Capital City Arts Initiative [CCAI]
Carson City, Nevada


January 3 , 2006
PRESS RELEASE

"Great Basin Gallery 20th Anniversary Exhibition" at CCAI's Carson City Couthouse Gallery


Twenty years ago, artist Jeff Nicholson and arts activist Rick Davis opened the Great Basin Gallery, a modest gallery and frame shop at the corner of Curry and Second Street in Carson City's historic district. On February 16, the Capital City Arts Initiative [CCAI] will open an anniversary exhibition at its Carson City Courthouse gallery to commemorate the remarkable accomplishments of this invaluable asset of the area's arts and culture scene.

A festive opening reception will take place on Thursday, February 16 at the Courthouse Gallery from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and the public is cordially invited. The Courthouse is located at 885 East Musser Street in Carson City. The exhibition will continue through May 26.

The exhibition will feature paintings by three of the gallery's premier artists: Jeff Nicholson, Jean LeGassick and Ron Arthaud. Over the years the Great Basin Gallery has featured dozens of exhibits of work that celebrate the West and the unique approach to painting embraced by local artists.

Jim McCormick, University of Nevada, Reno professor emeritus, notes: "Ron, Jean and Jeff are artists who bring a high level of sensibility and invention to their depictions of the Nevada outback." Jeff Nicholson's precise water-colors and oil paintings, rendered in a photorealist style capture the light and atmosphere of the Comstock. Using the time honored traditions of plein air painting [working out in the open on site] Jean LeGassick's impressionist works explore the textures of northern Nevada's landscapes. Ron Arthaud, a resident of northeastern Nevada's artists community Tuscarora, makes acute observations about the unique desert environment in which he lives and paints.

In a catalog essay commissioned for the exhibition arts writer William L. Fox notes: "The artists of the Great Basin Gallery carry forth a landscape tradition that has long been fundamental in America to our understanding of where we live, and how we make sense of the land around us. The residents of northern Nevada are fortunate to live with a venue that nurtures those artists, and to in turn be so well nourished by them. And that symbolizes how the land itself takes care of its citizens." Professor McCormick adds: "This exhibition is a well-deserved anniversary party to celebrate two decades of excellence."

The Capital City Arts Initiative is an artist-centered organization committed to the encouragement and support of artists and the arts and culture of Carson City and the surrounding region. The Initiative is committed to community building for the area's diverse adult and youth populations through art exhibitions, live events, arts education programs, artist residencies, and its web site.

CCAI is funded in part by the Carson City Redevelopment Authority; the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the James W. Calhoun Foundation; Gayle Crowell; Western Nevada Community College Foundation; Carson High School; Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital; Carson City Library; Nevada Hispanic Services-Carson City; CCAI's Board of Directors; BrAG, CCAI's 'Brilliant Advisory Group' and CCAI's growing membership. CCAI extends special thanks to Joe McCarthy, Carson City Public Safety Complex/Carson City Courthouse, Gail Ford, Capital City Entertainment and Simpson Creative.

For additional information visit CCAI’s website at www.arts-initiative.org.

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