“There’s a special place in my heart for Jen Hoffman’s art. To me, she’s one of our valley’s most accomplished plein air painters. Hoffman works with a limited palette; but to simply label her a Tonalist underserves her exceptional mastery of light. Hoffman’s landscapes are quiet, still heavens. Her canvasses transcend computing successful color formulae — imperative to execute but potentially static. Hoffman’s works are lyrical. One can know the definition of a word, but not its heart. Hoffman has discovered color’s heart.
Art is inquiry. Alfred Steiglitz noted that his career as a photographer was motivated by intense experience, a relentless drive to merge with the world. ‘All of me is in the centre [sic] of that thing, digging into the centre’s center,’ he wrote. Do pay attention to Hoffman’s light. There is her center, that shining mirror. Senses engaged, she translates Pennsylvania’s transcendent, pastoral light to the West. No visible fracturing here. Hoffman’s light flows, fluid and yielding.
We react differently to Jennifer Hoffman’s art than we do to other Western landscape paintings. Pass a vibrant, brilliant plein air work under my nose, and I’m as revived as a dizzy boxer inhaling smelling salts. But Hoffman’s landscapes drift towards me, searching me out like a dream.” ~T.C., Introduction to “Passage,” 2009
“Resonance,” Jennifer Hoffman’s inaugeral show as Trio Fine Art’s new partner, opens Thursday, February 10, with an artist’s reception 5-8 pm. The show is on exhibit at the gallery February 9-19, 2011. Gallery hours are Wed.-Sat., noon to 6pm, during the show. www.triofineart.com 307.734.4444
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By now you’ve probably read the disheartening–but not unexpected–news about Americans for the Arts national arts index statistics. What is an index? I think of them as a representative measure or comparison of …variables. An index can also be a measure of strength or weakness.
There are many articles on the National Arts Index results, but the L.A. Times’ January 24, 2011 article summed the situation up well. The index measures arts across the board. Here’s an excerpt from that article:
“The index for 2009 is 97.7, the lowest in the 12 years of data on which the index is calculated. Based on 81 separate measures of how Americans spend and donate their money and time, and how artists (broadly defined) fare as workers,
the index seeks to reflect the health not just of the so-called “high” arts dominated by nonprofit organizations but also the commercial arts — movies, pop music and concerts, books and the market for visual art.
The highest index score, 103.9, was achieved in the economic boom years of 1999 and 2007. The index uses 2003 as its baseline year, with a score of 100.”
Indexes measuring strength or weakness don’t take ingenuity into account. Jackson’s arts ingenuity index is strong, displaying great potential for growth in the coming years.
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Speaking of ingenuity, have you heard about Miami Beach’s hot public space? It’s a garage. I wish I could show you a photo. Can’t, because it’s expensive. But I was able to post a link to the New York Times story on my Linkedin page. This architectually dynamic, space-age garage is utilized as much for public gatherings as it is for parking.
Not a winter option for Jackson’s public garage. But summer? Oooh……revenue.
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C.I.A.O. Gallery’s 4th Annual Naturally Nude exhibition is open to all artists using any medium. Submission deadline for this show is January 28, 2011. The show opens at the gallery on Valentine’s Day. For more information log onto www.ciaogallery.com.
Tammy Christel 
