“What I love in painting, as an artist and as a viewer, is the feeling I get from seeing something…meticulously created by pigment and brush. I want to see time – time taken by the painter to think, feel and create – but also the element of time, as if the painting … will grow and change with me … as I grow and change.” ~ Todd Kosharek
Jackson artist Todd Kosharek opens a show of new works, “Interiors/Exteriors,” at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts Theater Lobby with a reception on Friday, January 17th, 5:30-7:30pm. The exhibition will be on display January 13th – 29th, 2014.
Images of Kosharek’s new works blow me away. In a short time — although Kosharek may not share my conception of what comprises a “short time” — his landscape painting style has blossomed and matured, gaining a notably new level of sophistication. Kosharek’s painting “Late July, 2013,” shown above, is so rhythmic and complete; it’s like a fine jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces fit perfectly together. He’s thought of everything: a peach sky is reflected perfectly in a body of water. The water, rather than being just a pond or just a river, is both. Space and atmosphere Kosharek builds between land and the sky’s ceiling—those clouds—provides “air” that breathes into the scene and opens it up. He has broadened his color palette without going overboard, limiting his colors and also simultaneously creating the number of subtle shadings required. Kosharek’s brushstrokes are more coherent, more secure, drawing together his composition’s elements.
The growing and changing is happening. Most definitely.
A remarkable hallmark of Kosharek’s work is that he paints in two blazingly different styles. There are his landscapes, influenced by the Scandinavian Symbolists, and his interior paintings, rooted in the Magic Realist tradition. These fastidiously detailed and mystical works, his Origami Crane Series, consist of 12 large paintings exploring the concepts of repetition and life, religion and art. Kosharek takes many months to complete any given crane painting and is thrilled to be exhibiting three works of the series in this show. At this writing, Kosharek was putting the finishing touches on a crane painting that’s been coming to life on his easel for a full year.
“I throw everything possible into the scene during the sketching and researching process, and then slowly eliminate aspects until the scene clicks and is suddenly correct. This process of elimination will often continue all the way until the painting is finished,” says Kosharek. “Great examples of this process are the three large paintings that are a part of the Crane Series.”
A great painting, adds Kosharek, should encourage and allow viewers to react to space, letting them follow any direction the painting may beckon. His paintings are part of private and public collections throughout America and in Paris.
“Art should not be in a box nor should it be “right or wrong,” nor should it hold the viewer’s hand,” says the artist. “The greatest respect an artist can give an audience is to trust that they will get what they need from the work.” www.toddkosharek.com
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Thursday, January 9th, 7-10 pm, artist Tom Woodhouse’s “creative passion” will be on exhibit and celebrated at the Pink Garter Theater/The Rose, downtown Jackson. The evening is the first in a series of art events happening this month; Tom’s show will change and evolve each week. Paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, abstracts, bar scenes and landscapes will all be featured. And yes, you can buy them!
Contact: Not sure! Posters list the Pink Garter, so give that venue a jingle. Go, Tom!
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Last notice: Community Supported Art (CSA) inaugural year applications are due on Monday, January 13th! Read more about the project here, and contact Alissa Davies at [email protected], for more information.
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My bad…Public Art announcements were going to appear here, but I promise—next post you will see them!
Tammy Christel 
