Related Events:

Exhibition Reception & Artist Talk: TBA
Workshop: TBA

About this Exhibition:

Tawni Shuler develops fable-based large scale black and white drawings on thick heavy fiber paper that are sophisticated in technique to express universal themes such as joy, heartbreak, jealousy, pride, and aggression. The works take shape as visual stories of animals in a variety of imaginary settings that serve as metaphors for the human experience.  

Using warm and cool white pastels and various shades of rich black charcoal, Shuler works additively and subtractively to create depth on a two-dimensional surface.  Heavy thick fiber paper is employed to stand up to the layering of charcoals and pastels and constant erasure back down to the white pulp of the paper. She finds inspiration from stage lighting and intense drama created through the Baroque style of painting. Attention is drawn to specific parts of the piece by pushing the less important elements to the hazy background and bringing the more important features to the foreground and into focus to create a narrative.  The two-dimensional surface of paper becomes the setting for imagery that is balanced between abstraction and representation, sharp or blurred, objective and subjective.  Occasionally a small rich bit of symbolic color may be added to enhance the story.

About the Artist:

Born on a farm in Wyoming, Tawni Shuler was enticed to paint and draw early on by the art of western painters Frederick Remington and Charlie Russell. She attended the University of Montana, Missoula to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and Arizona State University to complete Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing in 2008. She has since served as the Programming Director for the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana, an Assistant Professor in Watermedia at Utah Valley University, an Instructor of Art at Sheridan College, Media Specialist for the Arizona Natural History Association, and Illustrator for Crystal Publishing. Currently, Shuler serves as the Program Director for the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. 

Her work has been shown at the Edward A. Whitney Gallery, Sheridan, WY; Taos Center for the Arts, NM; Oates Park Art Center, Fallon, NV; Northwest Art Center, Minot, ND; Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, GA; g2 Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ; Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ; Zane Bennett Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Missoula Art Museum, MT; Woodbury Art Museum, Orem, UT; Tucker Cooke Gallery, Asheville, NC; Smith Theatre Gallery, Farmington Hills, MI; Firehouse Gallery, Grants Pass, OR and was published in Southwest Art’s 2005 Annual Emerging Artist Issue. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Jentel Artist Residency Program, the former Brush Creek Ranch Artist Foundation, and the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming.

Acknowledgements:

This exhibition originated at the Whitney Center for the Arts at Sheridan College, organized by Assistant Professor of Photography and Printmaking/ Gallery Director of Edward A. Whitney Gallery, Brittney Denham-Whisonant, and is sponsored by the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA), a state-wide service organization for non-profit museums & galleries, and supported in part by grants from the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana; coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's Cultural and Aesthetic Projects Trust Fund; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This exhibition was curated by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator/Director of Curatorial Affairs. Exhibitions at the museum are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Montana Credit Union, Hotel Arvon, First Interstate Bank, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design.