Ann Korologos Gallery presents Landscapes: Near and Far celebrating the majestic landmarks and views from backcountry roads of the Roaring Fork Valley, greater Colorado, and Utah with works by locally acclaimed and nationally recognized artists Dan Young, Leon Loughridge, Peter Campbell, and featuring new-to-the-gallery artists Kate Starling and Deborah Paris.

“Our little gallery in Basalt sits at the heart of the Rocky Mountains, or rather, our hearts. We dwell within these mountains, valleys, rivers, forests, and under these skies,” reflects gallery owner Ann Korologos. “We know that to observe a landscape painting in the distinctive style and medium of an artist, to study the work, absorbing the subject, light, and perspective that speaks to the heart is a beautiful experience that changes the way one sees and interacts with the world.”

Woodblock printmaker and watercolor artist Leon Loughridge lives in Denver, CO. The artist has explored both popular and hidden gems of the Roaring Fork Valley, creating detailed references in watercolor of the scenes before him. Informed by Japanese printmaking techniques, watercolor is his preferred medium to inspire the woodblock process. The contrast in the fluidity of watercolor versus the hard lines of a wood carving is surprising until appreciating the finished work.

Dan Young grew up exploring the shores of the Roaring Fork River and the valley through which it runs. The painter, whose studio is in Silt, CO, finds his inspiration in his greater “backyard.” With his easel, oil paint, brushes, canvas, and palette in hand, Young journeys across often familiar terrain until it calls him to stop. A quick sketch allows the artist to organize the landscape onto two dimensions, and then he paints en plein air, completing larger canvases in the studio.

Peter Campbell lives in Durango, CO.  The ideas for Campbell’s landscape oil paintings are often sparked by a fleeting glimpse that catches his eye and elicits an intimate and personal reaction to nature. The challenge lies in transferring that instant response to canvas. His oils depict the beauty of a rain storm, rivers rushing through a landscape, and barns at twilight. By limiting his palette and omitting details, Peter effectively creates an atmosphere, a mood, sometimes a dream-like world which is open to each viewer’s interpretation.

Kate Starling lives and paints near Utah’s Zion National Park, with visits to Colorado. Starling’s paintings portray the natural world and focus on communicating a sense of place, atmosphere and dazzling light, retaining the immediacy of the painting experience. Starling knows well the power of emotion that the land can trigger in her when seen in a particular light, and she strives to evoke equally strong memories and emotions for the viewers of her work.

Texas-based artist Deborah Paris is an American landscape artist whose work reflects an intense, intuitive connection to the natural world and its rhythms. The time spent in the Aspen groves of Colorado inspires a body of the artist’s work. Based on a foundation of intense observation, drawing, memory and imagination, as well as indirect painting techniques, Deborah Paris produces luminous works full of mystery and mood.

Landscapes: Near and Far is on view June 16^th to August 2^nd at Ann Korologos Gallery ‘under the clocktower’ in historic downtown Basalt and virtually at korologosgallery.com.