John Simon Talk

John Simon speaks in front of Chuckanut Mountain Range while Andrew Vallee and Dederick Ward listen on.

Slightly belated, but hey, we're still getting better at blogging! The photo above is of John Simon and terrific work of his Chuckanut Mountain Range. Chuckanut Mountain Range was originally completed in time for our 2008 exhibition "Northwest Mountain Invitational." John said that if he had extra time, he would have added in more of the fall colors as the leaves continued to change but we would not have wanted him to change a thing! The work was one of the key hits of the show with many "almost" buyers. John visited the work several times throughout the two months of the exhibition and I had the pleasure of watching our patrons get lost in the wisps of fog depicted.

After the work didn't sell, Smith & Vallee Gallery decided to buy the work from John for re-sale. When Clayton James came to visit the exhibition he commented that it was a work that should not be owned by one person but instead a work in a museum, available to a broader audience. The gallery and friends of the artist pulled together funds and successfully donated the work to the Museum of Northwest Art. This is the first work by John Simon in their collection and at this talk, John discussed his art and his intentions for this work in particular. Great talk! Mark your calendars for our March solo exhibition of new work by John Simon!