The view from the Modern Hotel in Boise was just simple, lovely after the snow fell late night Friday evening. The accommodations were cozy with contemporary modern furnishings, a big old army blanket, shower water that flowed right from the ceiling (along w/Aveda lotions and potions), and an incredible mixologist in the adjacent Modern Lounge. They concocted classic cocktails with herbal liquors like absinthe and Chartreuse, bitters, ginger beer and aged bourbons. Well, their munchies were also quite good. Oh, and the plush pillows led me to wrap myself in comfort as I flipped from HGTV to the Food Network (yeah, life has some of these suburban applications in time and place). I’d recommend this place to y’all for sure. Upon arrival I was transported from directly from the airport to Boise State Visual Art Center which was kindly helping support getting me back to Idaho. There I got the opportunity to see the BFA Thesis Exhibition, Resound.

But Boise was real thick with vibrant hospitality in other parts as well. I was in town to hang SQFT with artist/assistants Amanda Hamilton and Marrissa Keith (included in Resound) who really were amazing as I directed things from outside the tight window space in the chill of the day (it was about 30 degrees on Saturday!). When I say tight window space we were concerned about fitting our hips into the step-up retail window display. It is an old-fashioned space, get this, accessed through a lil trap door that is poised inside the ladie’s room! Once all was in place the evening brought me a great opportunity to meet up with my host, artist Kirsten Furlong and her partner Bill Lewis for a nice bite to eat among friends. From there it was directly back to the Egyptian Theater where the owners kindly treated me to a performance by Emmylou Harris (who I hadn’t seen since the Lilith Fair!). They seated me in the fourth row center, it felt as though she was singing those soulful songs of loss, change and hope directly to me. Perfect way to complete a Saturday night.

Sunday was dedicated to doing studio visits with regional artists, and I got to meet with both sculptor/mixed media artist Benjamin Love and painter/printmaker Sandy Marostica during their residencies with the Idaho Commission on the Arts. They were each situated in rather large spaces in separate buildings located right downtown and I enjoyed speaking with them about their work. Afterwards I met with painters Dave Thomas in Eagle, ID and finally with Bill Lewis closer into Boise. Both are veterans in their field, making large-scale work, Thomas has a penchant for abstract work using multiple approaches and materials while keeping things fairly spare and geometric. Lewis creates fables from found still life scenes, often a grittier smattering of objects and allusion. Both men were articulate and interesting to start a dialogue with. Til’ later….

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Aural, Sights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.