border
Utah artist Simon Winegar and Amanda Guenther, curator of Bone Creek Museum, pose with one of Winegar's paintings at a reception May 28. Winegar's work is part of the exhibit, "Landmark Barns," on display through Sept. 4. Gabrielle Comte/ Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art

Bone Creek Museum draws artist’s praise

Posted by the Columbus Telegram

Utah based artist Simon Winegar was impressed by his first visit to the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art on May 28.

Finding a museum dedicated to agrarian art in an area that is still centered on agriculture was a pleasant surprise, he said. Art lovers should not be misled by the small size of the museum.

“I’m blown away that there is a museum of this caliber,” he said. “It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality.”

Winegar’s visit brought insight into the exhibit, “Landmark Barns” in which his paintings are joined by those of Gary Ernest Smith and Jared Sanders, who also live in Utah.

Winegar discussed his work with Bone Creek Curator Amanda Guenther. He will return in August for a painting workshop.

“I love what Bone Creek Museum has done here in David City,” he said. “I’m just happy to be a part of it. I am happy that other people think barns are as cool as I do.”

Bone Creek’s information about “Landmark Barns” includes this description:

“Barns are a necessary feature of any farm or ranch and are also a popular subject for artists. Often the condition of one’s barn best illustrates the health of the farm. Each of these 3 artists have strong reputations within contemporary Western Art circles and each has a strong passion for the current state of our natural resources and their preservation. G.E. Smith is like the grandfather of contemporary representational regionalism.

Each of the painters have their own style that they would bring to the subject; Smith is probably the most abstracted with graphic color fields, and Winegar’s work has a more nostalgic feeling with atmospheric effects. Sanders is in the middle. Joining the Utah artists is five impressive ink drawings of barns by local artist Larry Guyton of Crete.

For more information about this exhibit and upcoming events, visit www.bonecreek.org. A list of major sponsors and interesting facts about the art and artists are part of the displays.