New exhibition spotlighting Idaho artists now open at Willard Arts Center
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IDAHO FALLS — A new exhibit featuring the work of a quartet of Idaho-based artists is now open at the Willard Arts Center in Idaho Falls.
“Elemental” brings together works from the quartet of Beth Trott, Gary Peer, Michael Norsk and Avianne. The pieces in “Elemental” comment on the nature of both the world around us and inside our own minds.
“Specifically to this show, I’ve been exploring the more abstract version of my watercolor painting, mostly inspired by nature,” Trott told EastIdahoNews.com. “We also have a wood sculptor, Gary Peer. He does these abstract wood sculptures and his work is really amazing.”
“We have Michael Norsk, an abstract painter whose work is very meditative,” Trott continued. “He does these very detailed, intricate series of dots and lines that very much feel like you’re going into a meditative state. And then we have Avianne, and she does everything. She can paint anything you ask her to paint, but her ‘Elemental’ series has been focused on flowers and nature and animals.”
The exhibit began to take shape when Avianne and Trott began to throw idea band and forth about putting a show together.
“It was my brainchild, originally, to grab a bunch of artists together and say ‘Hey, can we do a show together?’” said Avianne. “So I reached out to Beth first and Beth and I got the ball rolling. We wanted to bust away from Boise because there’s so much happening in Boise and we felt like having an adventure and trying to do exhibitions outside of Boise.”
After scouting opportunities and venues that could possibly present “Elemental,” Avianne and Trott reached out to Norsk and Peer and invited them to participate. The resulting collaboration is a collection of art that explores various aspects of nature through form and color.
“We came up with the concept of ‘Elemental’ because I was working in this abstract nature realm, so ‘elemental’ felt really good,” Trott said. “Avianne and Gary really spoke to the theme that way. But for Michael Norsk, a lot of the reason he does his work is that he’s an advocate for mental health issues. He heard ‘mental’ and when we came to him with the theme of ‘Elemental,’ he thought of it as ‘mental health.’”
Avianne said that her paintings that are part of “Elemental,” as well as work done by the other artists, connect with Idaho by representing natural elements that are found throughout the state.
“I didn’t go a paint a tree in Idaho or a mountain in Idaho,” she said. “That’s not how it connects to Idaho. For me, it connects in a deeper way because I’m painting colors. I’m painting nature. Idaho has tons of natural resources. It’s a very beautiful state. I looked at this, and I said, ‘I want to connect on a deeper level.’ So what I’m trying to do in my work is use symbolism. You’ll see a lot of symbolism in my work. So I paint things that are real, but they speak to me of deeper things.”
You can see the work of Avianne, Beth Trott, Michael Norsk and Gary Peer in “Elemental.” the exhibit is open in the Willard Arts Center in Idaho Falls and is scheduled to run now through Sept. 3. Visit the “Elemental” Facebook page or the Idaho Falls Arts Council website for more information.
