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Category: Exhibits

“Look Closely” Exhibition Opening Reception

Thank you to every one who came Friday night — in spite of the snow — to celebrate the opening of Jan Novy’s art exhibition. We were truly blown away by the number of Helena folks who showed up. And what a fun party it was! Check out some of the pics from the reception (keep scrolling).

If you’re reading this and you were at the reception Friday night, what did you like best?

Was it gathering with so many friends? Seeing Jan’s artwork? The Swedish Sunrise cocktail? The noise (we certainly couldn’t hear the music, heh)? How about the appetizers? The 100s of smiles and all that laughter? Or just that 1+1=1 was open for an evening event again (after all these months)?

1+1=1 was truly so packed with bodies Friday night, we know there wasn’t much room to see Jan’s delicate paintings and drawings. We hope you come back to look more closely before the show comes down. We’re open Tuesday through Friday 11 to 5 and Saturdays 11 to 4. Call Maureen if you’d like to visit the show at a different time. We are happy to make special arrangements.

“Look Closely: a retrospective of art by Jan Novy” will be on the gallery walls through Saturday, March 25th

We’d love to see you back on a quieter day, looking at her exquisite miniatures, and perhaps buying a piece or two. Even if you’re not in a position to take home one of these lovely little paintings, stop by to marvel at Novy’s sense of scale, detail, order and color. It’s a lovely exhibition!

 

Shop the Exhibit Online

Thanks to all who purchased a piece of Novy’s artwork. There are still many tiny paintings and drawings available and we’d love to find homes for every single piece! Novy’s framed miniatures make wonderful gifts. They are gorgeous in person – or shop online. We are happy to ship anywhere in the continental US.

Last but not least

Jerry Cooper brought me this cool photograph he’d taken back in 2000 — of Jan and Paul having breakfast at the No Sweat Cafe´ — I love it and think you will too.

Photo by Jerry Cooper of Jan Novy and Paul Cartwright at the No Sweat Cafe´(circa 2000)

 

 

Unbelievable Sale on Montana Art

Everything Remaining in the Hermanson Art Collection is on Sale

 

It was a stunning exhibition and many pieces sold

Last October 2022, we hosted an exhibit to sell a dear friend’s art collection — the Gloria Hermanson Art Collection (read more about her collection and the exhibit here) We found homes for many of the pieces yet there are still some remaining. Gloria’s family would love to sell everything — and so would we!

Now we’d like to sell the rest of the artworks

From March 1 – 31, we will make all remaining artworks from the Hermanson Collection available at a 40% discount. Now is your chance to own a piece of art at an incredible price.

Don’t miss this opportunity to invest in what you love

After March 31st, 2023, we will send everything that’s left of Gloria’s glorious collection home to her family. In the meantime, we would like to find forever homes for as many artworks as possible.

Below is a small selection of the pieces still available. To see more, shop the entire Hermanson Art Collection here

 

 

Look Closely: a retrospective of art by Jan Novy

Exhibition Dates: March 4 – 25, 2023

Curator’s Statement

Throughout her career as a graphic designer and visual artist, the late Jan Novy didn’t like to toot her own horn. She was a prolific watercolorist, a meticulous yet playful colorist and a gifted draftsman. Because she was reluctant to show her work, she left behind a little studio in her back garden which was filled with folders, drawers, and boxes of drawings and small paintings along with many annotated color experiments and a big pile of sketchbooks. A mutual friend of Jan’s and mine — Robin Leenhouts — brought me along on a mission to see the swatch pages, scraps and watercolors she had left behind. Jan’s husband, Paul Cartwright was delighted when we suggested hosting a posthumous exhibition of Jan’s drawings and paintings, specifically to highlight her meticulous process and exploration of ideas and colors.

LOOK CLOSELY, a Jan Novy Retrospective is curated in thematic groupings: Neighborhood, Shelters, Windows, Cultivation, Small Patches and Process/Swatch pieces. Titles came from her sketchbooks, annotations and notes. Some pieces are signed and dated, others are tiny corners of larger pages we chose to frame without her signature.

