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Tipping Point By Christopher Amend Muse By Leah Hardy Pudu By Favian Hernandez Romancing the Memory By Charmian McLellan

Mystery Print Gallery in Pinedale, Wyoming invites you to our holiday exhibition, Animal|Totem, an invitational exhibit of small works, from November 14 – December 28, with an opening reception on Thursday, November 14th from 5-8pm.

Spinning off from last years’ very popular and successful Animal|Shelter exhibit, this year we are exploring the theme of animal totems.

Animals have been represented in paintings and sculptures since man’s earliest visual works on cave walls in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. In many instances, animal imagery has been used to harness, co-opt, or identify with the traits of a specific animal. Tribal cultures carve animal masks used in ceremonies, many believing they become that animal through transformation, during the ceremony itself. Humans have, and still do, demark periods of time through the Chinese Calendar and the Zodiac with animal symbols, believing that a person born in that particular year, or under that particular sign, imbues them with certain personality traits. Shields, flags, and other heraldry are emblazoned lions, wolves, eagles and other animals, including fantastical beasts such as dragons, gryphons or thunderbirds. We use animals every day to convey the spirit of what we make, or sell, or do; the swiftness of the impala, the wild strength of the mustang, or the quiet elegance of a jaguar.

I invited a group of contemporary artists whose work I find fresh and interesting to explore the theme of animal totems in fun and thoughtful ways. The hope being, that the artists are provided an opportunity to explore ideas, materials, or processes that they may normally not use in their day to day studio practice.

Their work could be based in reality, the fantastical, or the mythological. The work could be serious or humorous. It could be fun, funky, science fictional, intellectual, minimal, environmental, or any other adjective you may choose.

This is considered a small works exhibit, which allows a broader spectrum of artists and works to be presented, as well as a selection of reasonably priced artworks for going into the holiday season.

The artists invited to provide work for this exhibition include:
Christopher Amend – Gillette, WY
Richard Burke – Pinedale, WY
Jenny Dowd – Alpine, WY
Sam Dowd – Alpine, WY
Holland Dutton – Pinedale, WY
Camellia El-Antably – Cheyenne, WY
Lea Hardy – Laramie, WY
Margaret Haydon – Laramie, WY
Favian Hernandez – Laramie, WY
Jun Ishida – Brooklyn, NY
Eric Lee – Cheyenne, WY
Lyndsay McCandless – Jackson, WY
Charm McLellan – Boulder, WY
Bronwyn Minton – Jackson, WY
Mae Orm – Pinedale, WY
Mark Ritchie – Laramie, WY
Sue Sommers – Pinedale, WY
Robin Sruoginis – Pinedale, WY
Mark Vinich – Cheyenne, WY