Regional Artists Display their Work at the Hospital in Salida
By Jennifer Dempsey
More than 50 regional artists are showcased in the hallways and waiting areas of the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) in Salida in a permanent collection and rotating exhibition.
The artwork is selected through a juried process by the hospital’s Art Advisory Committee which believes “art can help promote a healing environment,” said committee member Dan Downing. “We also recognized the reputation of our area as a nationally renowned art community and we wanted to build on that. To do this the committee decided to purchase art from local and regional artists to become part of a permanent collection.”
Among the artists represented are Roberta Smith, Rosamonda McAtee, Dee Sapper, PJ Bergin, Dave Bredemeier, Steve Tait, Cary Carlson, Larry Brady, Marsha Brady, Holly Blitstein, Joal Cronenwett, Gloria Jean Countryman, Paul Byars, Pat Oglesby-Torian, David Passarelli, Dan Randall, Joannette Sieve, Sally Snyder, Sherrie York, Kate Cox, Carol Cartwright, Sally Mather, Beatrice Strawn, Jude Silva and Fay Golson.
“One surprising gift that came with the process (was) I had the opportunity to look through artwork by dozens of artists, and rediscover some works that I had seen without seeing,” said Katherine Benke of Insight Art Connection, who coordinated the show. One of those rediscoveries: Fay Golson. “She’s a painter/mixed media artist in Salida, and she’s mixing it up with encaustics to create powerful contemporary compositions, often with an Asian influence.”
The idea for the art show was developed by the committee as construction for the new hospital began three years ago.
“A few of us were talking about how the new facility should be decorated and the idea to use local and regional artists sounded like a good one,” Downing said.
Original committee members were Downing, Benke, Hospital CEO Ken Leisher, former hospital publicity director and art collector Joan Michaud, artist and collector Conrad Nelson, collector and former Santa Fe gallery owner Joan Clark, and HRMMC Marketing and Public Relations Manager Marji Ackerman.
“We guarantee each artist who exhibits with us that the hospital will purchase at least one piece,” Ackerman said.
The committee decided to purchase art rather than ask for contributions, “in order to maintain high standards,” Downing he said. “Artwork may be contributed to the collection but must first be approved and accepted by the art committee. I am extremely proud of the work our committee has done over the past three years. I am always thrilled to hear the positive comments from visitors who have noticed the artwork adorning the walls of our facility. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
25% of all art sales go to the HRRMC Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to soliciting, securing and managing donations in support of programs, services and state-of-the-art technology at the hospital.
The hospital is committed to hosting four exhibits per year in the main hallway of the first floor. Currently on display is “Splash,” a series of trout paintings by Nora Bushong Larimer.
Larimer, who owns the Rock Run Gallery in Buena Vista, paints with vibrant colors that sometimes “are not realistic to the viewer not willing to stretch his imagination,” she said. “My hope is to help the viewer to see the world around him or her with ‘new eyes’ – to see purple in the water and trees, for instance, when they normally wouldn’t; to connect to their surroundings in a new way or to visually go somewhere new.”
For more information on the collection contact Marji Ackerman, Marketing Manager at HRRMC – 719-530-2217.
