Montana Triennial: 2012

A Triennial is intended to serve as a survey exhibition of contemporary work from a particular region. The Triennial is a perfect fit for the Missoula Art Museum’s programming, whose mission states, “… strives to engage artists and audiences in the creative exploration of contemporary art relevant to our community, state, and region.”

Most often Triennials are selected by a respected juror or panel of jurors from outside of the region. Keith Wells, Curator of Art at Washington State University’s Museum of Art, was tapped to be this year’s juror. Wells is no stranger to Missoula having curated the Galen Hansen exhibition at MAM in 2008 and presenting a rousing gallery talk. MAM would like to thank Keith Wells for this Herculean effort in the role of Juror for Montana Triennial 2012. Wells selected just 39 artists to be represented this year, or roughly 25% of the artists and works that were submitted.

The Second Montana Triennial was hosted at MAM, May 4–August 25, 2012. The exhibition will be displayed in the Carnegie, Aresty, Silver, and Shott Galleries, doubling the space and effort dedicated to this important juried exhibition. To that end, over 100 works were selected for inclusion. The exhibition was open to all artists living and working in the state of Montana, will feature work by both established and emerging artists statewide and include a variety of media. This statewide event invited artists from every corner of the state to submit and will produce a full-color catalog including the selected artists, complete with the juror's essay. Please join the museum for the extensive programming associated with the exhibition.

Below are Keith Wells’ comments illuminating his curatorial vision:

Being Judgmental about the Montana Triennial: 2012 by Keith Wells

"I love my job as Curator for the Museum of Art at Washington State University. Having taught several classes in art history and theory, my philosophy is to open minds rather than fill them in. I am certain that my experience as both an artist and instructor helps to inform my decisions as a curator when making art selections for an exhibit."

The Montana Triennial: 2012 artists are:

Joel Allen, Bozeman

Eric Ashcraft, Missoula

Lela Autio, Missoula

Larry Blackwood, Bozeman

Pamela Caughey, Hamilton

Andy Cline, Missoula

Melvin Cooper, Lonepine

Ken Dvorak, Seeley Lake

Tom Foolery, Dillon

Lauren Grabelle, Bigfork

Sheryl Hester, Kalispell

Sally Hickman, Missoula

Jenesse Hilton, St. Ignatius

Lorie Hoffman, Bridger

Tim Holmes, Helena

Hall Jameson, Helena

Amy Jane, Missoula

Peter Keefer, Missoula

Louise Lamontagne, St Ignatius

Kay Langland, Missoula

Jennifer Li, Kalispell

Toni Matlock, Missoula

Alan McNiel, Troy

Shawna Moore, Whitefish

Richard Notkin, Helena

Kirsten Pabst, Missoula

Jennifer Pulchinski, Bozeman

Katherine Quick, Stevensville

Alison Reintjes, Missoula

Kathryn Schmidt, Bozeman

Barb Schwarz Karst, Missoula

Cynthia Swidler, Missoula

Thomas Thornton, Bozeman

Shalene Valenzuela, Missoula

Willem Volkersz, Bozeman

Ralph Wiegmann, Bozeman

R. David Wilson, Missoula

Sukha Worob, Bozeman

MAM would like to thank the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Pat & Jeff Aresty, and Montana Cultural Trust for their support of Montana Triennial: 2012.