First Friday Artwalk highlights LGBTQ+ artists, Riverwalk Collective at Art Depot
Katy Pickens/Steamboat Pilot & Today
From fine-line ink drawings to artwork celebrating queer folks in Routt County, a large variety of artwork will be featured at the Art Depot during the First Friday Artwalk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, in downtown Steamboat.
The Riverwalk Collective features a mixed-media exhibit in the main gallery of the Art Depot.
Leslie Bell, a three-year member of the collective, created several acrylic paintings on raw silk for the showing. The process creates a slightly speckled, three-dimensional aspect to the painting, adding to the hazy feel of Bell’s landscapes.
She explained that she stumbled into this medium by accident.
“It was just some of the strap fabric that I had,” Bell said. “I went over it with that oil pastel, and it just hit the top of it, just made that texture, and it was like, ‘Oh, yes.’”
Audrey Bortz, a photographer in the Riverwalk Collective, will also feature several pieces in the main gallery.
“I have a variety of things,” she said. “I have one beautiful piece that I did recently up at Steamboat Lake with all the daisies in the foreground. It’s a photograph at sunset with an alpenglow.”
Katy Pickens/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Bortz has dubbed another technique she likes to use “photo manipulations,” where she plays with the texture and filter on her photographs.
The Platform Gallery at the Art Depot will feature the work of Nozcaboose artist-in-residence Julia Ben-Asher. She creates fine-line depictions of natural landscapes, particularly sights from around Steamboat.
What: First Friday Art walk
Where: Downtown, the Art Depot
When: 5 to 8 p.m., Friday Aug. 5
The Art Depot will also feature an exhibit titled “Queer + Out in Routt,” which will feature the work of local LGBTQ+ artists.
Courtney Lynn, farmer at the Home Ranch, has crafted several pieces for the show, including an interactive quilt. She explained that folks who attend the gallery will be able to create their own square of a quilt, and then she will join all the pieces together.
“So each person that comes into the Depot to interact with our art exhibit has the opportunity to put together a block for the quilt that kind of encapsulates their identity and their experience,” Lynn explained.
She added that there will be a children’s corner with books about the LGBTQ+ experience meant for children, as well as pride postcards that she created and are meant to be colored in.
“Representation matters, so just having that space that is proclaimed to be a safe space for that expression is, I think, really powerful, especially in a small town,” Lynn explained.
Steamboat Creates: 1001 13th St., 970-879-9008 — Frida Kahlo’s Garden, a peak into the creative life of Frida Kahlo. With art by local artist Marion Kahn, featuring “Little Bear” and new abstracts.
Riverwalk Collective: 1001 13th St., 970-879-9008 — Steamboat goes Global.
Gallery 89: 1009 Lincoln Ave., 970-439-8196 — Uniting past and future, local and international, tradition and the avant garde, Gallery 89 stuns with carefully curated masterworks from the Boat’s top local talents and Europe.
Standard Gallery & Wine Bar: 907 Lincoln Ave., 970-879-6830 — Unique space offers contemporary Western art, wine, beer and light snacks.
Off the Beaten Path: 68 Ninth St., 970-879-6830 — Celebrate summer with beach reads, iced coffee and some new friends at Off The Beaten Path.
Ohana: 843 Lincoln Ave., 970-367-3008 — Locally designed and handprinted apparel and home goods inspired by the mountains, beach, and adventure. Ohana offers Colorado artisans with, jewelry, leather goods, crafts and more.
Jace Romick Gallery: 837 Lincoln Ave., 970-846-8377 — Combines Jace Romick’s photography and carefully selected fine art for a uniquely Steamboat gallery experience.
Steamboat Art Museum: 807 Lincoln Ave., 970-870-1755 — “Oberg, Smith, Whitcomb, Young: Four Directions, Common Paths.” Featuring four of America’s leading plein air artists. Runs through Sept. 5, with Plein Air event Sept. 24 to Nov. 6.
Solar Flare Glasswork and Design: 635 Lincoln Ave., Ste. M, 970-875-3420 — Check out the glass shop, with fun family activities and live glassblowing demonstrations.
Zanobia Shalks Studio/Gallery: 424 Lincoln Ave., 970-871-8000 — New gallery reflects Yampa Valley’s beauty.
Wild Horse Gallery: 802 Lincoln Ave., 970-819-2850 — Fine contemporary realism for the discriminating collector. Featuring artists that celebrate the landscapes, wildlife and culture of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.
Tread of Pioneers Museum: 800 Oak St., 970-879-2214 — Featuring “Lens to the Landscape: The Photography of John Lanterman.”
Pine Moon Fine Art: 117 Ninth St., 970-846-7879 — “The Overlooked,” featuring art from Missy Borden.
W Gallery: 115 Ninth St., 970-846-1783 — Delicate, haunting scenes of nature by local artist Sari Davidson.
Rumor Design & Redesign: 912 Lincoln Ave., 970-819-9721 — Now located in the newly renovated Quarry Building with an industrial interior from 1897 that compliments a curated, contemporary assortment of all things home design.
Tall Tulips Flower Shop: 45 9th St., 970-879-0555
To reach Katy Pickens, call 970-871-4208 or email her at kpickens@SteamboatPilot.com
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