Past Exhibitions in Ketchum 2017

    Art into Architecture:
    Frank Lloyd Wright, Archie Teater and Teater’s Knoll

    December 1–January 17, 2018

    A Visual Arts Exhibition of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts

    Idaho is home to only one building designed by world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright: the Archie Teater Studio, located in rural Bliss, Idaho. Designed in 1952 and constructed over the next eight years on the edge of the Snake River, Teater’s Knoll also happens to be the only Wright-designed artist studio that was ever built. This exhibition considers Teater’s Knoll within the larger context of Wright’s architectural practice and philosophy. It features architectural plans, photographs and furniture as well as a selection of paintings by Archie Teater (1901–1978), the artist for whom Teater’s Knoll was designed. An Idaho native, Teater was a prolific painter whose impressionistic landscape images and history paintings documented his experience of Idaho and the American West, as well as his extensive travels around the globe.

    Archie Teater and Frank Lloyd Wright shared a love of landscape that drove their work. This exhibition presents Wright’s architecture and Teater’s paintings in conversation, with Teater’s Knoll as the outcome of that dialog.

    SPECIAL THANKS to Henry Whiting, Lester Taylor and the Hagerman Valley Historical Society Museum for their assistance with Art into Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright, Archie Teater and Teater’s Knoll.

    Click here to view the exhibition brochure.

    Exhibition Video

    Photo Gallery

     2017 Art into Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright, Archie Teater and Teater’s Knoll Visual Arts Exhibition

    The following special events are associated with the Art into Architecture exhibition:

    Visual Arts Events

    Museum Exhibition
    Dec 1, 2017–Jan 17, 2018

    Opening Celebration
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum
    Friday, Dec 1, 5–7pm, with remarks at 6pm
    Special guest: Henry Whiting current owner of the Archie Teater Studio

    Evening Exhibition Tour
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum
    Thursday, Dec 7, 5:30pm
    Thursday, Dec 11, 5:30pm

    Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.

    Gallery Walk
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    Friday, Dec 29, 5–7pm


    The Unreliable Narrator
    September 1–November 14, 2017

    A BIG IDEA project of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts

    This BIG IDEA project considers the power of the narrator—a storyteller who shapes our experience of a story by determining the pace at which it unfolds, the order in which we learn about events, what details we’re given and what gets omitted. Sometimes narrators aren’t completely reliable, and their accounts can’t be implicitly trusted. They may lie (either directly or by omission) or perhaps misunderstand and misrepresent the events that occur in a story. An unreliable narrator may ask readers (or listeners, or viewers) to fill in the blanks, to question and to construct their own narrative structure as they read a book, watch a play or film, or view a work of art.

    The Center’s exhibition for The Unreliable Narrator features art that invites viewers to question the story they are being told: What parts of the storyline can we believe? What don’t we know? What information do we need to fill in? Each of the exhibition’s six featured artists encourages us to engage with their artwork to complete its story.

    Participating Artists include:

    • Holly Andres, a Portland-based photographer known for her compelling narratives that unfold over a series of carefully constructed images, leaving room for viewers to complete the story using their own imaginations.
    • Mark Dion, an internationally known artist whose works across a variety of media—drawing, sculpture, photography and film—borrows the language and methods of science to probe the relationship between science and its claim to truth.
    • Simon Evans™, a creative collaboration between artists Simon Evans and Sarah Lannan, whose paper-based sculptural works combine text and images in creative, unexpected and often humorous ways.
    • Jenny Kendler, the current artist-in-residence for the Natural Resources Defense Council, who has developed an artistic practice that marries her focus on the challenges facing the natural environment with her love of literature.
    • Gina Phillips, a New Orleans multimedia artist who works with fabric, thread, ink and paint to create intricate installations that weave together narrative strands drawn from history, folklore and myth.
    • Deb Sokolow, a Chicago-based artist who combines drawing and text in elaborate narrative works that use real historical figures as the starting point for dark but hilarious stories.

    Special thanks to Jennifer E. Wilson for underwriting Holly Andres’s visual arts residency and project.

    Click here to view the exhibition brochure.

    Photo Gallery

    2017 The Unreliable Narrator Exhibition & BIG IDEA project

    Exhibition Video

    Visual Arts Events

    Opening Celebration & Gallery Walk
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    • Friday, Sept. 1, 5–7 p.m.
      Photographer Holly Andres, who created a new body of work at The Center, Hailey, for The Unreliable Narrator, will speak about her work at 6pm.

    Evening Exhibition Tours
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum
    Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.

