A Look at Art Partner Website

Contemporary Art in Jackson

Introduction by
Cassidy Mantor

Above: Summer Blooms | 30” x 26” | Blown & Sandblasted Glass | Laurie Thal & Daniel Altwies | Thal Glass Studio

Jackson is arguably one of the most rugged-yet-refined towns in the American West. The jagged silhouette of the Teton range sets the backdrop in a town game for adventure. Nearby, the National Museum of Wildlife Art showcases a permanent collection of prominent artists including O’Keeffe and Warhol. Although outdoor adventure might be the initial bait for drawing people to Jackson, the town’s art scene is thriving with contemporary artists and galleries connected to the global market.

In this feature, learn more about glass artists Laurie Thal and Daniel AltwIEs, who work from Jackson Hole’s Thal Glass Studio. Additionally, delight in the viewing experience at Maya Frodeman Gallery, an impeccably curated space showcasing a variety of artists and genres. Whether it’s working with a high-stakes medium such as glass, or creating a dialogue where diverse artists and works converge into a unified statement, we hope you are as inspired by these stories as we are.

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Thal Glass Studio

Hot Glass that Follows Form & Nature:
Glass Sculpture & Lighting

by Cassidy Mantor

Laurie Thal’s first visit to Jackson Hole was on a climbing adventure at the early age of 14. The Teton mountains, rivers, and lakes continue to inspire Laurie’s creativity since she built her first glass studio in 1977 in Jackson Hole.

Thal Glass Studio, located in the Jackson Hole area on the West Bank in Wilson, Wyoming, is a hidden gem of an art and glass studio gallery. The studio sits amongst lush aspens on the banks of the Snake River, providing a pastoral and inspiring background to observe wildlife and luminosity change with the seasons.

Over the last several years, Laurie and her partner Daniel Altwies have created custom glass art installations that adorn local offices, residential wall panels that mirror Grand Teton National Park’s cathedral range, and exquisite sandblasted glass bowls and vases featuring aspen leaves and delicate floral designs. In addition to larger pieces, Thal Glass Studio produces perfume bottles, custom signs, light fixtures, and custom orders for stemware.

A recent triptych panel on a structural wall showcases their expertise and artistry. The clients created a negative space in the wall knowing they would be installing the glasswork there. “We had great clients to work with on this triptych panel,” Thal says. “It was installed in their entryway, and is part of the wall that goes between the entryway and the library so this panorama is viewed from both sides. We were able to incorporate our clients’ passion for these mountains where they have climbed every peak,” Thal adds.

Thal and Altwies achieved the complex design featuring flowing wispy clouds and rigid granite peaks through the complicated cutting of the glass and multiple layers of fusing. The custom glass triptych took several months to design, fabricate, and fuse, and the depth and relief in this 72” x 32” three-piece glass art panel are stunning.

Thal and Altwies have established themselves in the international fused and blown glass art market and as an influential custom glass commissions team over the years. Recent projects have included hanging sculptural glass pendants in high vaulted ceiling entryways, custom glass door inlays that filter light in residential areas, and art that catches the ephemeral qualities of the wild landscape of the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, area.

“We had great clients to work with on this triptych panel. It was installed in their entryway, and is part of the wall that goes between the entryway and the library so this panorama is viewed from both sides. We were able to incorporate our clients’ passion for these mountains where they have climbed every peak.”

–Laurie Thal

Thal and Altwies also work closely with local interior designers on custom residential and business glass art projects. They have also designed and fabricated glass residential signs and house numbers.

Always site-specific and custom with glass projects, the duo takes no detail for granted and they find innovative ways to work with interiors. Their Dolce Hanging Glass Sculpture consists of 262 pieces of hand-blown glass that are displayed in an 18-foot curve suspended from the ceiling with cable. Thal Glass Studio worked with The Center for Aesthetics build team in their office in Teton Pines to design the drop ceiling and lighting, and reinforce and engineer the piece to promote its longevity.

