First Friday in Missoula: Hot temps and lots of art openings (2024)

Galleries around Missoula have art openings this Friday, including a number of special Pride exhibitions.

Christa Carleton and Tonja Torgerson,

‘Body Politic’

Missoula Art Museum

These two printmakers have a show of collaborative works in which “women’s bodies, histories, sexuality, victimhood and activism are laid bare,” they said in a news release.

Through a variety of print styles, they address the post-Me Too backlash and rollback of women’s rights, the release says.

“This exhibition is timely in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision which overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. Simultaneously, transgender policy debate and discussions about gender pronoun use has continued constituting a continued silencing of women and women’s rights,” they wrote.

Carleton earned a master’s in printmaking from Montana State University, works out of Missoula and teaches at the ZACC. Torgerson has taught around the U.S. and is a resident artist in Martha’s Vineyard now.

Details: On view through Aug. 24.

Terran Last Gun,

‘Piikani Visual Sovereignty’

Hockaday Museum of Art

Last Gun, a Blackfeet artist from Browning, has followed his father, Terrance Guardipee, into the medium of ledger art, while also continuing the family tradition of experimenting with the form.

While drawing on old ledger paper, his forms are modern, combining imagery from Piikani teepees with his interest in geometric abstraction, pop art and “op art.” While that sounds complicated, the works themselves are minimalist and clear, with sharp use of color and design that invites contemplation.

After all, he named a 2023 exhibition“Future Cosmic Energy.” If you missed that show at the Missoula Art Museum, it’s worth dropping by this show in Kalispell. If you did, this one boasts a site-specific mural right in the gallery, along with drawings that weren’t seen in 2023. Last Gun is now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, so it marks a great home-state run for an artist who’s only in his 30s.

Details: On view through June 22.

Matthew O’Reilly,

‘Shed Light’

Clay Studio of Missoula

The Canadian sculptor has spent the past two years here in Missoula as a resident artist at the nonprofit ceramic center. For his “exit show” to mark the end of his stint, he’s fashioned a variety of self-portraits — i.e. ceramic busts — that pull from “diverse sources such as mythology, folklore, and contemporary issues,” according to a news release.

Details: On view through June 29. Reception June 7, 5-8 p.m.

Beth Lo and Steven Young Lee,

‘Redux’

Radius Gallery

These two ceramic artists, both Asian Americans living in Montana and exhibiting far outside the state, teamed up for a duo show in 2022 at Radius Gallery and are back for yet another. Lo is a retired University of Montana art professor whose work addresses her heritage and experience as an Asian woman in the West. Often, this takes the form of figurative “paintings,” often children, on the surfaces of functional wares.

Her younger counterpart Lee knew of her by reputation before moving to the state to lead the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena. His work, with intricate traditional surface decorations, might be functional, or at least at first. He often builds and fires them as such so that the beautiful forms explode in the kiln and are displayed as such.

Details: On view through June 20.

Dagny Walton, Colton Rothwell, Orion Bos,

‘Imprint’

Zootown Arts Community Center

Three printmakers — all queer, all recent or soon-to-be graduates of the University of Montana — have teamed up for a group exhibition in the ZACC’s main gallery. Walton’s work addresses the West and its history with imagery from pop culture and insights from a classical studies degree along with the landscape itself; according to the news release, this show takes on the kayfabe of professional wrestling. Rothwell, a photographer, has worked with figures and landscape and in this case will be using the cyanotype process; Bos, a printmaker, works with large-scale and detailed prints and themes of memory and trauma, the release says.

Details: On view all month. Opening reception June 7, 5-8 p.m.

‘Queer Under the Big Sky’

Frame of Mind

The frame shop’s gallery is holding a June 14 opening reception for this Pride group show.

The artists include Alexis Lotz, Emory Padgett, Jessie Smith, and more. One special guest is Rae Senarighi, a transgender Missoula native now based in Madison, Wisconsin, who’s produced a series of portraits of transgender people going back years.

Details: Opening reception Friday, June 14, 4-8:30 p.m. with live music by New Old Future with a bar from the Badlander and food.

Full listings

Museums

Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, 728-3476, fortmissoulamuseum.org: In the main gallery: "Missoula, MT: The Bicycle Town." "The Road to Today: 150 Years of Missoula's History," in the North gallery: "Undressing History," in the orientation gallery: "We Can Take It!" Hours: Main museum open Tuesday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Historic St. Mary's Mission and Museum, Stevensville, 777-5734: Featuring guided tours of historic buildings; featured exhibition is an antique toy display. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with last tour at 2 p.m.

Hockaday Museum of Art, 302 Second Ave. E., Kalispell, 406-755-5268, hockadaymuseum.com: Through August: "Ace Powell: Recent acquisitions and loaned beadwork from Three Chiefs Cultural Center." Through June 22: "Terran Last Gun: Piikani Visual Sovereignty" and "For the Love of Glacier," paintings and photography by Bonnie Griffith and L.R. Newman.

