Current Exhibition

Memories in Nature

Western Wyoming Community College’s (Western) Art Gallery is excited to exhibit Memories in Nature, an exhibition of artworks made by local artist: Shane Steiss. The show will run from March 8 to April 16, with an opening reception for the public on March 15 from 4-6pm. Visitors are able to visit the exhibition daily from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM except for holiday closures. 

The artworks on display demonstrate Steiss’s unique works of mixed media painting, which are rooted in the natural world, and carry personal significance as evidence of familial bonds forged in nature. 

The artworks featured in Memories in Nature focus on themes of nature, memory, familial connection, loss, and emotion. Steiss’s work often features aspen trees because, to him, aspen groves are special places of solace and meditation.  

“When I am in an aspen grove, I feel the strongest connection to my lost family members. It is a place of reflection and meditation. When I include aspen trees in my paintings they are from specific places I have strong emotional attachments to,” says Steiss. 

Shane Steiss graduated from Green River High School, attended Western, and then the University of Wyoming studying Art. Shane is an educator at Green River High School where he currently teaches Art.  

Morning Aspens by Shane Steiss, Oil Paints, 2023

Western’s Gallery aims to promote arts-centered learning for college students and community members alike. We hope that Memories in Nature will inspire gallery patrons to reflect on the importance of personal connections. We also hope that the exhibition can broaden community members’ understanding of Western Landscape-inspired artwork.

If you have any questions about this show, the Art Gallery’s programming in general, or would like to purchase artwork featured in the exhibition, please contact Ben Nathan at bnathan@westernewyoming.edu.

 

To learn more about Western’s art program, visit westernwyoming.edu/academics.