Their fused glass work is incredibly sculptural, each piece precisely hand-cut with a traditional handheld glass cutter to create texture and form, or with a diamond wire saw for more acute cuts. Whether in the form of a triptych panel or a hanging vignette populated with flying birds with spheres and figures that have been fused and slumped, their glass not only makes a statement but is also the hallmark of individuality in any residential or professional setting.

Creating solutions for clients’ visions is their priority. Working with a select set of metalsmiths, Thal Glass Studio pairs and engineers fixtures, hanging hardware, and lighting to engage each of their hand-blown, sandblasted, and architectural fused glass pieces to serve a purpose and fit the tenets of the space.

From floating abstract birds and waves to custom cabinetry accent glass to sculptures of split boards, windows, and decor, color or shape truly shines through Thal Glass Studio’s brilliant and nature-inspired glass.

Over the last several years, Laurie and Daniel have created custom glass art installations that adorn local offices, residential wall panels that mirror Grand Teton National Park’s cathedral range, and exquisite sandblasted glass bowls and vases featuring aspen leaves and delicate floral designs.

For more information about Thal Glass Studio or to make an appointment call 307.690.2491, 307.699.4349 or visit them at thalglass.net.

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Maya Frodeman Gallery

The modern era of Jackson Hole’s art scene:
Continuing Tayloe Piggott’s legacy

by Sabina Dana Plasse

In October of 2022, Tayloe Piggott of Tayloe Piggott Gallery turned her contemporary art space and namesake over to employee Maya Frodeman and acquaintance Alexis Dittmer. Piggott founded the gallery in 2000 and since then the gallery on South Glenwood has established en vogue culture for fine art in Jackson Hole and internationally. According to local artist Mike Piggott, who is represented by the gallery and Piggott’s former spouse, its capacity for great art has fortunately never carried the pretentious weight often found in the art world.

“There wasn’t much contemporary art in town; it was close to zero. So it was crazy to watch Tayloe open and go for it. But it also just feels nice, and warm,” Mike Piggott says. “Tayloe really switched things up and it was amazing the support that the gallery drew; people came out of the woodwork and you felt like you needed to be a part of the scene.”

He adds, “If anyone was going to grab the steering wheel, it was going to be Maya.”

The rebrand launched on February 1 of this year. Representing over 80 artists and 20 fine jewelry designers from around the globe as well as adding a new Wilson exhibit space to the program, Maya Frodeman has not only embraced her new role but has also created tributaries for the Jackson art scene that feed its growing diversity and reinforce the dynamism of the material culture found in the Tetons.

Additionally, the gallery celebrated two other firsts this winter — an official branding of their fine jewelry atelier No.62 Jewelry (taken from the address) and attendance at the world’s largest art fair for prints and editions in New York, the IFPDA Print Fair with artists Doug and Mike Starn and Richard Fleischner.

“There wasn’t much contemporary art in town; it was close to zero. So it was crazy to watch Tayloe open and go for it. But it also just feels nice, and warm. Tayloe really switched things up and it was amazing the support that the gallery drew; people came out of the woodwork and you felt like you needed to be a part of the scene.”

–Mike Piggott

The versatility of Maya Frodeman Gallery’s genres demonstrates how pieces employing different genres can work in symphony in a personal collection and also provides an advantageous setting to see works in different light and space, under more realistic conditions that apply to their own residences and offices.

American artist J. Tony Smith wrote a recent testimonial of his experience working with the gallery. “The way the artists [are] displayed showcases how their work complements one another in such surprising ways. This passionate and skilled curation brings home the level of care each artist has for their art. It is something I rarely find in any gallery or even museum exhibitions,” Smith shares.

“One of my favorite things about the MFG is that we have had the opportunity to meet and visit with many of the artists of the pieces we have in our home. Maya and her team have wonderful openings that turn into fun community gatherings with the artists.”

–Private collector

“As an artist, it was so validating in my discussion with the staff that they showed an interest in seeing my own work while we talked about the layering of color and texture in Vicki Sher’s work. The gallery truly has been a wonderful place to see, think about, and discuss art that is so needed and unfortunately so rare,” he says.

