(Great Grey, oil on linen, 18×32 by Meagan Blessing)
On July 23, the High Desert Museum unveiled a stellar collection of artwork in its annual Art in the West juried exhibition and online silent auction. This year’s exhibition highlights the work of 69 regionally and nationally acclaimed artists and includes more than 90 pieces.
Every year, the highly anticipated Art in the West shares art inspired by the landscapes, history, cultures and wildlife of the High Desert. The vast region stretches from the eastern slope of the Cascades and Sierras to the Wyoming Basin and Colorado Plateau.
Visitors will see new mediums in the exhibition this year including sagebrush, plexiglass, sandstone and enamels. The exhibit also features sculptures, paintings and photography expressing responses to the region in mediums ranging from oil to acrylic, pastel to charcoal, mixed media to encaustic, and bronze to branches.
“We are thrilled to welcome new artists to the Art in the West exhibition this year — the wide diversity of artwork makes the exhibit engaging every year for Museum visitors,” said Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D. “Art enthusiasts are sure to find a favorite piece of the High Desert.”
This year’s Curator’s Choice Award was presented to J. Dylan Cavin for his piece A Grand Jury Never Did Us Any Favors. Cavin is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation in southeast Oklahoma. He holds a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. His work has been shown professionally for more than ten years and has also been honored in the Red Earth Festival in Oklahoma City and the Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Jury’s Choice Award goes to Brenna Kimbro for her sagebrush sculpture Summer Sky. Kimbro was born in Seoul, Korea and adopted by a family who lives on a working cattle ranch in Eastern Oregon. Early on, she fell in love with horses and started depicting them in artwork. In 2004, Kimbro received a Bachelor of Science in art after studying at the University of Oregon and Eastern Oregon University. She has participated in many shows and exhibitions over 20 years. She works from her studio Kimbro Meadows and Brenna Kimbro Fine Art Studio below Craig Mountain in Union.
Additional renowned artists also featured in Art in the West include Dawn Emerson, Terry Cooke Hall, Kat Houseman, Robert Martinez and sculptor Rebecca Tobey, and past Art in the West winners Rudi Broschofsky, Sarah B. Hansen and Hadley Rampton.
Silent bidding is available online, with the opportunity to purchase artwork outright. A gallery guide of the exhibit artwork is on the Museum’s website at highdesertmuseum.org/aiw, as is the bidding portal. Opening bids range from $50 to $8,200.
Bidding continues through the exhibit’s closing on Friday, September 30.
Proceeds from the Art in the West auction support the artists and the Museum’s educational programs, bringing science, art and history education to lifelong learners throughout the region.
Art in the West is made possible by First Interstate Bank, KSJJ 102.9 and Western Art Collector with support from CHUBB, Land Rover Portland, St. Charles Health System and Tetherow.