Jackson is known for its old-west feel and proximity to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. What the average visitor may not know is our mountain town is home to nearly 30 art galleries.
Kathryn Mapes Turner, an artist born and raised in Jackson and owner of Turner Fine Art Gallery, speaks with KHOL’s Madeline Lauver about the burgeoning art scene in Jackson and art’s unique connections to our natural world.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Madeline Lauver: Turner Fine Art Gallery has been a big part of the Jackson Hole art scene, as well as the West in general. Could you speak to what makes the gallery unique, for those who are new to it?
Turner Fine Art, a gallery on Cache Street, brings artists from around the globe to Jackson. (Madeline Lauver)
Kathryn Mapes Turner: We are really proud to be part of the incredible art scene that is Jackson Hole, and we try and play our unique role, which is a boutique gallery that specializes in work that uplifts the spirit and is connected to the natural world. We’ve been in operation for 20 years. So this is a special year for us, and we are really excited about what we have planned for everyone this summer.
ML: What struck me about your summer programming was the close reading of the environment in each of those programs – down to the qualities of light and the edges of things. Could you speak a bit to that attention to nature in the works that you’ve curated for the summer?
KMT: I personally feel blessed to have been born and raised in Jackson Hole, so this place is very, very special to me. I feel blessed also to be an artist and get to paint the natural world that’s so close to us. Artists have an opportunity, as well as a responsibility, to capture the subtleties in what we experience in life. And these shows are a way of getting an insight into how artists see the world. We see things like the way light plays on any kind of subject matter or through the landscape, we see the way that the weather will move across the valley and try and capture the movement of a storm. We share a love of wildlife. The wildlife artists in our gallery celebrate their contribution to our experience and reverence – the fact that we live in and move in their home.
ML: I appreciate that reverence. Thinking about the June exhibit that’s focusing on the edge of things, can you speak about the inspiration behind the show?
KMT: I love to dwell in liminal places – the place in between one another, the place in between the material world and the spiritual world, the material world and the natural world. I find those the most interesting places. And so the artwork that’s exhibited in this will leave you asking questions and leave you with a sense of wonder because I think the art has an opportunity to explore beyond reason and ration and quantitative understanding. It expands our mind that way.
ML: Many of the pieces in the show are landscapes, but bring in that kind of ethereal feeling. I looked at the one of the edge of an aspen grove, and just being invited to pay attention to that was impactful.
KMT: And art gives you a chance to move in and out of those spaces.
ML: How so?
KMT: Because the work in the show will transport you and alter your understanding of what you’re seeing. You’re going to see really exciting brushwork and playful use of color. Take a look at the edges of where one shape meets another, and it’s feathered so softly in some of these pieces. The idea of trying to capture movement on a two-dimensional surface – those are the kind of things that are explored and played with.
A painting by artist Kathy Anderson is on display at Turner Fine Art Gallery this June. (Madeline Lauver)
ML: With artists Kathy Anderson, Shanna Kunz, Scott Conary, Eric Jacobsen and yourself, this show explores the space between clarity and atmosphere. How do these artists interpret that edge in their work?
KMT: Kathy Anderson is one of the foremost, preeminent floral painters, and as is Scott Conary. You’ve not seen the way that either one of these have painted botanicals. Shanna Kunz is known for her softness of her pieces, and I absolutely adore her work. Eric Jacobsen has a style all his own, with a boldness in his landscape, so comparing the two will be really fun.
ML: Speaking a bit about the July exhibit, the focus of that one shifts to light – its mood, motion and power. What’s at the heart of The Light that Burns and Blazes?
KMT: In Jackson Hole, we’re really fortunate to have extraordinary light, in my opinion. It changes all the time, which is really stimulating for creativity. It’s also what we respond to as human beings. We respond to the smallest sliver of a moon, these tiny, twinkling stars in the sky, the first light of day and the last light of day tend to be the times when artists are most drawn. We call those the magic hours, or the cusp hours of the day. These artists pay a particular attention to light because it is only because of the light spectrum that we can see color. It is also light that makes things special, the way that light skips across a lake or a pond, the way that aspen leaves can capture the light as they quake. Michael Albrechtsen, Stacey Peterson and Bethanne Cople are known for the way that they capture light, and they’re not to be missed.
ML: August takes us from light to shadow. Could you speak a bit more about that show?
KMT: Isn’t it amazing to think that in August, the days are already starting to get shorter? So we’re continuing to explore this idea of light. You can’t have light without shadow. It’s kind of like life that way – rainy days help us to appreciate the sunshine more. From an artistic point of view, it’s the darks that create the foundation of a composition. It’s kind of the base notes of a song, perhaps. These artists are helping us understand that through their work. There are some great wildlife pieces because the ways that animal figures create shadows or live or dwell in the shadows, they have created some exciting opportunities for creativity with just their essence.
ML: Speaking of wildlife, the September exhibit Beckoned by the Wild actually features some of your work. Could you tell me a bit more about one of the paintings you’re featuring?
KMT: I get to share the space with a dear friend of mine, Jacob Aguiar, and the two of us are both working on a body of work being shared at the Brinton Museum of Art in Big Horn Wyoming right now. This is on the heels of that, and we’re going to include our friend Paul Rhymer, who’s a sculptor. So the three of us share something in common, and that is that we are all captivated by the natural world, and that is the reason that we are artists. And that’s where the title comes from. We are beckoned into art by the natural world. Through this exhibition, I am going to be sharing a special horse painting. It’s a horse that’s near and dear to my heart and has been my muse for a long time. The Jackson community has seen this horse a number of times. Her name is Stormy and she’s extraordinary. Sadly, this winter, we lost her, but she’s very much with me. She’s still inspiring me.
ML: What do you hope visitors take away from their visit to the gallery this summer?
KMT: What’s really our mission at the gallery is that everyone who comes to the gallery will leave feeling more uplifted, feeling more connected to this place, the natural world, and to themselves. We hope that they’ll feel inspired by the creativity that’s shared here. We hope that we will help establish Jackson Hole as an art center of the country. And we just really believe that the world can use art right now.
