Most Influential Person in Arts 2007

Lyndsay McCandless: The most influential person in Jackson Hole's arts scene in 2007

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

By Kate Balog

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - The past year was a banner year for contemporary art in the Tetons. Jackson and Victor, Idaho, witnessed the opening of many independent galleries and co-ops with contemporary artists, a younger demographic, and new vision of the role of art in the community.

In Victor, Heather Keller and Michele Walters began Ciao Gallery, and Ryan Haworth opened Haworth Gallery. In Jackson, Travis and Lisa Walker and Tristan Greszko started Teton Art Lab, while Bland Hoke created the public venue ArtSpot on West Broadway.
All of the above were important figures in the area’s art community and played enormous roles in pushing the arts and culture; however, one person emerged as the most influential.

Lyndsay McCandless earned the distinction because through her gallery, Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, she has brought dialogue, philosophy, social commentary, boisterous monthly parties and contemporary artists to the small mountain town known for its traditional Western art, and helped pave the way for the newer art venues.
McCandless moved to Jackson Hole in 1991 after graduating from Princeton University, where she divided her time between studio painting, art history and playing for her alma mater’s division one women’s ice hockey team. It’s her ice hockey playing that brings competitive drive to her feminine, creative and spiritual personality. It also gives her the strength to weather the financial ups and downs of owning and operating a gallery while raising three daughters aged 5, 11 and 13.

In the beginning, she worked odd jobs for two years. Then she left Jackson for two years to teach art and coach soccer and ice hockey at an East Coast boarding school. But she returned to Jackson to teach at the Art Association and work at Martin Harris Gallery, where she stayed for five years.

With the support of two local artists who believed in her vision, she opened her own gallery four years ago in the front two rooms of her current industrial space on South Jackson Street. The relocation of the retail store Home Again allowed her to expand into the back room a year and a half ago, which gave her enough space to start her successful First Friday events in November 2006.

“Art has no off-season,” McCandless says. “I wanted to let locals know that I do not only cater to tourists in the high season.”

Three of her currently exhibiting artists are Ted Waddell, Ron Kingswood and Jane Rosen. Rosen relocated to the Big Sur area from New York to pursue her artistic fascination with animals and spirituality. Waddell and Kingswood were with McCandless from the beginning. Although very different in style and format, both are known for their abstracted interpretations of wildlife.

McCandless said she chooses all her artists based on her connection with their work and personalities. Recently, she connected with two Seattle jewelry designers whose company, Chumil, produces unique, chunky, sculptural pieces that McCandless will show and sell in the price range of $45 to $800. The jewelry is hand-constructed using sterling silver, 14-karat gold-fill, unusual beads and wire.

McCandless hopes that non-art connoisseurs will venture into her showroom and surprise themselves by connecting to art that is not necessary aesthetic in the traditional sense.
“Art can be hard and ugly and painful,” she said. “It’s not always beautiful.”
For example, two sculptures by Jane Rosen, “Hoof One” and “Hoof Two,” are interesting, comical and thoughtful in the way the abstracted forms completely capture the essence of horse legs and hooves, but they are certainly not pretty by any standard definition. It is all about the unspoken, emotional connection. After connecting with a piece, a person might decide to buy it instead of another pair of skis.
McCandless has sold works for $650 and $65,000, but she wants people to know they should come to her gallery even if they have no desire to buy anything.

“Art has affected me in a positive way, and I want to share it with others,” she said. “There is often a mystique of snobbery regarding art. It bothers me. Art might not be financially available to the masses, but at least the experience should be accessible to everyone.”

The future should continue to be exciting for Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary. She has dubbed her neighborhood “SoBo” – South of Broadway – a hip and vibrant section of downtown Jackson that includes Rocky Vertone’s Full Circle Frameworks, the Brew Pub (a venue for many local contemporary artists) and the Center for the Arts.

She envisions the area becoming a bohemian haven, where contemporary galleries and other venues all reside within walking distance. She also wants to see her neighborhood lead the way in the environmental movement. Her gallery has made some changes to become an example in sustainable living: She uses 100 percent recycled paper and vegetable oil-based ink for her invitations, serves organic wine and locally brewed beer at openings and events, and accept donations for the Murie Center.

A cool, hip visionary who is giddy about her artists and their art, McCandless brims over with ideas about future shows and installations. With the help of her assistants, Sam Fitz and Natalie Balthrop, her gallery will continue to offer thought-provoking shows, putting SoBo on the map and establishing Jackson Hole as a contemporary art center in the West.

“Jackson has a strong anchor of traditional Western art, and it’s a fabulous part of our culture, but that vision of Western art has been expanded,” she said.

Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, at 130 S Jackson, will stay open late on Friday for the Holiday Stroll, a downtown gallery walk, 5-8 p.m. Contact the gallery at 734-0649.