    • Thursday, Sept. 28, 5:30 p.m.
    • Thursday, Oct. 12, 5:30 p.m.
    • Lecture: James B. Stewart, Thursday, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. (DATE CHANGE: Please note this evening exhibition tour date has changed from the originally published date of Oct 12)

    Associated Events: Unreliable Narrator

    • Museum Exhibition 1–Nov. 14
    • Film: Under the Sun Thursday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m.
    • Film: Nuts! Thursday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m. (DATE CHANGE: Please note this film date has changed from the originally published date of Oct 19)
    • Lecture: James B. Stewart, Thursday, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. (DATE CHANGE: Please note this lecture date has changed from the originally published date of Oct 12)
    • Adult Class / Creative Jump-in: How to Tell a Great Story Thursday, Oct. 26, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
    • Theatre: Staged Reading of Pal / Conversation with Playwright Tasha Gordon-Solmon Friday, Oct. 27, 6:30 p.m.
    • Teen Workshop: From the Page to Stage Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 28 & 29, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
    • FREE Family Day Saturday, Nov. 4, 3–5 m.
    • Public Storytelling with The Center and The Humming Bull date and time TBA

    Night Watch
    June 30–August 26, 2017

    A Visual Arts Exhibition of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts

    The night has long been a subject for painters, poets and photographers. Evoking danger and excitement as well as mystery and awe, night is a time of renewal and transformation. Night’s darkness alters form from sharp clarity to elusive shadows. The night is also a time of secrets when prayer is whispered and rituals offer the promise of transformation. This exhibition presents the work of contemporary artists who expose the many ways the night frames our lives and our dreams.

    The Night Watch visual arts exhibition features works by several contemporary artists:

    Peter Alexander
    Vija Celmins
    Anna Fidler
    Vanessa Marsh
    Michal Rovner
    Robert Zakanitch

    • Peter Alexander is celebrated as a sculptor and pioneer of the Light and Space movement. His works in this exhibition are delicate gouaches of stars and desert landscapes.
    • Vija Celmins is internationally recognized for her acutely realistic works on paper that are simultaneously recognizable and strange.
    • Anna Fidler’s seriesof paintings Vampires and Wolf Men explores the night as an actor of transformation.
    • Vanessa Marsh’s evocative images of the night sky are carefully crafted through a process involving drawing, painting and darkroom techniques.
    • Michal Rovner’s expansive approach to artmaking includes work in video, sound, sculpture and drawing. The works in this exhibition are from a recent series that employ shadowy images of an elusive nocturnal animal: the jackal.
    • Robert Zakanitch led the Pattern and Decoration movement in late-1970s New York. A continuation of his early approach can be found in this recent body of work, where decorative borders embellish softly rendered images of the moon and the night.

    Photo Gallery

     2017 Night Watch Visual Arts Exhibition

    Exhibition Video

    The following special events are also associated with the Night Watch exhibition:

    Visual Arts Events

    Museum Exhibition
    June 30–Aug 25

    Opening Celebration
    FREE The Center, Ketchum
    Friday, June 13, 5:30–7pm

    Gallery Walk
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    Friday, July 7, 5–7pm
    Friday, Aug 4, 5–7pm

    Evening Exhibition Tour
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum
    Thursday, July 13, 5:30pm
    Artist Vanessa Marsh will speak about her work at 6pm.     
    Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.

    Associated Events

    Presentation with Idaho Conservation League on Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    Thursday, July 13, 6:30pm

    Lecture: American Astronomical Society “Revealing the Hidden, High Energy Sun” with Dr. Rachel Osten
    FREE at the Sun Valley Opera House
    Sunday, Aug 20, 6:30pm

    The Night Watch exhibition has been generously underwritten by Barbara and John Lehman.


    Contemplative Practice
    Mar 31–Jun 23, 2017

    A BIG IDEA project of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts

    What is the connection between art and contemplation? For centuries, artists producing work within various religious and cultural traditions have created objects that allow viewers to enter a contemplative or devotional mindset. From illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows to temple carvings and Japanese Zen calligraphy, artwork has enriched spiritual experiences for generations.

    But how do art and contemplation intersect outside established religious traditions? While certain works of art might unintentionally trigger a contemplative experience in a viewer, a number of contemporary artists are actively creating work that incorporates meditation and mindfulness both in terms of process and content. This BIG IDEA project uses work by artists engaged with contemplative practices as the basis for a larger exploration of meditation and mindfulness in our world today, from its role in multiple cultural traditions to recent scientific research into its physical, emotional and social benefits.

    The visual arts exhibition, lectures, workshops, films, and commissioned theatre piece associated with this BIG IDEA project all serve as a springboard for a broader conversation about intersections between the arts, meditation and mindfulness today.

    Participating Artists:

    Dana Lynn Louis
    Pegan Brooke
    Meg Hitchcock
    Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels

    Click here to view the exhibition brochure.

    Photo Gallery

    2017 Contemplative Practice BIG IDEA & exhibition

    Exhibition Video

    Visual Arts Events

    Opening Celebration
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    Friday, Mar 31, 5–7pm
    Artists Pegan Brooke and Dana Lynn Louis will speak about their work at 6pm.

