The Men's Show

Bruce Tillitt, curator of The Men's Show, with one of his works in the exhibition.

I had a wonderful weekend in Fairbanks for the opening of a show in which I had three large paintings.  "The Men's Show" is on view through July at the Fairbanks Arts Association's Bear Gallery, in the Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts in Fairbanks.  Organizer Bruce Tillitt brought together the work of sixteen unruly male artists, mostly from Fairbanks and Interior Alaska, to create a kind of male counterpart to the XX show of work by Alaska women artists several years ago in the same gallery.

Barry McWayne

The group--I use the term loosely--resisted any notion of a common theme, appeals to work on at least one large work collaboratively, and virtually all other restrictions or attempts to make a joint statement, instead agreeing only to show personal work of our own choosing.  The result was a diverse exhibition of art by many of Fairbanks' and Alaska's better known artists in a variety of mediums.

Don Weir

Besides me, among the sixteen men included were well-known local artists David Mollett, Todd Sherman, Jim Orvik, Jim Barker, Barry McWayne, Mark Fejes, Scott Hansen, John Jodwalis, Charles Mason, and Dennis Witmer, as well as several outstanding artists from out of town--Don Weir of Atlin, B.C., Tony Crocetto of Talkeetna, and David Rosenthal of Cordova.

Tony Crocetto

It is a testimony to curator Bruce Tillitt's vision, energy, good nature, and persistence that this exhibition did come together, and the exhibit itself provides an interesting cross section of the excellent work being done in Interior Alaska and beyond--almost incidentally in this case by male artists.

HAL GAGE AT THE ANNEX

Hal Gage exhibition at The Annex gallery in Fairbanks. 

A big bonus for me, being in Fairbanks for July's First Friday, was getting to see Anchorage photographer Hal Gage's stunning exhibition of large scale photographs, "Ice," at The Annex gallery.  It was the first time I'd had the chance to visit Nancy Burnham's new gallery, which is one of the nicest art exhibition spaces in all of Alaska. Large, high-ceilinged, elegantly and sparely appointed, beautifully lit, it is a perfect setting for Hal's large photographs, which are as beautifully printed, framed and mounted as they are ambitious and original.  The exhibition, which was originally shown at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, will travel in the coming year to Bunnell Street Gallery in Homer and the Alaska State Museum in Juneau.

Comments

[Robert Hannon]

A fine exhibition and Kes' expansive pieces fit in nicely with the varied tones and techniques of the assembled artists. A big bonus for many of us who attended opending night was having Kes back in town.