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By Victoria Plasse
This season, WHJ is pleased to feature the work of local painter Amy Ringholz as well as introduce the newly opened Gold Mountain Gallery. From an 18-foot painting hanging near departures at the Jackson Hole Airport to works hanging at 3 Creek Ranch, Trio, and Cloudveil Hotel, Ringholz creates colorful wildlife portraits and landscapes that are part of the Jackson Hole culture. One of her pieces is in the permanent collection at the Booth Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, and she also recently published her first children’s book.
New to town and located in the historic Wort Plaza, Gold Mountain Gallery offers a curated aesthetic of the modern West. Chandeliers and furniture by award-winning artisan, Matt Downer of Matt Downer Designs, illuminate large-scale photographs by David Yarrow and Western artists Nate Law, James Corwin, and Kira Fercho. The gallery also has custom ping-pong tables with buffalo hide paddles – playful reminders to collectors that art is meant to be fun.
“David Yarrow is an artist who breaks the mold, redefining how people experience photography and art.”
—Trevor Ruffner, Gallery Manager, Gold Mountain Gallery
Gold Mountain Gallery
Photographer David Yarrow captures the wild landscapes of the world — from Africa to Jackson Hole — with a twist of pop culture, from bison to wolves to bon vivants and sports cars. Yarrow’s playful large-scale photographs are on display at Gold Mountain Gallery, a recent addition to Jackson’s art scene in the Wort Plaza.
“David Yarrow is an artist who breaks the mold, redefining how people experience photography and art. As he puts it, we live in a world where there’s no shortage of visual media content competing for our attention. His goal is to create work that makes people stop and look,” says Gallery Manager Trevor Ruffner.
Ruffner admires Yarrow’s diversity as an artist, from photographing intimate scenes of our natural world and its unique wildlife to his storytelling scenes that incorporate vintage supercars, wolves, iconic American bars, supermodels, cowboys — and everything in between. According to Ruffner, Yarrow’s work can connect with all types of art lovers.
“Our goal at Gold Mountain Gallery is to be different from anywhere you’ve ever been.”
—Trevor Ruffner, Gallery Manager, Gold Mountain Gallery
“Jackson is known as an art hub, and having a globally sought-after artist like David helps elevate our art scene. He’s a top 10 artist on Artsy, with pieces collected worldwide,” Ruffner says.
The large-scale format plays a crucial role in capturing the attention of the passerby — Yarrow’s art doesn’t feel traditional or pretentious. The size brings with it an emotion of instant gratification, but the more time the viewer spends with Yarrow’s pieces, the more the artist’s meticulous approach to every detail reveals itself, and a new aesthetic is realized.
“(He) leaves no room for error. Every detail is intentional, and in a large piece, nothing can be hidden,” says Ruffner. Yarrow is represented in over 40 galleries worldwide and he will participate in at least two events a year at the Jackson location. The artist will do the same at the Fort Worth, Texas, and Telluride, Colorado, locations.
All of Yarrow’s works are framed at no additional cost — solid wood frames, white linen matting, and the highest-quality museum glass available. Clients can opt for no frame or request custom framing. Most images are released in black and white, others in color, and occasionally both if the creative impact is equally strong.
“Matt is family to Gold Mountain Gallery — we’ve been proudly showcasing his woodwork for over a decade.”
—Trevor Ruffner, Gallery Manager, Gold Mountain Gallery
The gallery also represents Nate Law’s bold, Western pop art, Montana-based James Corwin’s wildlife works, and modern-impressionist Kira Fercho’s pieces showcasing the culture of the west.
Gold Mountain’s collection of artisan furniture makers includes Matt Downer of Matt Downer Designs, a remarkable woodworker and artisan who captures the accessibility of hard materials and sources the delicate personalities of hardwoods, steel, and stone to create one-of-a-kind sculptures, tables, chandeliers, and lighting.
“Matt is family to Gold Mountain Gallery — we’ve been proudly showcasing his woodwork for over a decade,” Ruffner says. It’s impossible not to try the levers on Downer’s lamps or marvel at his industrial mysticism that fashioned the chandelier hanging at the front of the gallery. Nothing short of mechanical art, the functional décor makes for cogent lighting solutions while simultaneously carrying an air of discovery.
Downer received a Best in Show Mixed Media award for his Bastogne walnut desk at the Western Design Conference. His signature Paige lamp, featuring a stone counterbalance, is another standout piece in the gallery.
“We often work directly with the artisans— on design, style, and functional needs. It creates a collaborative and memorable experience, and our artisans love getting involved in the creative process to deliver heirloom-quality pieces.”
—Trevor Ruffner, Gallery Manager, Gold Mountain Gallery
“Our goal at Gold Mountain Gallery is to be different from anywhere you’ve ever been,” Ruffner proudly says. “From David Yarrow’s photography to custom rugs, artisan furniture, and a mindset that happy hour is business hours — we love what we do.” And it shows.
Whether it’s playing ping-pong on a custom walnut table with buffalo hide paddles or swapping stories on a one-of-a-kind buffalo hide chair, the selection at Gold Mountain Gallery is all about connecting, connecting to landscape, heritage, family—and fun.
As experts on Yarrow’s work and on curating artisan furniture makers, Gold Mountain Gallery’s team works closely with clients to find the cadence in their purchases and the right pieces for their homes and collections.
“We often work directly with the artisans — on design, style, and functional needs. It creates a collaborative and memorable experience, and our artisans love getting involved in the creative process to deliver heirloom-quality pieces,” Ruffner shares.
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