Miracle of America Museum, 36094 Memory Lane, 406-883-6804, miracleofamericamuseum.org: Featuring thousands of artifacts throughout dozens of buildings plus exhibits of WWII memorabilia that includes more than 50 official photos taken by the U.S. Department of the Navy depicting the damage to the fleet. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

Missoula Art Museum, 335 N. Pattee St., 406-728-0447, missoulaartmuseum.org: Through Aug. 24: "Body Politic," collaborative prints of Christa Carleton and Tonja Torgerson. Through Aug. 24: new works by Cid Wolstein. Through July 27: Terry Karson: "Human/Nature." Through Sept. 7: "We Stand with You," contemporary artists honor the families of the missing and murdered Indigenous relative crisis.

Galleries

Allez! Missoula, 120 N. Higgins Ave., alleyway with the Merc Hotel, 546-6141, 120nhiggins.com: "New Perspectives," featuring temporary, mural scale paintings, prints and photography and sculpture by undergraduates and recent grads from the University of Montana School of Visual and Media Arts: Colton Rothwell, Crystal McCallie, Dagny Walton, Eric Jensen, Erica Hitzman, Jules Lucero, Lily Kip, Lily Luna Bennett and Mickey Haldi.

Artists' Shop, 127 N. Higgins Ave., 406-543-6393, missoulaartistsshop.com: In June: "Brushstrokes of the Big Sky," works by Amanda Hardin. Opening reception June 7, 5-8 p.m.

Cassens Fine Art, 215 W. Main St., Hamilton: Featured in June: "Harmony & Motion," a duo exhibition showcasing the works of Richie Carter and Turner Vinson. Artists' reception, June 7, 5-7 p.m.

The Clay Studio of Missoula, 11065 Hawthorne St., 543-0509, theclaystudioofmissoula.org: In June: Matthew O'Reilly resident exhibition. First Friday reception June 7, 5-8 p.m.

Dana Gallery, 246 N. Higgins Ave.: 22nd annual Plein Air Paint-Out preview with works by Deborah Harrington, David Mensing, Robert Moore, Clay Pape, Janet Sullivan and more. First Friday reception June 7, 5-8 p.m.

Frame of Mind, 1706 Brooks St., 406-549-8589, frameofmindmt.com/art-gallery: Opening June 7: "Queer Under the Big Sky," featuring LGBTQ artists Alexis Lotz, Aoife Caroselli, Britta Wulf, Emory Padgett, Jessie Smith, John Bunny Myers, Lin Bateman, Lux Shculer, Natalia Boise, Tay Kay, Syd Hoeper Will Deck, and special guest Rae Senarighi. Opening reception June 14 4-8:30 p.m. with live music, food and drinks available for purchase.

Gallery 709 in Montana Art and Framing, 709 Ronan St., 406-531-7100: In June: "Saltmine 2024: Details," showing Bev Beck Glueckert, mixed media prints; Stephen Glueckert, drawing machines and drawings; Cathryn Mallory, sculpture; Karen Rice, photogravure; Edgar Smith, paintings; Kathleen Herlihy-Paoli, paintings, and guest artist Ellen Ornitz, ceramics. First Friday, June 7, 5-9 p.m.

Murphy-Jubb Fine Art, 210 N. Higgins Ave. Suite 300, 406-728-7050, kendahljanjubb.com: In June: new trout paintings by Kendahl Jan Jubb ahead of her trout show coming in July. M. Scott Miller will be exhibiting "Nighttime in Missoula" acrylic paintings and wood fired ceramics by Richard Smith. First Friday June 7, featuring live music by the Pescaderos.

Radius Gallery, 120 N. Higgins Ave.: First Friday exhibition opening, June 7, 5-8 p.m. featuring Beth Lo and Steven Young Lee: "Redux." Works on display through July 20.

Upcycled, 517 S. Higgins Ave.: First Friday, 5 p.m. June 7 featuring Donna Erickson and Just My Type Designs.

Zootown Arts Community Center, 216 W. Main St.: Featured in June - Main Gallery: "Imprint" works by queer printmakers Dagny Walton, Colton Rothwell and Orion Bos. Blackfoot Communications Gallery: "Gay Old Time," works by Delaney Wascherol. Youth Gallery: "Rainbows," works by Youth Pride artists. First Friday, June 7, 5-8 p.m.

Art on display

Bernice's Bakery, 190 S. Third St. W.: First Friday June 7, 5 p.m. featuring "Smithereens," digital collage works by Lucas Young.

Torrents at the Confluence Center, 119 W. Main St.: First Friday, June 7, 5-8 p.m. featuring "Shake the Raw Goddess," works by Montana artists John Piacquadio, a Philipsburg artist and fly caster who paints fish, and Marlo Crocifisso, a Missoula artist who works in collage.

Imagine Nation Brewing, 1151 W. Broadway: First Friday, 5 p.m., June 7 featuring sustainable wood art by Jenna Forest.

Missoula Public Library, 455 E. Main St.: First Friday reception, 5-7 p.m., June 7 featuring "Poverello Past & Future," an interactive exhibit marking the Poverello Center's 50th anniversary.