ART INSPIRED bY tHE tETONS
Intro by: Victoria Plasse
This season, WHJ profiles two artists working in different 2D mediums whose work celebrates the beauty and wild of this place. Painter Amy Ringholz has called Jackson home for the past 20 years. She documents change in the environment, such as a herd of bison that no longer graze in a meadow close to town. Her paintings soulfully pay tribute to the wildlife that surrounds Jackson. From geese to bears, wolves to horses, her work expresses her deep connection to and knowledge of her home.
Photographer Gary Crandall’s photographs are similarly an art of record. The artist has been working in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since the 1980s and is represented by Medicine Gallery with locations in Jackson, Wyoming, and Livingston, Montana. Gallery owner Alex Meador finds that Crandall’s images allow viewers to see the quiet moments of Yellowstone and Grand Teton that are usually off the public’s radar and inaccessible for most.
We hope you enjoy slowing down and contemplating the moments these artists capture and the perspective their art can add to your space.
Wild Devotion
AMY RINGHOLZ AT RINGHOLZ GALLERY
“ONE OF THE REASONS I WAS CAPTIVATED BY JACKSON WAS THAT I COULD SPEND TIME WITH A BISON HERD JUST 15 MINUTES FROM TOWN.”
–Amy Ringholz, Artist
Amy Ringholz’s love for the West transcends her animated color decisions with wildlife portraits and landscapes that capture what she calls “a zest for life and love of Jackson.” Unmistakably Amy, her brushstrokes exhibit the personality and intimacy of her subject matter. Fox, bear even her wild landscapes though bold exhibit the serenity of the intermountain ecosystem.
Ringholz first landed in Jackson in 2002 cleaning cabins at a dude ranch. From her early days of living in a “skid house and throwing bags at the airport,” Ringholz has built out her own artistic boot pack across wine labels, murals, a gallery, event space, and now a children’s book. Ringholz has also been a regular participant in the annual Fall Arts Festival QuickDraw. She only skipped the event once—when she was the festival’s featured artist in 2012.
“One of the reasons I was captivated by Jackson was that I could spend time with a bison herd just 15 minutes from town,” Ringholz shares. She says she used to drive out to Grand Teton National Park near the Kelly entrance on the Gros Ventre and sit in her Honda Element with the back open and take the scene in.
“I would just listen to the herd munching on their grass and relish their huge size and dark shapes in front of the sunsetting Tetons,” she adds. It was one of her go to hideouts 20 years ago.
“I did a painting of it just this summer called Wild Blue Yonder, trying to capture the memory of this beautiful time in my life. I realized later that that bison herd no longer hangs out near Kelly, and they are further north now, so it seems I was also documenting a time that no longer exists,” Ringholz shares.
Her work can be found at 3 Creek Ranch, Trio, Cloudveil Hotel, and an 18 foot painting hangs near the departures area at the Jackson Hole Airport. Ringholz says it’s an honor “and thrilling to be a part of the Jackson Hole culture.” The artist also has a piece in the permanent collection at the Booth Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
a unique beautiful event space at Ringholz Studios.
“I’ve been here for 22 years, loving and supporting this town,” she says. These days she is one of the most recognizable wildlife painters in town.
The gallery, Ringholz Studios, usually has about 20 original works and a dozen prints in rotation throughout the year. A Ringholz piece has a shelf life that appeals to all types of art buyers including those who know their wine varietals. Recently, the artist collaborated with local winemakers Andi Caruso and Jesse Smith at Seven Stories Wine on the label for their grenache, Dreamer.
“The Dreamer is a one word label for my life and journey, and I love to support and encourage fellow dreamers; I love doing new projects and working with new people and I try to entertain new ideas yearly,” Ringholz says.
The artist grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio, in a family full of teachers, musicians, and artists. She won sizeable scholarships in high school and went off to Bowling Green to study art. After teaching in Ohio for a few years after college, she says she was “desperately craving to get out West” and found a summer job at the R Lazy S Ranch, and while in town was accepted into the Art Association of Jackson Hole’s art fair that August.
“That October, I was in tears having to leave, so I came back to Ohio, gathered my things, and headed straight back to Jackson Hole,” she says.
Despite her established following, Ringholz says that, as an artist, especially one who has been around a while, it’s so important to keep pushing yourself and reinventing yourself. “At the same time that’s no easy request,” she admits.
“So, I think in order to keep your work relevant and selling and for people to keep falling in love with it, it takes such tremendous energy, time, and dedication from the artist. This career is absolutely the most challenging thing I could’ve chosen, but also the most fulfilling. I’m never searching myself wanting more, I’m only searching and wanting more from myself.”
