The Carnegie Arts Center welcomes two incredibly talented artists to its upper and lower galleries. In the Skala and Garwood galleries is the work of Yelena Khanevskya. Yelena’s exhibit titled “100 Western Skies” will be on display until Dec 2nd. Yelena is an art instructor at WNCC and owner of Gallery B in Scottsbluff, NE.
Artist statement: One Hundred Western Skies exhibit grew out of what became a daily ritual for me during COVID- doing a small sky painting. During this time when we were all confined to our homes, living as close to nature as I do provided me an opportunity to spend more time outdoors at different times of the day than I would normally have during the school year. I had more chances to catch so many fleeting moments when the slight shift of colors happens in the sky, when the patterns of clouds against the stark blue form fantastical creatures, during the magical ‘golden hour’ when the glow of the sun, already beyond the horizon, casts unimaginable filters over the land. When everything seemed so uncertain in the world those first months, sitting down daily to record yet another remarkable Western skyscape became a very important (and calming) ritual. It’s a very common sentiment, but I immediately fell in love with the wide-open skies when I settled in Western Nebraska. Over the years, I have painted hundreds of skyscapes – and I am not tired of them in the least! But these, mostly small, sky paintings of the last couple of years became very meaningful in a different way. Being far away from my family and worried about their fate in the face of the pandemic uncertainty, I visualized that we are all under the same sky and as the Earth turns, they will also experience that part of the sky at some point perhaps not as colorful as we have here, due to all the dust! However, cliché this might sound, this mindset and the sky painting ritual brought me comfort – and hope!
“In the sky an infinitude of hope, a canvas of glory, all possibilities mine! ” -Terri Guillemets
Exhibiting at the same time in Carnegie’s Studio Gallery is Colorado photographer, Mike Hesser’s “Time Extended.” This show will run from September October 17th – December 9th.
Mike Hesser’s Bio: Journey into the world of art photography. I am 62, live in Colorado with my wife and two dogs. We have two grown daughters, one of whom lives in Chicago and the other in Boulder, CO. We enjoy a variety of activities, including camping, hiking, traveling, and pickleball.
Artist Statement: My work seeks to uncover the physical essence, eternal personality, and living force of vintage rural images. By removing all background and context information from my photos, the true nature of a subject is revealed, along with ideas of its history and community. My beliefs draw from the 19th century poetry movement of “imagism” – which was grounded in the concept that precision and clarity are the pathway to effectively communicating any idea. My continuing journey takes influence and gratitude from the work of Ansel Adams (scale), Dorothea Lange (humanity), and Keith Dotson (technology).