Upcoming Exhibitions at Aunt Dofe’s: Jerry Rankin/Joop de Meij | August 20th, 2021
Aunt Dofe’s is ready to return to the joy of art. It is time — carefully, considerately, happily — to come back to life.
Jerry Rankin/Joop de Meij : August 20th
Jerry Rankin
As a Montana artist I continue to share my exploration of the allegorical landscape in its various dimensional perceptions: its oscillations and horizons, its chromatic and tectonic shifts, and the analogy between sound and geographic space.
Biography
I was born in 1934, raised in Montana, and graduated from Montana State and the University of Montana (MFA) with degrees in painting and printmaking. My careers have included teaching, associate professor, graphic artist and professional artist. My work is in permanent collections at YAM, MAM, Museum of ART and Culture and Viterbo College in Wisconsin. I’ve been awarded two Montana Art Gallery Director (MAGDA) grants for traveling exhibits and a 30 year retrospective at the University of Montana. Examples of my work can be seen at my website: rankinart.com.
Joop de Meij
Standing on my toes, I gazed into the deep bubbling pot of sausage and potatoes my mother was cooking while I listened to family stories. So many of their conversations centered around their scarring war experience in Holland right before I was born.
These frightening stories knotted up in my stomach while fueling my imagination. Fortunately, I had an understanding father, an artist and a teacher, who brought me to museums and showed me ways of seeing through my uncomfortable world.
Life was filled with smells too strong, images too vivid and classes too dull. At 19 years old, I entered an experimental art school, Ateliers 63, in Haarlem Holland. Everyone’s imagination was alive with a sense of exploration. It was here, while painting, that I met my first wife, who came from Bear Canyon, Montana via Minneapolis School of Art.
Immigrating to Montana was a wild experience in the 1970’s. The Vietnam war was hanging over us and my draft number was close to being called. I was threatened with a sheep shear haircut by those angry at my long hair, while at the same time I found a vibrant community of artists to work with.
Bear Canyon gave me room to explore without pressure. Meeting Jerry Rankin was a gift. Together we appreciated the safety that nature offered and shared the complexities of isolation and creativity that the canyon offered us. We absorbed the beauty, raged at the darkness, and knew we were not alone.
Finding free chunks of cottonwood right outside my door changed my direction from painting to sculpture. Wood has remained my art medium and my companion, as I live surrounded by thousands of trees.
Sometimes it takes me years to finish a piece. I put components of non-working artwork aside until a better idea comes to me. Then I reconfigure, change colors, or add an item until it is complete. Often, I end up with a sculpture that is completely different from the original idea. A puzzle must be present in order for me to stay interested in the piece.
Images of pipes, combs and fruit come into my artwork through influences of Magritte’s artwork and childhood memories. Added to these are the current conditions of climate change and the reappearance of fascism, demanding my response.
The golden pipe hints at a gift of sharing, a sacred cow, and a sensual opening. An asteroid next to a bar of soap describes time. The arrogance of Hitler’s hat becomes a crown of stolen life. The feminine form of a large pear painted black is a mother that can no longer feed us.
I am surrounded by the seductive belief that change is impossible: too difficult to attempt. Is transformation possible, or are we again approaching a Last Supper?
For more information I can be reached at joop.demeij@gmail.com
Email: info@auntdofegallery.com
Phone number: (406) 570-6986
Aunt Dofe’s Gallery is located at 102 Main St. Willow Creek, Montana 59760
Email: info@auntdofegallery.com
Phone number: (406) 570-6986
Aunt Dofe’s Gallery is located at 102 Main St. Willow Creek, Montana 59760
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