30 WWW.SOUTHWESTART.COM • AUGUST 2019
Denman, Rambadt & Moore
AstoriaFineArt,August 1-20
SHOW PREVIEW
Jackson, WY
THIS MONTH Astoria Fine Art hosts
two must-see shows featuring three of
its top artists. From Thursday, August 1,
through Saturday, August 10, the Jack-
son, WY, gallery hosts a two-person
show for contemporary wildlife artists
Andrew Denman and Don Rambadt.
Then, on Sunday, August 11, a 10-day
solo exhibition opens for landscape
painter Jay Moore. “We’re picking the
best of the best,” says Greg Fulton, As-
toria’s managing partner. “August and
September are our two biggest months
of the year, so it’s important for us to
Andrew Denman, Playing the Field, Study #1, acrylic, 8 x 8.
have shows that represent the best of
the gallery.”
Don Rambadt is “right at the top of
that list,” says Fulton. The Milwaukee,
WI, artist’s welded metal sculptures
have received numerous accolades
over his 20-year career, and in 2017,
he was recognized as a Master Artist
at the prestigious Birds in Art exhibi-
tion. Meanwhile, Andrew Denman’s
paintings of birds and other animals
can be found in prominent collections
such as the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art
Museum and the National Museum ofWildlife Art. The gallery is dedicating
nearly half its exhibit space to showcas-
ing about 20 new pieces, collectively, by
these accomplished artists. Entitled Be-
tween the Lines, the show refl ects each
artist’s interest in composition, line,
and form, says Fulton, as well as their
works’ popularity among collectors of
both traditional and contemporary art.
“Andrew’s paintings really stand out in
the gallery because he has a wonderful
eye for design,” he says, “and that’s of-
ten the same compliment I get for Don,
whose sculptures are one-of-a-kind.”
Since moving from his native Cali-
fornia to Tucson, AZ, recently, Denman
has seized the opportunity to portray
Arizona birds like the vibrant vermilion
fl ycatcher, which frequents the riparian
area around his new home. He’s also
enjoying a roomier studio that’s condu-
cive to working on a larger scale. The
artist brings several sizable paintings
of birds to his show, including a 48-by-
24-inch depiction of fi ve crows standing
one upon the next in a somewhat wob-
bly column. It’s the latest installment
in Denman’s ongoing Totem series, in
which he depicts birds and other ani-
mals precariously stacked upon one
another in a “modern reinterpretation”
of Native American totem poles. His
tension-fi lled columns are “a deliberate
nod to the plight of animals in our mod-
ern world,” says Denman, who aims to
create fun but also thought-provoking
imagery. “I am an artist who uses wild-
life as a springboard for metaphor.”
Other new works by Denman repre-
sent a continuation of his String Theory
series, in which he depicts birds inter-
acting with geometric forms and color
fi elds, creating visual tension by jux-
taposing abstraction and realism. “So
they are very bold, very graphic, and
very modern pieces,” he says.
Also greatly inspired by birds, Ram-
badt works with bronze and other met-
als that refl ect the natural coloring of his