Last week my partner & I took a few days off to go explore Telluride and do some skiing. It wound up being the perfect time to go because we were between weather systems – there was snow on the ground, but the skies were sunny and the temperatures warm.
Telluride was settled with miners back in the mid-1800s and it still has much of it’s old town charm. While the mountain village overflows with tourists, I got the sense that the actual town itself is a community of locals. There are plenty of restaurants, shops and galleries to appeal to visitors and residents alike.
Of course, I took a few breaks from the slopes to check out the local art scene, a half-dozen galleries and a handful of studios.
The three that really caught my eye were
- Gallery 81435 I am still not sure who was manning the store – I went in twice and never did see anyone else there. The show was beautifully minimal, with black and white sculpture, woodblock prints and photographs. I fell in love with Antonio Marra’s sculpture and Meredith Nemirov’s drawing series of tree details.
- Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery This gallery was a treat: the series of rooms were filled with landscape paintings from regional and national artists.
- Telluride Gallery of Fine Art Probably the most commercial of the galleries, they focus on contemporary photography, painting, sculpture and jewelry. I caught the tail end of their winter “White” show and especially liked the ceramic works by Marc Leuthold and the encaustic panels by Shawna Moore.