Exhibitions

"Six Perspectives" features work by artists who were part of the Montana Artrepreneur Programs through the Montana Arts Council.

They say, "Experiences, values and beliefs mold the way each of us see the world. These perspectives, especially an artist’s perspective is evident in our work. It is personal. It drives decision-making, thinking patterns, and actions. It can define an artist’s creative process and what that artist wants her art to say. How the artist wants the viewer to see the piece and respond."

“Six Perspectives,” is about six Montana artists that were brought together by the 2022 Montana Artrepreneur Program (MAP) and each artist’s perspective that influences creations. The Montana Arts Council, which organizes and facilitates MAP, believes "artists are, by nature, inventors, engineers, explorers, and discoverers. Artists see possibility everywhere." As a result, the Montana Arts Council also implies there is no singular approach to art. It is individually determined.

Multiple choices are embedded in the creative process. Artists choose such things as simplicity, variety, contrast, distinction, and color. Artists choose the subject matter. Artists choose the materials. All these choices enlighten a viewer’s understanding of an artist’s intended statement. In this group of artists, their messages are stated and achieved.

Artists in the exhibition say, "We six artists speak about our story, observation, and need for questioning. We long to evoke beauty, meaning, and a memory. We propose reflection and a possible new pace for life. We are six artists, with six perspectives. We want to tell our individual stories together, bound as chapters of a book."

Participating Artists -

Liz Chappie Zoller: mixed media painter
"My art explores the overlapping edges of diverse cultures. I invite viewers to discover the unexpected intersections of our common values and goals, therefore asking each viewer to stay curious and open to our shared humanity, instead of what separates us."

Lisa Christopher: NUNO felting artist
"I create to question the eyes of the viewer, so they wonder what they are looking at. Each piece tells a story, and my energy is infused into every square inch."

Cynthia Handel: sculptor
"I am inspired by my environment. I dance with fire. I draw with fire. I play with fire. Fire is where my alchemy happens."

John Kennedy: writer, pen, wash watercolor artist
“I’m trying to tell you something about my life. That is what I want in my art and in my life. The crumbling bricks of an old building are our souls laid bare, sagging power lines strung across a city alley are our struggle to rise above the fray, the braided strands of a river, the twisted path of my own life’s journey. It all means something more than what we simply see."

Pat Olding: palette knife painter
"By exploring and re-imaging color and pattern I aim to engage the viewers’ eye. My goal is to create a path of discovery for viewers and invite new awareness. Like Thoreau wrote, 'The question is not what you look at, but what you see.'"

Carmen Young: oil painter
"With oil paint, I lay down color on the canvas in hopes of creating a tangible Montana memory. I hope that my art will move its viewers to pause, reflect, and seek moments of observation in their surroundings."

This exhibition is on view February 1-28, 2025. Free and open to the public.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Carbon County Arts Guild & Depot Gallery which is supported in part by grants from the Montana Arts Council, the Coal Tax Trust Fund for Cultural and Aesthetic Projects, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Carbon County Arts Guild & Depot Gallery provides access to art, supports artistic expression, and encourages creative experiences for the enrichment of our communities.

For more information visit or call the Guild at (406) 446-1370.