Novy was the kind of artist who carried an idea beyond what most artists would. She would explore an idea like roofs in different mediums, making dozens, even hundreds, of drawings – abstracting the essence of “roof”. In thumbing through her sketchbooks, I was impressed by how deeply she studied writing systems, maps, seeds, grids and patterns. I wouldn’t have that kind of patience.

Nor would I have the patience to draw with the super fine point 0.05mm pen and miniscule three-hair paint brushes she used. I can’t even see some of her lines clearly without a magnifying glass!

Jan had a broad range of interests. She was curious about patterns and fascinated by writing systems. In her sketchbooks she made hundreds of studies of indigenous shelters, gardens, fences, windows, landforms, rocks, walls, riverbeds and rooflines. One large folder holds stunning pencil sketches of hundreds of birds (which we hope to show in our Feathers and Flora exhibit later this summer.)

Paul Cartwright and DD Dowden contributed the matting and framing. Maureen Shaughnessy curated the exhibit. The pieces in this exhibit include framed paintings and drawings as well as unframed (buyers can choose their own preferred framing style) Everything is incredibly affordable and we hope that everyone who knew Jan, or is new to her work, finds something to take home and treasure. Her pieces are not only a window into the artist’s mind and heart — they will inspire us all to look closer at the many tiny beautiful details of everyday life.

~ Maureen Shaughnessy

Shop the exhibit here

1 plus 1 is 1 Gallery Logo

A sampling of what you can see in person at 1+1=1 Gallery during the solo show:

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October Window Exhibit Featured Artists

In the small street-facing gallery window this month is a two-person show by Caroline Davis and Sandi Bransford, both from the Puget Sound in Washington state. Davis brings considerable skill and creativity to her metalsmithing, creating elegant yet affordable and unique jewelry. Bransford uses ceramic, natural objects, paints and patinas to achieve her organic textural figures. Read more about these two artists and see their new work. See something you like while you're strolling by at 11pm or before downtown wakes up? Just scan the QR code in the window and grab it before it's gone!

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PAPERWORK

What's in this show? Our group exhibition, PAPERWORK, features nine artists represented by 1+1=1 Gallery. The exhibit includes contemporary artworks in many mediums. All on paper. You will find a variety of materials and creative methods these artists use to express their imagination, humor, social issues, connection to nature, and unique point of view. The resulting collection of unusual pieces is fascinating, compelling and engaging. We hope you find something to make you smile, laugh, open your heart, think again or maybe bring tears to your eyes.

Stop by 1+1=1 Gallery or check out the exhibit in our online catalog, to see watercolors, oil paintings, painterly monoprints, mixed media collages and paper sculptures, hand-bound books, drypoint etchings, shellac plate prints and constructed photographs.

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POETIC FUSION Encaustic Invitational June 4

As we continue our year of education-focused exhibits, we are delighted to introduce our community to one of the oldest (and longest-surviving) mediums: encaustics. POETIC FUSION, an invitational exhibit showcasing the work of six encaustic artists from around the region, opens on Saturday, June 4th. Please join us for an Open House on June 4th to meet and greet the artists from 10am to 5pm. Light appetizers and drinks with gallery talks by Kris Larson, Darla Myers and Erika James from 1:30 to 3pm.

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2021 Holiday Show

8th Annual Holiday Show

We are Delighted to Invite You to our Eighth Annual Holiday Gift Show

Wow! In our 9th year as the premier fine art gallery in Helena, we are excited to welcome you to the largest, most diverse and best holiday show we’ve hosted. Our staff and volunteers have been incredibly busy over the last month, preparing and organizing over 1000 artworks (actually, close to 1400 and counting …) submitted by 56 artists. Each winter, we think our Holiday Show is better than the last. And we’re always right! We cannot believe the artistry and creativity evident in the works submitted to this year’s show – every time we open a box of new pieces from one of our artists, we are amazed, delighted and happy that we will get to show them to our community!

This Year, Support Artists and Small Local Businesses and Skip the Gifts Sitting in a Container on a Cargo Ship!