    Evening Exhibition Tours
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum
    Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.

    Thursday, Apr 13, 5:30pm
    Thursday, May 18 , 5:30pm
    Thursday, Jun 8, 5:30pm
    Artists Pegan Brooke  will speak about her work at 6pm.

    Gallery Walk
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    Friday, Feb 17, 5-7pm
    Friday, Mar 10, 5-7pm

    Start your Gallery Walk at The Center!

    Other Associated Events

    •    Film: Manakamana…..Mar 30, 7pm
    •    Company of Fools Commissioned Performance:
 High Grass…..Mar 31, 5:30pm; Apr 11 4pm; Apr 13, May 18 & Jun 8, 5:30pm
    •    In Gallery Meditations led by Flourish Foundation…..Apr 11, 4pm; Apr 13 & May 18, 5pm
    •    Film: Heart of a Dog…..Apr 13, 7pm
    •    Free Panel Discussion: The relationship between prayer and meditation…..Apr 18, 6:30pm
    •    Adult Class/Creative Jump-in: Meditative Drawing & Journaling with Kaleigh Surber…..May 13, 9am–1pm
    •    Family Day…..May 13, 3–5pm
    •    Free Special Reception & Ceremony…..May 25, 5–6:30pm
    •    Lecture: Arianna Huffington co-presented by the Sun Valley Wellness Festival…..May 26, 6:30pm


    Rayguns, Robots, Drones: Technology’s Peril & Promise
    January 13-March 25, 2017

    A BIG IDEA project of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts

    Since the first of our ancestors used a rock as a hammer, human beings have utilized technology to extend our capabilities and make difficult tasks easier to accomplish. As a species, we tend to embrace technological advances as progress and often take an idealistic view of the promise they hold for a better, more comfortable future. But can any technology ever exist solely for good?

    This BIG IDEA and exhibition project allows us to take a closer look at the role of technology in both our real lives and our fantasies. Using robots, drones and rayguns as metaphors for technological advances,we’ll examine the duality of technology’s inherent promise and potential danger. How can technology lead to a better future? What happens when a new technology is used for purposes its creator may never have imagined?

    Participating Artists:

    Mahwish Chishty
    Nate Galpin
    Michael Salter
    Kal Spelletich
    John Isiah Walton

    Click here to view the exhibition brochure.

    Visual Arts Events

    Opening Celebration
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    • Friday, Jan 13, 5:30-7pm

    Evening Exhibition Tours
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    • Thursday, Jan 26, 5:30pm
      The Jan 26 tour features special guests Taan Robrahn, Captain of the Sun Valley Fire Department, and Lieutenant Brian Carpita of the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, who will discuss the use of drones for search and rescue in our community.
    • Thursday, Feb 23, 5:30pm
      Following the Feb 23 tour, artist Mahwish Chishty will lecture about her work.
    • Thursday, Mar 16, 5:30pm
      During the Mar 16 tour, Wood River High School’s 2017 Robotics Team will discuss and demonstrate the technology they have created for competition in the VEX Robotics Championships.

    Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.

    Other Associated Events

    • Company of Fools Theatre: Grounded…..Sept 28–Oct 15
    • Film: Zero Days…..Jan 26, 7pm
    • Lecture: P.W. Singer…..Feb 9, 6:30pm
    • Family Day…..Mar 4, 3–5pm

    Photo Gallery

    Exhibition Video


    Idaho Stories
    October 21, 2016-January 6, 2017

    A BIG IDEA project of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts

    What are Idaho’s stories? Who has told them? How have contemporary artists and writers interpreted those stories? This BIG IDEA project explores Idaho’s fascinating ties to literary history and also considers the state as a place that has long generated all kinds of stories. Key figures are the controversial poet Ezra Pound, born in Hailey; author and illustrator Mary Hallock Foote, who lived in Boise; self-taught artist James Castle, based in Idaho all his life; Ernest Hemingway, who visited the state many times before ending his life in Ketchum; and Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping, set in northern Idaho.

    VISUAL ARTS

    The visual arts exhibition features artwork by artists responding to Idaho’s landscapes and literature.

    Participating Artists:

    James Castle
    Scott Fife
    Mary Hallock Foote
    Amanda Hamilton
    Troy Passey

    Click here to view the exhibition brochure.

    Photo Gallery

    2016 Idaho Stories BIG IDEA & exhibition

    Exhibition Video

    Visual Arts Events

    Opening Celebration
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    • Friday, Oct 21, 5-7pm

    Evening Exhibition Tours
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    • Thursday, Nov 10, 5:30pm
    • Thursday, Dec 1, 5:30pm

    Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.

    Gallery Walk
    FREE at The Center, Ketchum

    • Friday, Nov 25, 4-6pm (note special Thanksgiving Day hours)
    • Friday, Dec 29, 4-6pm

    Start your Gallery Walk at The Center!