Many of Ringholz’s collectors are Jackson Hole second homeowners, traveling in from Texas or California, and she says a large contingency are from the East Coast. “What matters most to me is that they find themselves at home in the gallery, they relate to the work in their own way, and they are delighted to work with my kind and courteous staff,” she says.
THIS CAREER IS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST CHALLENGING THING I COULD’VE CHOSEN BUT ALSO THE MOST FULFILLING. I’M NEVER SEARCHING MYSELF WANTING MORE I’M ONLY SEARCHING AND WANTING MORE FROM MYSELF.
–Amy Ringholz, Artist
“We like everyone to feel like they’re part of the family,” she adds. Family, and community in general, are Ringholz’s driving principles as an artist and as a businesswoman. Ringholz Studios distributes art supply awards to 10 or more artists of all ages throughout the country annually. Ringholz credits the scholarships she received out of high school to pursue art studies at Bowling Green as her inspiration for the RASA (Ringholz Art Supply Awards) scholarships.
“I believe they are important financial boosts as well as a word of encouragement that many of us need to hear, including artists trying to hone their craft and follow their dreams,” she says. “I care for the West, my town, my community, my employees, my clients, my family, my work and I hope to inspire others to do the same.”
For the past three years, Ringholz has teamed up with the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce to help make Halloween in Jackson more special and safer for kids, dubbing the event “Haunting of Jackson Hole.” She is also involved in Rotary Club’s Casino Night, where she helps raise money for scholarships for college bound students pursuing studies in the arts.
“I CARE FOR THE WEST, MY TOWN, MY COMMUNITY, MY EMPLOYEES, MY CLIENTS, MY FAMILY, MY WORK AND I HOPE TO INSPIRE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.”
–Amy Ringholz, Artist
Ringholz says her intention is to welcome all who love art and let them be a part of the “appreciation journey,” adding, “From postcards to prints to paintings to private events, whatever need you have, we can find a way to introduce Ringholz artwork to your lifestyle.”
Continual Focus on Wild Places
GARY CRANDALL AT MEDICINE BIRD GALLERY
PROVIDING A LENS TO EXAMINE THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM SINCE THE 1980S, GARY CRANDALL CAPTURES THE SPONTANEITY OF THE LANDSCAPE AND ITS INHABITANTS THROUGH HIS IMAGES. HIS DEDICATION IS AS MUCH A LOVE AFFAIR FOR THE REGION AS IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNICATE WHAT HE LOVES MOST ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY. CRANDALL IS REPRESENTED BY MEDICINE GALLERY WITH LOCATIONS IN JACKSON, WYOMING, AND LIVINGSTON, MONTANA.
THE BOVIDAE IS “AN ELEGANT SYMBOL OF OUR ECOSYSTEM.”
–Alex Meador, Co-owner Medicine Bird Gallery
Gary Crandall admits that borrowing requires returning. At this point, keeping his father’s camera is water in the river. His images capture the spontaneity of the landscape and its inhabitants and his dedication is as much a love affair for the region as it is an opportunity to communicate what he loves most about photography.
As a paper of record refers to a newspaper with high credibility, Crandall’s photographs are an art of record. “I think the most famous photograph is Joe Rosenthal‘s shot, ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’ and from what I remember reading, it’s weird because he took that from his hip,” Crandall shares.
Crandall says that Rosenthal didn’t know if he got his one shot that would garner a Pulitzer Prize until the film could be developed and an attempt at restaging the shot was made before they left the ship.
“They could never get the same feeling of that first image and recapture that spontaneous moment. And I think there are a lot of images throughout history that you can look at, and they have that same kind of impact,” Crandall explains.
Crandall has been in and out of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since the 1980s. His endless hours in the backcountry, taking the road less traveled, have ensured that he not only captures the shot but that he also makes an impact.
His lifelong infatuation with cranes has inspired him to follow their flyovers through out the Yellowstone Grand Teton region’s watershed and Sandhill Cranes all the way to Nebraska. Crandall’s curiosity for these “dinosaurs,” as he put it, gives viewers a chance to embrace corners of the Caldera not often seen from the roadways.
Crandall’s “buffs” (as he refers to them) are probably his most recognizable pieces and, according to Crandall, have had a massive influence on him as an artist. It’s not surprising that his number one selling print is “Ghost of the Plains,” a striking photo of a Yellowstone bison in subzero conditions.
Co-owner of Medicine Bird Gallery, Alex Meador, says that the Bovidae is “an elegant symbol of our ecosystem.” Covered in snow, steam rising from its nostrils, the image captures the unbreakable spirit of a beast brought back from extinction.
