ST. GEORGE — Nationally and internationally known artists, whose works are part of the 2015 outdoor exhibit of Art Around the Corner throughout St. George, were invited to a formal reception Friday at the St. George Children’s Museum, 86 S. Main Street.
The reception gave the artists a chance to meet Mayor Jon Pike, the City Council, other artists and enjoy each other’s sculptures. They shared thoughts and appreciation for the opportunity to share their art during the 2015 Art Around the Corner season, which opened Saturday.
Art Around the Corner Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to arts in St. George. The foundation holds the outdoor sculpture exhibit annually, from March to March, in cooperation with the City of St. George. The exhibit displays 23 sculptures around the city for the year and displays another 25 pieces as part of the city’s permanent collection. Many of the sculptures are on lease and are available for purchase from the artists; see details below.
Central to historic downtown St. George and hard to miss over the past year has been Deveren Farley’s sculpture of a guitar, “Ready to Play,” situated at the Main Street roundabout. It is replaced with “Gilded Lily” by Artist Dana Kuglin for the 2015 season.
Farley was one of several artists who addressed the reception. He began his art career in high school, he said, making projects with scrap metal. New home for his guitar? It’s sitting on a trailer connected to his truck, he said; he hopes someone will buy it. See leasing and purchasing section below.
Meanwhile, Farley brings a new sculpture the the 2015 season: “Metal Game,” at the 200 North and Main Street roundabout.
Dmitry Domani also addressed the reception. He hails from Romania and now resides in Denver. His sculpture “Donatela” can be seen in the outdoor exhibit along East Main Street.
Domani said he has been coming to Art Around the Corner for years. He has loved art since he was young, he said, and likes his work to touch on grace, power, beauty and fragility of life.
“There is always such a great inspiration behind their pieces,” Foundation Chairwoman Stefanie Bevans said. “We love having them share a little bit about their work.”
The exhibit originated with local artists and has grown to attract national and international artists as well. It allows the foundation to educate the community about art, Bevans said.
Leasing and purchasing the artwork
The rotating annual show is a cooperative arrangement that allows Art Around the Corner to showcase a variety of work from a national pool of renowned artists, according to a press release issued this month. In return the organization promotes the artists’ work, which is for sale, and tries to provide greater access and exposure for the sculptors.
To continue to attract this level of talent to St. George, the release stated, Art Around the Corner helps artists make the annual loan worth their while.
“The bottom line is we need to help these artists make a living and sell their pieces,” Bevans said. “We feel that this art is vital to our community and so we’re looking at more affordable and creative ways to keep the artists returning and keep the art on our streets.”
To this end, Art Around the Corner launched a new lease program in the past year to work hand in hand with the straight sale of sculptures.
“First and foremost, this art is for sale,” Bevans said. “We want to keep this art in our community — so we are giving our business owners and private art lovers opportunities to enjoy this art by purchasing or leasing the sculptures.”
The newly integrated 12-month leasing program allows businesses or individuals to display a sculpture of their choosing at their own locations for a percentage of the purchase price. At the end of the contract, they have the option to put the cost of the lease towards the purchase price, return the piece, or trade it out for another sculpture.
If you have loved a piece of art that has been displayed over the past year, or take interest in one of the new pieces on display for the coming year, telephone Art Around the Corner at 435-229-6612.
Sponsors
Sponsors of the Art Around the Corner exhibit, listed in Friday night’s reception program, include: Desert Pain Specialists, Main Street Plaza, Steamroller Copies, City of St. George, L&L Mechanical Contractors Inc., McArthur Jewelers Diamond Specialists, Southern Utah Ear, Nose and Throat, Industrial Brush Corporation, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, Southwest Spine and Pain Center, George’s Corner, Dats Trucking Inc., The Independent, Cache Valley Bank, Vantage Advisors Wealth Management, Town & Country Bank, Wells Fargo, InfoWest, Urquahart, St. George Convention & Tourism Office, Green Gate Village, Canyon Media and The Spectrum.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Resources
- Art Around the Corner | Website | Facebook | Telephone 435-229-6612
- Map of the locations of where pieces are displayed can be found here (Note: map shows locations but has not been updated to identify the 2015 works exhibited at the time this report is published)
- List of pieces included in the 2015 exhibit can be found here.
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