Ann Korologos Gallery presents Working the Land, a group exhibition celebrating ranch life and featuring Terry Gardner, Donna Howell-Sickles, Peggy Judy, Simon Winegar, and more. Working the Land is on view July 17, 2021, with an artists’s reception on Wednesday, July 28th from 5 to 7PM at Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt.

“Working the Land features artists with an intimate knowledge of ranch life in the American West, with an emphasis of female riders and ranch hands,” shares gallery owner, Ann Korologos. “Gardner visits ranches throughout the West, spending time with the ranchers, capturing the mood and nostalgia of this active, yet often forgotten way of life. Howell-Sickles highlights women in the ranching culture, the joy, exuberance, hard work and capability of the women who run the show. Judy lives in the heart of ranch land in Crawford, CO where many hands and wild lands come together to form the community she knows and loves. Winegar focuses on the ranches themselves, from the old and active barns, and the beautiful surroundings of Colorado and Utah.”

Terry Gardner was born and raised in Missouri and moved to Colorado to paint outdoors as a plein air artist, diving deeply into various subjects and ways of life. A contemporary painter of the American West, Gardner depicts the hard work of ranchers and farmers, recording both ranch hands and the lands they roam. Gardner strives to paint what is not visible to the eye by suggesting the mystery and intrigue of the past and present through his moody palette and subject matter.

Donna Howell-Sickles redefines the wary stereotypes that represented Western women during her childhood in Texas and New Mexico in the 50s and 60s. Using charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on paper or canvas, Howell-Sickles portrays ranching women as she knew them: strong, capable, humorous and bonded as sisters. Her work is rich with symbolism and allusions to classical mythology that “fits the American West like a glove.”

Peggy Judy is a native of Colorado who lives in the “cowboy country” of Crawford, smitten with the natural beauty of her home-state. Judy finds much of her inspiration from horses and their riders, drawing from her hands-on experience breeding, raising, training, and selling Warmblood Sport horses, and frequenting community ranching events. Peggy paints traditional western subject matter with a unique, expressive interpretation. Drawing and draftsmanship is the skeleton of her work, but her use of color, shape, and line work take her subjects beyond the usual.  

Simon Winegar is a Utah-based painter inspired by his love for the natural beauty of the outdoors, including man-made additions like weathered barns and ranch houses. While his subjects vary, he most enjoys painting en plein air, “creating moods that are often romantic and thought-provoking,” shares the artist. Winegar’s landscapes are meant to beautify the world and move the viewer.

Working the Land featuring Terry Gardner, Donna Howell-Sickles, Peggy Judy, and  Simon Winegar will remain on view through August 15th, 2021. For more information, please visit Ann Korologos Gallery at 211 Midland Avenue in Basalt, call (970) 927-9668 or email art@korologosgallery.com.