“AT MEDICINE BIRD, WE SEE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE CONNECT WITH AND FIND SYMBOLISM WITHIN GARY’S WORK FOR THEIR OWN REASONS. HIS PHOTOS BECOME A KIND OF TALISMAN FOR THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES AND LIFE STORIES.”
–Alex Meador, Co-owner Medicine Bird Gallery
Meador, and her husband and co-founder Sean Love, own and operate Medicine Bird Gallery. The gallery has locations in both Jackson, Wyoming, and Livingston, Montana, and is dedicated to sharing Crandall’s work with not only art enthusiasts but anyone who connects with the natural world.
“At Medicine Bird, we see hundreds of people connect with and find symbolism within Gary’s work for their own reasons. His photos become a kind of talisman for their own experiences and life stories,” Meador says.
Meador says that Crandall’s work allows viewers to see the most intimate places and moments in Yellowstone, “the quiet moments with the animals, while they are just living their lives, away from tourist season and cars,” providing a glimpse of Yellowstone and Grand Teton that is off the public’s radar, and not accessible for most.
Crandall says he first met Love in 2006. By 2010, Love, who had no intention of pursuing a career in the art business despite growing up on the retail floor of his father’s business (Jackson Trading Company), broke off to give Crandall the ecosystem his work deserved, a space of its own.
“It’s his lifelong friendship with Gary that inspired him to open his first space in Jackson,” Meador says, describing how her husband and Crandall push each other symbiotically.
“Gary takes really incredible bird photos—I think it might be his favorite genre—but he isn’t always confident that other people will connect with them, and Sean is always encouraging Gary to print more bird photos, and bigger,” she adds.
One of Crandall’s shots, a portrait taken in Grand Teton National Park of a raven, is of ten printed 30”x50” at Crandall’s studio, Gray Crane Studios, where he makes custom frames for his pieces—around the corner from the Livingston gallery. Most of Crandall’s pieces could be considered artist’s proof as they are printed and framed by Crandall himself.
As Love and Crandall continue to expand Crandall’s narrative in the backcountry, themes of abundance abound. The photographer—who has been shooting in Yellowstone National Park since before wolves were reintroduced—has witnessed first hand the park’s vitality return from buff to fox to raptor to songbird. But the photographer says what permeates most of his work and what drives him into the field during winter months is the pursuit of solace.
Echoing the original aesthetics of John James Audubon and the succinct opportunity to explain activity, habit, and habitat with the viewer, Crandall’s bird watching instincts transcend through his camera’s aperture, providing the viewer with a narrative contained in the image itself. It’s the essence of a wildlife encounter caught on camera. His famous enveloped in winter buff shot effortlessly delivers emotion as it captures the tenacity needed to thrive in winter conditions and the quiet peace it simultaneously offers.
Thousands have stood eye to eye with Crandall’s Yellowstone raven. Meador says the intimate connection with the image reaches beyond Yellowstone and demonstrates Crandall’s reverence for the landscape and its inhabitants, or as Crandall likes to say, “the critters.”
The recent remodel of the Jackson Hole Town Square location of Medicine Bird Gallery is an homage to the West as much as its artists are. John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet) is a plains Indian graphic artist based on the Blackfeet Reservation near Browning, Montana, displays his work at the gallery. Medicine Bird also represents Montana artist Tandy Miles Riddle.
“GARY TAKES REALLY INCREDIBLE BIRD PHOTOS—I THINK IT MIGHT BE HIS FAVORITE GENRE—BUT HE ISN’T ALWAYS CONFIDENT THAT OTHER PEOPLE WILL CONNECT WITH THEM, AND SEAN IS ALWAYS ENCOURAGING GARY TO PRINT MORE BIRD PHOTOS, AND BIGGER.”
–Alex Meador, Co-owner Medicine Bird Gallery
Drawing on the history of its surroundings, the Jackson gallery is located in what was originally the Betty Baggett’s women’s Western clothing store. Love stripped the building back to its roots, Meador explains, exposing the brick walls and original flooring with a refreshed tin ceiling. The Livingston gallery calls the historic Winslow Building home.
“He just let the building’s history shine,” she says. “When you walk in, I think you can feel that blend of past and present: Gary’s photography, the antiques, the energy of the space it all works together.”
Crandall says Love might be one of his closest friends but unrelated to that, he quite simply admires Love’s eye for design. “If you see what he’s done with the galleries, he has such a unique eye, he’s just as much an artist,” Crandall says.
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