Montana Miniatures Show, Planet Bronze

   With strong representations of local, national, and emerging artists, the miniature show at Bozeman’s Planet Bronze is quickly becoming an important collectors’ event.  Gallery owner and noted sculptor Dennis Harrington explains the concept as partially to, “grant access to new collectors at affordable prices while offering work that can easily fit into the everyday lifestyle.”  For purposes of the show, art work is limited in size with most works measuring approximate 8” by 10”.

    At a sneak preview, Bozeman-resident Charles Bugger, whose abstract expressionist works are often admired for their management of color, texture and geometric arrangement, explained his own artistic creative impulse as “compulsion rather than inspiration.” In this case, the compulsion to paint small has perhaps challenged an artist generally known for, and self-admittedly more comfortable with much larger canvases.  “The mini show has forced me to reinterpret my style, which is normally on a much larger scale.  I am very pleased with the pieces I have entered this year,” he confidently notes.

    On December 7, the gallery will host an opening for this collection of 160 miniatures by 63 artists, including Bugger, and ranging in subject from landscapes and still lifes to portraits, cityscapes, and cartoons.  There is nothing small about the talent represented – Steve Huston, Ignat Ignatov, Dan Beck, and Scott Mattlin are some hard-hitting nationally-known artists.  Works have also been contributed by many well-established local favorites, including Al Feldstein and Anita Saunders.  While the aim of the show is to include a wide variety of quality, affordable art, with prices beginning around $300, the upper end of the spectrum is rounded off with some solid investments topping $3,000.

    Bozeman-resident, Steve Huston, is a new participant this year.  Harrington was proud to include Huston, who normally markets his work on the East Coast, in a local program.  The lean male torsos of construction workers or sports figures are readily identified as trademarks of Huston, whose work often incorporates such figures in the act of construction or in some way relating to classical architectural elements and the built environment.  In the October issue of American Art Collector, Huston explains, “True grit is what I see in the workmen, lonely heroes who build a life and build a country.”  Using what he refers to as “a small figure against such a monumental environment,” Huston challenges his use of Realism to create “more than a book cover.”  For him, “It [the artistic theme of a work] needs to be bigger—about how we live, the world we inhabit, its faults and attributes.”

  Adam Smith is also a newcomer to the show.    His wildlife portraits are already turning a few heads in the wildlife art scene, possibly because of the strong and yet entirely natural personalities he captures with photographic precision in his subjects. 

  Karl Heerdt made a splash at last year’s show with his expert treatment of water and reflection in rivers, streams, and the mighty Niagara Falls.  Included in this year’s show are some of his new Montana-inspired pieces.   Harrington relates, “Heerdt was excited to discover Montana and its scenery, especially Yellowstone.  It is something new and different from painting the New York landscapes he is used to.”  For Montanans, Heerdt’s work is a special treat.  Readily identified as possessing a classic Hudson River-esque artistic style, his treatment of sceneries such as Yellowstone have the polish and sheen of a Bierstadt without their sometimes cloudy historical sentimentality.  Heerdt tends to present a polished, yet refreshingly clean and simple realism.

  Chicago’s Nancy Albrecht is also a returning favorite, contributing colorful impressionist postcards from neighborhoods in that great city. 

  Dan Beck’s diverse talent is displayed across genres with pieces ranging from portraits of wizened old men to experiments with light and color in natural landscapes. 

Indeed, while the show includes many great landscape artists, it is nice to see such a large number of still lifes, portraits, and yes, even a few artistic nudes amongst the display.  With so many contributing artists, there is surely something that will appeal to every eye and challenge every taste.  Even viewers who are old hat to the gallery scene might discover painting in miniature to help clarify or focus a particular aspect of their favorite artist, granting fresh perspective to larger, more complicated works they have also enjoyed.

For more information on the Miniature show and contributing artists, please check their website at www.planetbronze.com.  The show opens at Planet Bronze Gallery, 905 North 5^th Avenue, December 7^th from 5-8 pm and continues through January.