Those who live in and visit the Wood River Valley are blessed with many things. Oh, yes, there are mountains and fresh air and bluebird skies, all of which are blended together in something lovely, called nature. Then there are the man-made aspects: architecture and art. So, one brilliant gallery owner, Andria Friesen, surprised no one more than herself when she decided to blend the two together and create a one-time gallery out of real estate.
It only took one look at one of the lines and colors in a finished but vacant single-family home at the Lodges at Trail Creek before she pictured the works of artist Enrico Embroli hanging on the walls. The Lodges are jointly owned by four partners: Michael Cortese, Steve Kearns, Jack Armstrong and Mike Montgomery. The development is located at the corner of Spruce Street and Second Avenue in Ketchum.
After proposing the concept to Sotheby's International Realty, which has the listing for The Lodges, and the owners of the development, she convinced Embroli, who lives and paints in Albuquerque, N.M., to participate.
Embroli was enthused. On Saturday, Aug. 19, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., he will be in attendance for the opening of his exhibition as part of this unique association. The result is a "stunning pairing of art and architecture," Friesen said. "This is the Embroli show, as opposed to the show opening later at the gallery."
The exhibition will remain up and open through the following week.
"This event is especially timely with The Community Library's recent Tour of Homes, bringing heightened attention to the union of fine art and architecture," Friesen said. "This 20th anniversary year for my gallery also marks 20 years of Friesen Gallery's representation of Embroli. He is the only one of my original artists I still represent. The Lodges on Trail Creek is a perfect showcase for his new body of work, and I am beyond thrilled with this collaboration."
To see fine art in a residence is an opportunity to set the art on a level with the architecture rather than as an afterthought. This residence, in particular, effectively suits this belief.
Indeed, Embroli's work is enchanting, active and energetic, both in color and texture. Each piece is built on the canvas as a two-dimensional sculpture using a patented sculptural compound that Embroli has registered with the Library of Congress.
Embroli compares this body of work to "thought energies," where "multiple thoughts co-exist and overlap in a variety of manifestations." Lumps, patches of gravel, crackled swirls, scratches and other elements add tension and dimension.
"The last thing he does is add the color," Friesen explained. "They are literally sculptures."
The home in which the opening will take place was finished with deep chocolate-stained alder accents. The walls are painted a creamy off-white. Embroli's pieces are framed in dark in many instances, and the colors pop out of the canvases when placed in the space.
The space is also blessed with big windows and ample natural light. It sits above Trail Creek, where 20 feet of preserved riverfront serves as a buffer between the lodges and the river. Numerous old trees, the backside of Dollar Mountain and the meandering creek lend the lodges peace and privacy, despite being only a few blocks from downtown Ketchum. They are also quite large, something that is not readily visible from the street. The one where the opening will take place is 5,535 square feet.
"It's a real home you can move into," Cortese said.
Friesen nodded enthusiastically. "That's the excitement. It's done, but it's empty. It shows how art can be the first thought rather than the second."
Embroli's paintings are inspired by frescoed walls from Renaissance Italy to ancient markings of Asia and the Americas. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and his corporate collections include Ford, Gannett, Humana, Pennzoil, Swiss Bank of North America (Chicago), Trammel Crow, Westinghouse and Xerox.
Through Friesen, Cortese and his partners, Embroli's paintings can be seen this weekend as a tapestry of one man's vision woven together with architecture, nature and enthusiasm.
Andria Friesen, left, and Michael Cortese hold Enrico Embroli?s ?Untitled, Transcendent Echo,? in one of the Lodges at Trail Creek. (78? H x 52" W mixed media and oil on canvas 2006). Photo by Willy Cook
