The pride of Springville is its art museum—unassuming and historic, hosting the Spring Salon, now in its 85th year. This is a monumental showcase of exceptional Utah art and artists. Although Springville’s location might make it inaccessible to some, the poignancy of the work is accessible to all who make the journey to attend this unique and honored Utah tradition.
From the 1,102 juried entries have emerged 253 accepted pieces of a quality of excellence that extends throughout many rooms filled with painting and sculpture. Stylistic approaches range from the traditional to the avant-garde. Work by artists Brian Thomas Kershisnik, Blue Critchfield, Ron Richmond, James C. Christensen, J. Kirk Richards, Patrick Marco Devonas, Wynter Sophia Jones (“Cotton” is pictured), Jeanne Leighton and Lundberg Clarke signify more than merely vast aesthetic diversity, but the diversity of perspectives and reflections of life in Utah.
The 253 objects displayed are bound by a common thread: the immense dynamic of provocative, informative, emotive, sublime and passionate perceptions of what constitutes life in this state, seen through the lens of many artists. The show replaces outdated myths of a culturally homogenous or politically partisan Utah with a broader, more accurate representation of individual identity and plurality of voices that is an emerging reality of Utah today.
Spring Salon @ Springville Museum of Art, 126 E. 400 South, Springville, 801- 489-2727, through July 5. SMA.Nebo.edu.