SEPTEMBER VHAY, ERICA VHAY AND DOUGLAS FRYER | ELUSIVE MOMENTS

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SEPTEMBER VHAY, ERICA VHAY AND DOUGLAS FRYER | ELUSIVE MOMENTS

GROUP EXHIBITION | JACKSON, WY

Altamira Fine Art Jackson is pleased to welcome three fabulous artists for a group show to kick off the season. Elusive Moments features the work of new gallery artist Douglas Fryer, and talented sisters September Vhay and Erica Vhay. 

 

Please join us for our first event of the summer, Thursday, June 18, 5-8pm.  If you prefer a private showing of this exhibition, please contact the gallery to schedule a time, (307) 739-4700. We are happy to arrange single or small group tours. 

 

ELUSIVE MOMENTS

Spring in the mountains, ever an elusive season, feels all the more so this year. To mark this moment, Altamira Fine Art opens our exhibition season with a tone of reflection. “Elusive Moments” features a trio of artists attuned to the present, the state of the world (human and natural), and the hope inherent in enduring such precarious times. September Vhay translates ephemeral scenes into their most essential expressions. A sensitivity shared with her sister: Erica Vhay focuses on moments of potential amid vulnerability, experienced in private or public. And in his debut with Altamira, Douglas Fryer confronts the dichotomy between natural and spiritual forms, achieving an elusive balance in each painting. All three artists bear witness to the wonderous possibility of being present—an awareness Altamira embraces as we welcome our community back into a space of collective art appreciation. As September so eloquently said: “Spring brings a sense of new beginnings and freshness. As long as we are thoughtful, there is hope. ” 

  

ARTIST STATEMENTS 

September Vhay

Foals often do this: they’ll run around like crazy and then just stop to think. When they play, they are learning about their bodies, how their legs work. This was a moment when they stopped to take it all in, the two of them, in unison. In my paintings, I focus on such subtle moments. I will take 200 photographs but only a singular picture captures the essence of the scene—when the composition comes together and I am inspired by an expression. I’ll be watching, watching, watching, and then I get this intuitive hit—there’s a painting. Sometimes, I don’t sense that special moment; I’ll be watching wildlife or horses and nothing happens. Capturing such moments feels like the culmination of all of my studies in architecture, art, and observations over time. The composition gels, the expression gels, the concepts click. Such beautiful moments for which to be present.
 
Erica Vhay
My work is often about capturing a moment—a vulnerable moment. Women have usually been my focus, mostly because of the pressure our culture puts on women to be everything: moms, partners, professionals. I try to find moments when women aren’t on task, when they are relaxing, when they occupy a quiet space.
 
This body of work epitomizes “spring”—hopeful and new. New beginnings can arise from frustrating and difficult times. I wanted to keep the work intimate and sweet. People need that right now; they are yearning for that human sweetness. I’m an optimist. I get excited thinking about what could be: What will this new norm become? We are living in a moment of possibility. In all of this work, I see hopefulness and renewal.
 
Douglas Fryer
In my work, I continually confront the dichotomy between mimicking reality and conveying idealism. Looking at natural forms as well as spiritual forms. Being objective but also subjective. Copying nature but also inventing. It’s challenging for me to recognize both sides of those relationships; this painting captures that elusive image in my head that I’m chasing. I’m constructing an art object, recognizing the surface, marks, layers, forms, and how they relate, blend or interpenetrate. Once I accept the rules of the composition, I can transcend them. Only then does the painting become more real than if I had rendered every single element faithfully. This particular piece blends reality with abstraction—a razor’s edge.

 

For sales inquiries, please email connect@altamiraart.com, or call (307) 739-4700. 

 

Pre-sales available. 

 

 For more on our efforts to keep gallery visits safe, please contact us (307) 739-3700. 

Exhibition Work

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