The Arty Party
March 23, 2016 Big news from the Coast. Carolyn's story is posted on AspenSpin unedited.
There will be a fabulous artists’ showcase, The Arty Party, at the home of Carolyn Rogers, my adored colleague from grad school days at Wharton, this April in Portola Valley, California, right next to Stanford. She and her husband, Tom Stepien, CEO of Primus Power, a high-tech big battery start-up, will host four artists in their home, including two Colorado artists: watercolorist Susan Montague of Denver and constructivist Kris Cox, who resides in a stunning home in Basalt; and one former Colorado artist, painter Kalani Engles. On hand for live entertainment is Bundy Browne with Rick Sigman, Bay Area guitar players who blend Rhythm, Blues, and Country with a little Reggae.
Kris Cox, originally from Los Angeles, studied at Claremont and received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has been featured in Galleries across the U.S and in Santa Fe at the renowned LewAllen Galleries. He has been celebrated at more than 50 solo exhibitions. His work is included in the collections of LA County Museum of Art, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Oakland Art Museum, General Mills, and Prudential Insurance Art Collections. From his bio: “Operating at the nexus of Modernist composition and venerable craftsmanship, the art of Kris Cox deftly balances the mechanics of industry with the poetics of the handmade.” His background in ceramics and an impressive technical knowledge allows the creation of complex modern panels that are both minimal and offer intriguing nuances under close inspection.
Susan Montague creates watercolor portraits capturing the human experience in expressive faces of the common man. Using layer upon layer of transparent paint, she creates the mood and character of her subjects. Susan, a native of Colorado with a BFA from CSU, is an award-winning member of the American Watercolor, the National Watercolor, the Western Federation of Watercolor, the Colorado Watercolor and the Texas Watercolor Societies. She has been published in Southwest Art and Watercolor Artist Magazines, including cover images. Susan was featured in an exhibition at the Grants Pass Museum of Art in Oregon and is represented by gallery Elements 5280 in Greenwood Village, Colorado. She won top prize at the NY based American Watercolor Society Exhibition taking the Bronze Medal of Honor.
Also on hand will be three California based artists: Painter Kalani Engles and Graphic Artist, Scott J. Cooper. Kalani Engles studied at Stanford; her organic impressionistic and abstract paintings and sculptures are shown in galleries in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Notably, she lived in Colorado for years with museum shows in Fort Collins and Casper, Wyoming with representation at Inkfish Gallery in Denver. Scott J. Cooper is an artist and entrepreneur living in Copenhagen. With influence from his days as a printmaker, his watercolor paintings carry a theme of the human figure with a penchant for dark comedy, including shadowy characters, lyrical dancers, plant life, and ladders to nowhere.
http://scottjcooper.com/scott-cooper
Carolyn Rogers, art, the arty party, tom stepien 
