Crowded Prairie: Four Painters, an
exhibition at the Ucross Foundation Art Gallery in Ucross, Wyo.,
features 34 paintings by Karen Kitchel, Chuck Forsman, John Hull
and James Lancel McElhinney. “Each (painter) has something to say
that is very serious about the environmental impact of our
technology on the land,” says Gordon McConnell, curator of the
show, “like the fragmentation of ecosystems, social impact of
population dislocation and decline of small towns.” Kitchel, for
example, painted American Grasslands, a series of more than 100
12-inch square panels. Each panel depicts a fragment of a
landscape, from native grasslands to lawns. The exhibition
coincides with the signing of a 10,000-acre conservation easement
on the foundation’s 17,000-acre ranch. The easement is a way for
trustees of the ranch to protect its landscape far into the future,
says foundation president Elizabeth Guheen.
The
exhibit runs from June 23-Aug. 27 at the Ucross Foundation Art
Gallery, 30 Big Red Lane, Ucross, Wyo. From Sept. 23-Dec. 31 it
will be at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyo. Call
307/737-2291 for more information.
Copyright © 2000 HCN and Beth
Wohlberg
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Painting the prairie.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
