By Dee Macaluso
There are over twenty galleries to explore during Park City’s Gallery Stroll, but there’s no need to see them all in one night. The Stroll happens for free every Last Friday of the month from 6:00-9:00 pm. Art lovers make their way along Main Street, soaking up the rich displays of talent from local and international artists. It will leave you with lasting impressions.
The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. –Frederick Nietzsche
Every gallery is a respite from the evening chill. The coat opens, the scarf loosens and the eyes begin to focus, first on one piece, then another, lingering, ruminating; moving on. How fortunate to experience all this world class art in one small town. Your appreciation grows with each new exhibit. Feast your eyes on each work of art, let the light refreshments fortify you until you’re finally lured by the heavenly scents into a warm relaxing meal at a beckoning restaurant. Renewed, immerse yourself again in the joyful gaggle of art enthusiasts.
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. –Twyla Tharp
In one moment you’re at a corner café on a summer day in Paris, in the next you’re practically hearing leaves crunch beneath your feet as you’re drawn into a grove of golden aspens. Here is the sensuous curve of a woman’s torso. There are the corded muscles on the flanks of bronze beasts.
Wild creatures, painted, carved or caught with a lens, soar in azure skies, spring from their haunches or simply look back at you impassively. A Russian village, a renaissance table, a sunlit spire of red rock and you’re briefly absorbed into another place and time; feeling it, smelling it and somehow remembering.
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. –Henry Ward Beecher
Some paintings are so detailed you have to look closely to see they’re not photographs. Some photographs capture images so artfully they seem to be paintings.
Stand back and take in a whole wall or step near and peer at a small detail. The artist connects through the art, revealing thoughts and dreams. In one case the vision
is very specific. In another, bold strokes, and bright colors are an invitation to find meaning for yourself.
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. –Aristotle
Standing next to a stranger, you comment, she responds and suddenly a philosophy class is born. What do these swirls of glass mean to you? What do you think the artist intended with this clay formation? Your voices are only a whisper, as if this is sacred space, and indeed, it is. The exchange may be deeply personal, witty and brief, but the connection is real. You are both there because you love art in all its forms: challenging your perceptions, opening your heart and mind, affirming your humanity, feeding your soul.
Already knowing you’ll return to the Gallery Stroll, you find your friend or partner who has wandered across the room. Step outside, catch the free trolley and head to a cozy place for a nightcap and a fascinating conversation about beauty, life and art.
parkcitygalleryassociation.com
