2010 Past Exhibitions

Sarah Rowley: PULSE
Davi Nelson: Vistas
Dana Berardinis: True Remains
Halley Gallagher: The Forest
Great Falls Public Schools Art Student Exhibition

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Annual Great Falls Public Schools Art Student Exhibition and
Great Falls Public Schools Advanced Placement Art Students Exhibition
Wylder, Great Falls Clinic, and Collectors Galleries
April 29 - May 26, 2010
Reception 4:30 - 6:30pm Thursday, April 29, 2010

These annual student exhibitions are favorites with The Square's patrons who look forward to supporting and nurturing local students and their creative endeavors in local schools. The 3rd Annual Zach Culliton Merit of Distinction will be awarded at the reception.

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Halley Gallagher: The Forest
Dufresne & Cobb Foundations Gallery
April 1 - June 29, 2010
Artist's reception 5:30 - 7:30pm Thursday, April 1, 2010
ArtShare Presentation by the artist at 6:00pm

"Within our society, we can embrace all things and when we act we should take into account their holistic effect. This is to realize that we are all one. One web, one life, we are connected to each other.

Through making this body of work, I have been exploring the concept of Dinergy as expressed in Gyorgy Doczi's book The Power of Limits. Dinergy means opposing energy; a universal process, creating pattern through opposites. The form of this pattern is dependent on the intersection of the opposing forces, how they share space. Dinergy is mathematically based on the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two previous ones: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34... The sunflower, pinecone, DNA and peacock tails are examples of dinergic energy evident in nature.

Using the process of painting and drawing I have recreated dinergic patterns. I do
this to understand and communicate their subtle presence in our world. Even though
my works are fixed moments, they represent the kinetic energy, seemingly still, yet
in flux. The dinergic patterns resonate throughout everything, from the microscopic
level to the cosmic level." - Halley Gallagher

Halley Gallagher grew up in Great Falls, Montana graduating from C.M. Russell High
School in 2004, before she attended Creighton University where she earned her
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Painting. She recently returned to Great Falls
and has been selected by The Great Falls Public Schools and The Square as the Artist
in Residence for the Spring Semester in 2010.

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Dana Berardinis: True Remains
February 18 - May 15, 2010
Opening Reception February 18th, 5:30 - 7:30pm

"While growing up in a rural mid-western town, I preferred to spend my time in the fields and woods. Captured by the tones and textures of what I saw there, I would draw the trees and cornfields of my home. I would bring back collections of bark, corn husk and bones to reference and apply to my creations.

In 2004, I received a degree in fine art from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Upon graduating, I was eager to continue my explorations. My journey lead me westward to a place where I could paint freely without interruptions. Here in Montana, I find again, paths to the ever present tones and textures of the natural palette. I memorize what I see and make drawings as I explore the vast wilderness.

Powerful forces and cycles of nature have helped to shape and recreate the vast features of the land. Although nature's forces can be devastating, time reveals the Earth's ability to heal and transform itself, leaving behind a new surrounding that lives on.

The fires of Montana have opened up passages to what once was and what will be again - the remains of burned trees, scattered and hidden among the forest, provide signs of the past. Hill sides of blackened trees nurture and guard thousands of younger trees. The forest is recreating itself into a much healthier one. Old trees that have lived long lives finally get to rest in peace. They replenish the land with new seeds and fertilize the soil beneath them.

Fire has a very beautiful and intriguing life of its own. The intense flames seem to be a timeless gesture rolling across the horizon. When ash and smoke clear, new vistas welcome a breath of fresh air and signify new beginnings.

I find spontaneity and freedom in the power of nature, which inspires me in the creation of my work. I experience painting the way I do the landscape. It holds the same quietness the same search. Through the layering of paint and materials, I begin to find continuity with what I've discovered in nature. I scrape and burn into the surface. The materials I use (moss, charcoal, pine needles, duff and other organic materials) signify the surroundings from where they have been taken, allowing me to connect more directly with nature. I begin a new journey through each painting. As I paint, memories rush through me. Most of the time, I am searching for answers I can only come so close to understanding. I find something indescribable in nature that is never made completely clear in the form of language, which creates my need to paint.

Like the seasons, time transforms the forest and leaves only remnants of what once was, and truth remains." - Dana Berardinis

Download the on-line version of the exhibition catalog here.

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Davi Nelson: Vistas
February 18 - May 15, 2010
Opening Reception February 18th, 5:30 - 7:30pm

"My work is a reflection of the landscape I live in. It is not a portrait of a specific place, but rather an attempt to evoke a sense of place and a way of life in a rural environment." - Davi Nelson

Davi Nelson and her husband, Carroll, live on a ranch southwest of Ryegate, Montana, where they raise commercial cattle. The isolation of the location and its profound sense of space are the focus of her paintings.

Her work has been exhibited internationally in such diverse venues as Ireland, The American West, a 21st Century Retrospective; and China, Out West, The Great American Landscape. Past museum exhibitions include The Evocative Landscape at the Holter Museum, Helena, Montana; Contemporary Montana Artists at the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana; Masters in Miniature at the C. M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana; and Postcards of the Wild West at the Nicolaysen Museum, Casper, Wyoming. Her work may also be seen July 1 to October 1, 2010 in Montana Landscape: The Eye of the Beholder at the Holter Museum in Helena, Montana.

Davi Nelson's work is found in numerous private and corporate collections. She is represented by the Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana, the Holter Museum, Helena, Montana, and Latigo and Lace in Augusta, Montana.

Download the on-line version of the exhibition catalog here.

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Sarah Rowley: PULSE
February 18 - May 15, 2010
Opening Reception February 18th, 5:30-7:30pm

"Centripetal motion patterns the fabric of existence. Macro and micro molecular beats inform an interconnected sense of place - periodic intersections of existence. The pulse, the process cannot be kept, only measured. We are in constant motion." - Sarah Rowley

Growing up in Grangeville, Idaho, Sarah Rowley's environment was infused with the permission to create. She was constantly supplemented with raw material while surrounded by the craftsmen and artists in her family.

Sarah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art from the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana in 2007 and is finishing her tenure as the Great Falls Public Schools' Artist-in-Residence.

Sarah has worked as an Instructor of Art at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, focusing her efforts on broadening art access for non-traditional artists groups who participate in The Square's Vision Strength and Access Arts program.

Facilitating art making has helped Rowley further understand her own process and concerns as an artist.

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This programming is made possible by the generous support of our members and supporters, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Montana Arts Council and Cascade County.