by Aspen
Music Festival and School's Sybarite Chamber Players; receptions at
several Highlands galleries including LivAspenArt, Harvey/Meadows
Gallery and the Aspen Gallery; brunch deals at Willow Creek Bistro; and
catered food and drinks sponsored by Pravda Vodka, Aspen Sojourner and
the Ritz-Carlton Club. But, as should be the case, the art is what
takes the front seat.
Over at LivAspenArt, which has had a regular group of local artists
working and exhibiting in the space for the past two years, change is
afoot. Joining owner and expressionist painter Olivia Daane Reische and
pet portraitist Tori Mitas-Campisi is emerging contemporary realist
Matt Neuman. Neuman, a Brattleboro, Vt. native, recently graduated from
Skidmore College and got his artistic start in the valley during a
residency at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.
"My work is contemporary realism, but I'm really interested in looking
at the distinction between realism and what's actually real," Neuman
says. "I strive to give the viewer a feeling of reality that expresses
the energy and effect of experience that stereotypical photographic
realism just can't."
Neuman achieves this effect in several ways. In his "Self Portrait,
2007," for example, he takes a nontraditional approach to reproducing
his likeness on canvas. He utilizes objects like skis, a wheelbarrow, a
globe, running shoes and, of course, a bucket of paint, to represent
some aspect of himself.
"Each object represents a part of my life," he says. "But it's more
than that; it's how each of the objects interact that really tells the
tale. The objects hang very precariously, but are held together by the
rope. There's instability there, but also a sense of hope."
In other works, such as his "Beaver Series" - which imagines what life
would be like for a family if they lived with a beaver - or in his
painting "The Scuba Mission," Neuman creates narratives that add layers
of meanings to his pieces.
"I'm always trying to tell a story," he says, "but I only have one
frame. So by looking at the image, there is the present you can see,
the past you can infer and the future you can imagine - all of which
gets the viewer invested in the work."
Neuman normally starts his paintings with a rough sketch of ideas,
frequently focusing on a single aesthetically pleasing object or even a
light source. His narratives often form as he paints, in a sense
reverse engineering the storyline - a fact he credits with keeping his
works dynamic.
"If I find my image too quickly, it turns out too static and it really doesn't have a story."
Tori Mitas-Campis, a veteran of LivAspenArt who's been with the gallery
since its inception more than two years ago, will have her pet
portraits on display during the opening.
"I've just been in a groove lately," she says. "My life outside of the
studio is pretty hectic with four kids, so I just try to keep it simple
when I'm in here."
Gallery owner Olivia Daane Reische's work has taken a bit of a turn as
of late. She recently took a Japanese art course at Anderson Ranch, and
her new series was heavily influenced by it.
"This work was created with a much more organic process. I actually
ground the pigments, cut out the stencils and used elements like
seaweed paste and rice paper," she says. "And I'm also focusing on the
differences in cultural views, so with the magpie, for example, in one
culture it's a symbol for good fortune, while here it's considered more
of a scavenger."
Also on display during the opening will be the Hippie Gypsy Hot Couture
jewelry line by Dasa Busova as well as a collection of eclectic,
one-of-a-kind pieces from jewelry designer Delight Van Dame. Her motto,
she says, is to create not just jewelry made from semi-precious stones,
but "wearable art."
The works from former LivAspenArt studio artist Carrie Trippe and the
concert photography of Stewart Oksenhorn will also be on display.
damien@aspendailynews.com