We know — you’d love to put the latest smart phone or electronic device under someone’s Christmas tree. And there are lots of enticing cheap (aka cheaply made) toys for all ages on the internet and in box stores. But really. What about keeping the majority of your hard-earned money in your own community? Shopping at small locally owned businesses results in a better quality of life for everyone in our community because the money stays here!

And … the artwork (the gifts you guy at 1+1=1 Gallery) is already here. No waiting and worrying that your order of made-in-China items won’t make it in time because they’re sitting in a container just off the west coast. We actually have every item we are selling at the Holiday Show sitting in the gallery – and, every single item we are showing is truly unique, made by the hand of an artist with love and care. What could be better?

Details:

Opening Day: Saturday, November 20, 2021 10am to 5pm
Other Open House Saturdays: November 27, December 11, December 18 10am to 5pm
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Friday 10 to 6; Saturdays 10 to 5
Closed Sundays and Mondays, plus Christmas Day and New Years Day
1+1=1 Gallery 434 North Last Chance Gulch
Shop the 2021 Holiday Show Online: 1plus1is1.com/gallery/

 

The 1+1=1 Gallery 2021 Holiday Show Has So Much to Offer Gift-Givers and Art Collectors Alike

The 2021 Holiday Show runs from November 20 through Jan 7, with new art added to the online catalog and the gallery exhibit floor every week. A bonus this year is that we will have four extra-festive Open House Saturday events: November 20th, “Shop Small Saturday” on November 27th, December 11th and December 18th. During our Open House Saturdays, shoppers can enter a drawing for an art-giveaway and meet some of the artists whose work is in the show. We also offer free artful gift-wrapping every day, for in-store purchases.

On Opening Day, our first Open House November 20th, we will have the Queen City Fusion Dance, a contemporary belly dance company, performing outside the gallery at 11am (fingers crossed the weather cooperates!)

 

Everything in the 2021 Holiday Show is $400 or less

Scratching your head about what to give your loved ones this season? We have you covered! We love helping you find gifts for your sweetheart, kids, neighbors, outdoor sport enthusiasts, art collectors, artists, nature-lovers, gourmet cooks, fashionistas, students, parents, distant cousins, bosses ,employees or clients. Just tell us a little something about the giftee and we’ll come up with some ideas for you. It’s our super power!

Find one-of-a-kind artist-made jewelry, big and small oil paintings, ceramic cups and charcuterie boards. Handmade artsy ornaments, functional pottery, sculpture of varied mediums, encaustic paintings, woodcuts, turned wood bowls, flower vases, monoprints and fiber art are available in person and in our online store.

Everything in the 2021 Holiday Gift Show is $400 or less — a fabulous selection for gift giving and for adding to your own art collection.

We’ve designed the Holiday Show to offer very affordable gifts of art to our customers. But don’t forget our downstairs art-storage space where you can discover artworks that don’t fit the “under-$400” requirement. We’d love to show you some hidden treasures that would make incredible gifts for those special loved ones in your life (and you know — that includes you!)

 

Artists in the 2021 Holiday Show

Karen Abel, Beth Aimee, Tina Albro, Wendy Anderson, John Andrew, Connie Bergum, Lori Blaylock, Sandi Bransford, Larry Calkins, Tim Carney, Boyd Carson, Chip Clawson, Clare Clum, April Coppini, Joyce Coolidge, Caroline Davis, Brad DeFrees, Marcia Eidel, Claire Emery, Dawn Endean, Amanda Fulk, Guylaine Gelinas, Nancy Goughnour, Paul Guillemette, Ashley Hanna, Cindy Hanson, SarahJess Hurt, Erika James, Bruce Kitts, Judy Kline, Bonnie Lambert, Michele Landsaat, Robin Leenhouts, Andy Lunday, Sarah Magar, Susan Mattson, Carol Montgomery, Carla Potter, Andrew Rivera, Molly Rivera, Laurie Shaman, Gabe Shaughnessy, Maureen Shaughnessy, Trudy Skari, Debbie Smith, Becky Street, Jennifer Thompson, Cheri Thornton, Ellie Weber, Joan Wescott, Lauren Zalewski, Matt Zavalney, Daniel Zupon and others.