Dennis Ziemienski freely admits he’s a cloud guy. “My head’s always been in the clouds,” he says. “Always.”
It’s fitting then that his newest show at Altamira Fine Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is titled Under the Western Skiesand filled with magnificent images of clouds.
Westbound, oil on canvas, 72 x 84 in.
One of these paintings, the largest in the show at 72 by 84 inches, is Westbound, showing a train traversing the land under a banner of glorious blue clouds hiding a golden sunset. The artist says he was inspired by a photograph his daughter, and frequent model, took while on vacation. The painting was so large and the clouds were so abstract that Ziemienski painted the top three quarters of the painting upside down.
Cattle Drive, oil on canvas, 60 x 72 in.
Other pieces in the show include some of the most iconic subjects in the West: Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, and destinations within the parks such as Mount Moran and Old Faithful. Needless to say, Ziemienski is not the first artist to paint these subjects. But he brings his own voice to the paintings, which freshens the subjects up for new collectors.
Evening at the Rawhide, oil on canvas, 48 x 72 in.
“Artists have painted these places over and over again, and when I look at these places I think of some of my heroes and imagine them being there. Obviously, I don’t want to copy them, which is why it’s nice to have my own style so I can make these places mine,” he says. One example is Chris Craft Beneath Moran, showing the iconic wooden boat framed against Mount Moran above Jackson Lake in Wyoming. “People in Jackson Hole will know these locations very well, but they won’t have seen them like this.”
Ziemienski will have eight new pieces in the show. Nearly all of them are large and will command attention on a wall.
Chris Craft Beneath Moran, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.
“Dennis Ziemienski captures the spirit of the West with a cinematic clarity that feels both timeless and fresh,” says Altamira Fine Art owner, Jason Williams. “His bold compositions and rich, sun-drenched palette evoke a nostalgic yet elevated vision of the landscapes and characters that define our region. This exhibition celebrates Dennis’s masterful ability to turn everyday moments into enduring icons.”
The show runs from July 1 to 15 in Jackson Hole, with a reception on July 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. —
Altamira Fine Art 172 Center Street, Suite #100 » Jackson, WY 83001 » (307) 739-4700 » www.altamiraart.com
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