Ucross Reception Draws a Large Crowd

On Friday, Nov 4, around 200 people attended the public reception in the renovated Ucross Art Gallery. There was an exhibit titled, “Time, Mark, Memory: Ucross at 40″, curated by Ucross Fellow Leah Ollman. She talked about how she chose the artists for the show.

The exhibition featured the work of 15 contemporary visual artists who were Ucross alumni. Some of them attended the event.

One artist whose work was on display was Arminee Chahbazian, from Northern California. She does stone sculptures and works on paper and painting. She was a Ucross Fellow in 1987 and her work on display was titled “Stone Tables.” There were twelve individual sculptures included in the artwork. She explains about the exhibit.

She added that the new renovation of the art gallery was “Fabulous. They did an exceptional job.”

Another artist attending was Sarah McKenzie with her three oil and acrylic on canvas paintings titled “Windows, Interim, and Portal.” Mckenzie, who lives in Colorado, said she has done three residencies at Ucross over the past 11 years, and she has done a lot of paintings at Ucross.

She explained that one of the pieces, title, Interim, was painted during Covid. it is an image of a gallery space that is in an in-between state, where one exhibit has been taken down and a new one has not been put up. It is kind of on pause, like society was in 2020 and some of 2021. “I think this piece aligns with the theme of the exhibition,” she added.

The exhibiting Ucross artists include Michael Berman of Silver City, New Mexico; Arminée Chahbazian of Calistoga, California; Jennifer Garza-Cuen of Corpus Christi, Texas; Munson Hunt of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Shanti Grumbine of New Paltz, New York; Sharon Harper of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Lisa Hochstein of Santa Cruz, California; Elizabeth Hohimer of Marfa, Texas; Bill Morrison of New York, New York; Jenene Nagy of Riverside, California; Sarah McKenzie of Boulder, Colorado; Stephen Vitiello of Richmond, Virginia; Sarah Walker of New York, New York; Anne Wilson of Chicago, Illinois; and Katarina Wong of Santa Fe, New Mexico, New York, New York, and Havana, Cuba.

Shawn Reese, executive director for the Wyoming Humanities, attended the event. It was his first time visiting Ucross, and he said, “I think it’s incredible, the quality of the arts, and the people here at Ucross and the artists. And such a beautiful landscape”

Refreshments were served and Cindy Brooks, Ucross chef, made the Hors D’oeuvers. Recipes are available in The Ucross Cookbook: Cooking for Artists on a Wyoming Ranch. on sale at the Ucross Foundation gift shop.

This exhibit will be on view through January 20. It is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming Legislature, and Arete Design Group.