A C&I fan favorite has relocated to Colorado, where he’s still busy making edgy, thrilling art we want to amass into a killer collection.
It seems like whenever I start congratulating myself on saving money, I find some more art I want to own. Wait — do I need it or do I just want it, I ask myself, as save-more-money gurus tell you to do.
But here’s the thing about me and art: I actually do need it. That might be overstating things, but as I’ve explained to friends and my ex-husband, being able to look at wonderful art on my own walls keeps me off the shrink’s couch.
Which brings me to the latest from Dolan Geiman. We profiled him back in the October 2013 issue of C&I, so we were due for an update — especially now as we roll into Day of the Dead season, when the cultural vibe and amazing texture of Geiman’s work resonate with just the right boldness.
We caught up with Geiman as he and his wife (and administrator and COO), Ali Marie, were loading their van for an upcoming show in Houston. The show in H-Town is this weekend (October 13 – 14). A little more lead time: They’ll be hosting their first-ever open studio on Saturday, December 8, in Englewood, Colorado (RSVP required to receive address).
But don’t seek them out in their former Chicago location: The Geimans have moved to Colorado, which they say has been “a wonderful change of scenery for us.”
We love this explanation for the move — and for Geiman’s Western vibe — from his website:
“There is a strong Western vibe in your art. Being a boy from Virginia, what drew you to this aesthetic? Did it inspire you to come to Colorado?
“I create my art like all poets and writers and musicians create their work: I move from place to place and try to make sense of the symbols, the theology, the trash and the treasure, and then I seek to create icons out of the myths and legends of these places using any material at hand. ... I don’t think [that inspired the move to Colorado]. I believe you move somewhere because you have to, because you love or hate people, because someone dies or leaves or goes away or is born, because you are sick of the city or because you are lonely in the country. It wasn’t inspiration that drove me to move here. I can be inspired by a stick in a bowl of soup. I moved to Colorado because I couldn't spend any more time walking on concrete in the big city and because all of my artwork needed a place to grow. Plus I like to look at moving water and I like the fact that mountain lions still live here.”
Reading that and clicking through an online slideshow of some of his new pieces I want to pull up a chair and gaze at art. If I concentrate on my deep breathing at the same time, I can tick off “Meditate every day” from my list of things that are meant to help me achieve what my former shrink told me were the goals: contentment, tranquility, and inspiration.
OK, maybe it’s not the kind of art you meditate to. But the kind of art that renews your zest for life? Oh yeah.
Upcoming Shows: Dolan Geiman
October 13 – 14, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Bayou City Art Festival, downtown Houston
December 8
First annual Dolan Geiman Open Studio, Englewood, Colorado
RSVP required. Request an invitation via email: [email protected].
For more information on Dolan Geiman, visit the artist’s website. Photography: Courtesy Dolan Geiman.