Jackson Hole interior designer Kate S. Binger of Dwelling agrees. “Maya and her team bend over backward to work around my clients’ timelines. They are excellent about getting the art out to clients’ homes so we have space to discuss the work in detail and move it around the house, thus we can see it come to breathe within their lives,” she says.

Frodeman champions those virtues in her staff and aims to spark curiosity in her clients. “What really drives the gallery is curiosity. We are not a typical gallery that has a single exhibition space and so we are always challenged to unite multiple exhibitions in a similar voice. We take a lot of care to construct our exhibition program so that the multiple solo exhibitions are balanced with new inventory on view in the transitory spaces. The goal is for guests to enter the space and feel curious — they look around the corners, they peek inside an office, they move around making their own personal discoveries. Achieving this continuity every five weeks is a challenge, but a true accomplishment when done well,” Frodeman explains.

A private collector commented recently on the gallery saying, “One of my favorite things about the MFG is that we have had the opportunity to meet and visit with many of the artists of the pieces we have in our home. Maya and her team have wonderful openings that turn into fun community gatherings with the artists.”

Rush Jenkins, of the award-winning firm WRJ Design, says that his team has worked with Frodeman and her team for many years procuring works of art for clients and projects, including their new WRJ headquarters on Snow King Avenue.

“Exceptional expertise, service, and collaboration are the hallmarks of the gallery and team. They are a full-service gallery that advises clients on the art needed for each project. It is a pleasure working with Maya and her team,” Jenkins says.

With artists like Eric Aho, Jane Rosen, Wolf Kahn, Stephen Talasnik, Richard Fleischner, John Alexander, Tom Hammick, and Julia Bland, Maya Frodeman Gallery connects the Tetons to an international art market.

“Exceptional expertise, service, and collaboration are the hallmarks of the gallery and team. They are a full-service gallery that advises clients on the art needed for each project. It is a pleasure working with Maya and her team.”

–Rush Jenkins, Interior Designer, WRJ Design

This summer, Jane Rosen’s upcoming show, “Posted / Turning,” will be a gallery milestone with 47 works on view spanning from decades of her life’s work. This major exhibition opens August 2 and presents new work from the legendary sculptor and draftswoman, bringing together colossal feats of stone carving with innovative hand-blown glasswork and her signature layered sumi-e ink drawings. Her chosen subjects, animals wild and tame, are used as vehicles to explore their instincts and natural intelligence. For Rosen, understanding animal nature is the key to understanding human nature. Much of her work concerns capturing a moment when an animal is caught in the act of looking or doing; these creatures have an intention, but how aware are they of themselves and their actions? Rosen’s work subtly and elegantly poses this question.

This summer season, MFG has a busy calendar and several flagship shows including exhibitions with Susan Vecsey, Xawery Wolski, and David Abbott opening on Friday, June 14 with an opening fête from 5-8pm at the Glenwood location. On June 27, Jane Yang D’Haene’s exhibit opens with a reception on Thursday, June 27 from 5-7pm. Jane Rosen and Barry McGlashan’s concurrent solo exhibitions open on August 2 with Rosen in attendance for the opening on Friday, August 2 from 5-8pm. On September 20, Marianne Kemp, Max Wade, and Astrid Köppe’s show opens.

MFG West’s summer kicks off on May 24 with Wayne Pate. The Aspens gallery space will be busy for the season with new artists rotating weekly throughout the month of July on the West Bank: Week 1 is Suzy Spence, Week 2 is Stephen Talasnik, Week 3 is Nicola Hicks, and Week 4 is Dennis Lee Mitchell. Then on August 9, the West Gallery will open a solo exhibition of new work by local artist Mike Piggott. There will be an artist reception on Friday, August 9 from 5-8pm.

Maya Frodeman Gallery
mayafrodemangallery.com
66 South Glenwood Street
(across from Trio)
Jackson, Wyoming

MFG West
3465 North Pines Way,
Wilson, Wyoming