{"id":68468,"date":"2023-07-14T12:20:50","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T18:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=68468"},"modified":"2023-07-18T13:53:35","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T19:53:35","slug":"the-face-of-utah-sculpture-is-never-the-same-twice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/the-face-of-utah-sculpture-is-never-the-same-twice\/","title":{"rendered":"The Face of Utah Sculpture is Never the Same Twice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dan Cummings, “Trust Life”<\/p><\/div>\n

There\u2019s always much to see at the annual Face of Utah Sculpture <\/i>show, especially since its recovery from pandemic closures. A fair amount of virtual ink has been spent on it over two decades, but it may be that not enough of that has concerned the individual most responsible for this along with other opportunities for local artists to show their work. Artists often spend their spare time starting galleries or curating exhibitions, but sometimes the goal is as much self-promotion as the general welfare. Perhaps because Dan Cummings has never turned the spotlight on himself, his contributions have been nodded at while other artists take home prizes, make sales, and garner recognition. After 20 years, he still brings more new artists than he does his own work to this exhibition, and it\u2019s not impossible that this very successful entrepreneur shows here primarily as a way of supporting an opportunity he no longer needs, but believes in.<\/h4>\n

\u201cTrust Life\u201d may be the clearest indication yet of Cummings\u2019 positive approach to life. His personal art, which runs the gamut of glass art techniques, isn\u2019t limited to a single philosophical point of view. Instead, he urges viewers to \u201cTrust life\u201d as much with a graceful hand gesture as with words, a promise being made before a golden labyrinth, a web-like network that may well promise that even if success proves elusive, it\u2019s impossible to fall far: the compound warren of life will catch any who venture forth. Rounding out this theme, his other entry, \u201cLeaving the Nest Too Soon,\u201d counters with a warning that it\u2019s wise not to seek adventure prematurely. This one, with it\u2019s hypnotic black-and-white nest, tracks leading away, and at its center, an ambiguous skull, might have been called \u201cTrust Home, Too.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Installation view of The Face of Utah Sculpture<\/p><\/div>\n

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Johnathan Morgan\u2019s \u201cHemeroscopium\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Among the several student artists Cummings introduced to UCCC, the one who comes closest to this possible theme is Andrew Shaffer, a glass blower whose piece might not have been accepted as sculpture. That said, \u201cShift\u201d may surprise those who peer into its admittedly shallow, yet deceptive depths. Visitors could make the trip worthwhile by contemplating these three pieces, along with the glass flowers of Lori Scharf, Mitch Bedke’s contemplative faces, and especially Barbara Busche, whose captivating \u201cFabric of Humanity\u201d returns to Cummings\u2019 opening statement.<\/h4>\n

The Face of Utah Sculpture<\/em> is an annual show, but like stepping into a river, it\u2019s never the same twice. This year, the presence of bronze seems stronger than usual. Johnathan Morgan\u2019s \u201cPhoenix\u201d and \u201cHemeroscopium\u201d (Greek for the place where the sun sets), Dahrl Thomson\u2019s \u201cUndercurrent,\u201d and Jeannine Young\u2019s \u201cElle,\u201d suggest the range of both medium and local talent.<\/h4>\n

Suz Larson\u2019s fused glass has been a mainstay of The Face of Utah Sculpture<\/i> over the years, but in \u201cFountain of Youth,\u201d wherein she foregrounds the chains rather than the ornaments they usually support, she gives voice to what might be its unspoken theme: <\/i>\u201cAlways strive to see through new eyes.\u201d Here\u2019s the oldest medium in art, taking part in a fresh start.<\/h4>\n
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Suzanne Larson, “Fountain of Youth,” (detail)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Face of Utah Sculpture XIX, Utah Cultural Celebration Center, West Valley City, through Aug. 30<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s always much to see at the annual Face of Utah Sculpture show, especially since its recovery from pandemic closures. A fair amount of virtual ink has been spent on it over two decades, but it may be that not enough of that has concerned the individual most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":847,"featured_media":68470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[4316,3074,999,4315,606,502],"class_list":["post-68468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts","tag-barbara-busche","tag-dahrl-thomson","tag-dan-cummings","tag-jonathan-morgan","tag-suzanne-larson","tag-utah-cultural-celebration-center"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Cummings-Trust-scaled.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-15 11:14:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/847"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68477,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68468\/revisions\/68477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}