I was at Cowboy Coffee waiting for a friend. A man walked in with his wife, and pointed to a few paintings on the wall. A quiet conference between the two ensued. They called the barista over. Then the louder exclamations, “fantastic,” the man said. “We’ll take both.” The paintings, by Teton Valley artist Clint Green, would soon have a new home.
Gallery space for local artists is hard to come by. Coffee shops and restaurants have become the next best thing. The wall space at Elevated Grounds is so coveted that their solo exhibition calendar is booked out through September 2014. One artist I spoke to said the West Bank establishment was one of her two favorite places to exhibit. “I get more positive feedback from locals while hanging at Elevated Grounds, and the openings there are always a blast.”
High traffic and a great location means artists also do well at Pearl Street Bagels. The owners are dedicated to showing local art and include a broad range of genres. I’ve seen great work there by Alissa Davies, Emily Boespflug, Ed Lavino, Emily Paul, Hannah Hardaway, Peggy Prugh, and many others. “We like to have a variety of work,” PSB co-owner Heather Gould told me. “We ask artists to keep their prices reasonable for the work shown here, which makes it accessible to everyone.”
PSB in the process of revamping its curatorial calendar, and are currently booked through 2014. Like Elevated Grounds, the shows change over on the 15th of the month.
Other hot spots for local artwork are Snake River Brewing, Betty Rock, and Café 6311. Jackson artist Ben Roth says coffee shops and cafes are “a great way to see what’s happening ‘now’ in town artistically.” Though Roth has not shown his work in Jackson coffee shops, he encourages other artists to utilize cafe shows in order to keep motivated. “There’s nothing like a deadline to motivate you to create work.” Plus, Roth says, “The act of selling your work, no matter the price, is so affirming.”
