Believing that art is a living, breathing encounter, Goldenstein Gallery has consistently championed opportunities to create a life-enhancing experience for the public.
From the creation of Tibetan sand mandalas in the gallery to satellite exhibits for the public citywide, it has strived to involve people in interactive ways — bringing artist and collector together.
One profound life-enhancing experience is their ever-expanding Artist in Residence program.
For the past 18 months, the Goldenstein has worked with L’Auberge de Sedona to expand the gallery’s Artist in Residence program on site at the resort allowing hotel guests to view local artwork, to watch the artists at work and learn more about their art.
The types of artwork being created range from clay and wax sculpting for bronze casting to multimedia and pointillist painting. Visitors can interact with the artists and ask questions about their work or preferred art medium.
In February, artists working at L’Auberge include Sherab Khandro, Jourdan Dern, Michael Chesley Johnson and Reagan Ward. Visiting artist Ben Wright will be there Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 13 and 14, which is also Valentine’s Day. View a complete schedule of the Artist in Residence Program at GoldensteinArt.com.
Johnson works in oil and pastel in the American Southwest, coastal Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. He has been an invited artist to many national plein air painting events over the years and has competed in challenging locations, including the Grand Canyon.
Elected a Master Pastellist by Pastel Artists Canada in 2008, he is a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society and the Pastel Society of America as well as a juried member of Oil Painters of America. He is the author of “Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Oil & Pastel” and “Through a Painter’s Brush: The American Southwest.”
He is a long-time contributor to The Pastel Journal and contributing editor for The Artist’s Magazine. Balance, connectivity and spirituality are attributes that visiting artist Wright strives for in his life and artwork.
Part Cherokee, he draws from American Indian ceremony, symbolism and tradition to attain them. Wright uses powerful imagery, juxtaposed with bold colors and neutrals, in combination with a sophisticated glazing technique in his paintings. It is an opportunity for the public to engage with Wright over Valentine’s Day.
Khandro wishes to inspire the hearts and minds of others. She is one of a handful of early Western artists to receive formal training from Buddhist masters in exile in the U.S. Using the neo-impressionist style of pointillism in her paintings, tiny dots of color create vibrant imagery; each stroke of the brush holds an intention of compassion.
Marilyn Bos uses a mix of styles and techniques that represent decades of experience. Her use of layers, often 100 or more on a single painting, allows light and shadow to create the essence of what happens with the red rocks.
Each painting changes as the light reaches the various layers and the sculpted texture capturing the canyons and abstractions of nature.
The perfect combination of contemporary style and intricate detail in Dern’s wildlife paintings makes the viewer wonder if the birds will take flight. Her love for these creatures is magnificently expressed through her medium of choice; acrylic paint on clayboard which allows her to create soft and faceted paintings with a smooth finish.
“My calling is to make visible ideas that inspire and motivate others to look at the beauty of not only this creation but venture beyond and imagine what is yet to be,” said Word of his sculptures.
His “Open Gate” graces the Schnebly Hill and State Route 179 roundabout.
Linda Goldenstein has also curated a special exhibit, Large Scale in the Lodge at L’Auberge, showcasing the work of a diverse group of artists in a variety media and styles. Examples of artists’ work are also placed throughout the resort both inside and out.
Visit GoldensteinArt.com to sign up for the gallery’s informative monthly e-zine, or call 204-1765 for information.
