Cubby West Spain and Ansley West Rivers are sisters who grew up together in Atlanta, Georgia. The few acres behind their home was a magical undeveloped oasis. A place that captured their imagination and allowed them to live barefoot, a bit dirty and with a sense of independence in an otherwise urban environment. As adults, they both sought out the wide, open landscapes of the West. With a shared passion for running rivers, hiking tall mountains, and roaming undeveloped spaces, both sisters wound up calling Idaho home.
And as their ‘backyard’ changed so did their work as artists.
As a painter, Spain uses pattern and intentional brush strokes to explore subjects such as the seemingly simple flora and dramatic seasonal changes of Idaho’s landscapes, as well as the majestic American Buffalo that once covered the American West.
For the past ten years, Rivers has been photographing American rivers, including her own watershed in Idaho’s Teton Valley. Using historical photographic techniques and a large format film camera, Rivers layers several shots on each piece of film with masking made in camera to create an expansion on the singular landscape image.
Both sisters share an artistic practice that is centered upon the intention to bring environmental issues into view through the beauty of a landscape unmarred by development. Through their work, they explore the sometimes-radical idea that the natural world is best left to itself… like children left to play in their backyard.
Captions:
Summer in the Sawtooths
By Cubby West Spain
acrylic on panel
40”x 50”
Snake River, Swan Valley, Idaho
By Ansley West Rivers
photograph
40” x 50”
340 Walnut Ave. | Ketchum
208.254.1097
hemmingsgallery.com
