Solo Exhibition | Jackson Hole, WY
Altamira Fine Art is pleased to present a new exhibition for Jackson-based artist September Vhay. Essence will feature works in oil and charcoal, ranging in size from 12 x 12 to 40 x 78 inches.
Join us for an Artist Reception at the gallery Friday evening, June 22nd from 5:30-7:30pm.
Carbon plus paper: the simple equation that yields a charcoal drawing; the simple equation that September Vhay makes transcendent in her summer exhibition, Essence. By her hand, a leopard appaloosa becomes a massive study in graphic abstraction, each spot a meditation on shape and subtlety. Sans color, the paint horse becomes a homage to composition and value-formal characteristics often overshadowed by their flashy counterparts, color and subject. Not by Vhay: She bears witness to the episodes in nature when expression and composition come into immaculate, ephemeral alignment. As they did in an alfalfa field on her parents' ranch in Nevada: Vhay watched as two mule deer fawns frolicked after their mother. A low fence, hardly an impediment for her graceful stride, stopped the spindly pair. Quintessentially curious, they studied the blockade in front of them. Vhay held her breath. Then one, from a standstill, bounded over. A pause before the second followed and the two resumed their maternal pursuit. That breathless moment is what Vhay chose to capture on canvas, when the fawns' curiosity suffused the scene, even their stance. "There is a moment when I fall in love with what I'm seeing. That's when I know there is a painting."
Pre-sales available. Call (307) 739-4700 for details.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
September Vhay was born in Reno, Nevada. A largely self-taught artist, her formal training is in architecture. She received her bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Oregon in 1993. Vhay's initial painting education, via architecture school, was in watercolor and she now paints in both watercolor and oil. Because of her skill with watercolor, she seamlessly achieves the freshness of watercolor with the saturation of color only possible in oils.
“It is an honor to participate in the creative process of making art as it is an entity larger than myself. I learn something new everyday and am continually delighted by what shows up on the canvas.” - September Vhay
The artists understanding of structure, composition, and light (all of which are crucial in architecture) give her paintings a sense of three-dimensional form. In addition to architecture, she was also influenced by the paintings and sculpture of her great-grandfather Gutzon Borglum, who created and sculpted Mount Rushmore and other prominent national monuments. It was his comparatively smaller-scale work that Vhay most admired.
Vhay's recent exhibitions include the Western Visions Wildlife Show & Sale at the Wildlife Museum in Jackson, WY as well as the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale in Cody, Wyoming. Among other awards, September won first place in painting at the 2012 Ex Arte Equinus International Competition, and the Trustee's Purchase Award at the 2010 Western Visions Show & Sale at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Her work has been featured in national publications including: Southwest Art Magazine, Western Art Collector, Mountain Living, Homestead, Luxe Magazine, Western Art & Architecture and Images West.
