ucross foundation

For Immediate Release Contact: Tracey Kikut (307) 737-2291 ext. 214 [email protected]

New Exhibition Opens at Ucross Foundation Art Gallery (We)st Maria Rose & E.K. Wimmer April 18 – June 10, 2016 Artist Reception on Saturday, May 7, 2016

Ucross, Wyoming – April 14, 2016 – A new exhibition, (We)st Maria Rose & E.K. Wimmer, will open at the Ucross Foundation Art Gallery on Monday, April 18. This unique multidisciplinary exhibit features 20 paintings by Maria Rose, along with photographs, collages and video by E.K., representing twenty years of relationship between the two artists. As they state, “(We)st follows the trajectory of two lives intertwined, exploring different perspectives on shared experiences. Measuring the course of our relationship over two decades and four western states: New Mexico, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming…the art reflects the highs and lows of a shared life: marriage, education, children, loss, growth and change.”

A reception for the artists will take place on Saturday, May 7, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The event, which is open to the public at no charge, will include a gallery talk by Maria Rose and E.K. at 4:15 p.m. followed by music performed by a string trio affiliated with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. E.K. Wimmer was an artist-in-residence at Ucross Foundation in 2014 and currently serves as Curator at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper.

The exhibition will be on view through June 10 and is supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Award-winning Wyoming writer Nina McConigley, author of Cowboys and East Indians, has written the exhibition essay.

MARIA ROSE WIMMER was born in Montana and has worked and lived throughout the West. She began formal art training at age 13. In 1999 she attended college at Eastern New Mexico University on the Lorraine Schula Scholarship for Art. Maria Rose later received a BA from the University of Montana and her Master’s Degree in Art History from the University of Denver. She moved to Casper, Wyoming in 2009. Her work has been seen locally at the Corridor Gallery, the Goodstein Gallery and The Nicolaysen Art Museum as well as nationally. Maria Rose has work in private collections throughout North America, Europe and Australia including Sydney, Portland, Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles. Maria Rose also teaches Art History for Casper College and on- line courses for Southern New Hampshire University. She gives workshops at the Nicolaysen Art Museum, Art 321 and Scarlow’s Gallery.

E.K. WIMMER is a multi-media artist and curator currently serving as Curator of Art for the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming. He was born in New York, was raised in New Mexico and has lived throughout the West. He studied photography at Eastern New Mexico University and Art History at the University of Montana. E.K. received his MA from the School of Art and Art History at the University of Denver. In addition to collage and photography, he works in video installation, painting, film composition and printmaking. His work has been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and can be found in collections nationally spanning New York to Los Angeles and internationally in Europe, Asia and Australia.

The Ucross Foundation Art Gallery is located ½ mile east of the intersection of Highways 14 and 16 East in Ucross. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. For further information, call (307) 737-2291 or email [email protected]