A Unique Pairing

Western Art Collector | July 2023

LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS BY LANNY GRANT AND JEWELRY BY BO JOE ARRIVE AT CLAGGETT/REY GALLERY

Lanny Grant, Pinto Lake (Fitzpatrick Wilderness, Wyoming), oil, 31 x 41”

On July 10, Claggett/Rey Gallery in Edwards, Colorado, will offer a fascinating pairing of artists: oil painter Lanny Grant and jeweler Bo Joe. Together their works will speak to each other as they complement a larger story of the West.

Bo Joe, Tufa bracelet in sterling silver

“Claggett/Rey Gallery is excited to host two exciting shows concurrently during the month of July for artists Bo Joe and Lanny Grant. Lanny Grant will unveil his Wilderness Legacy collection focused on his expeditions into preserved alpine destinations of the Colorado and Wyoming mountains,” says gallery owner Margaret DeDecker. “Bo Joe’s exhibit Beauty in the Raw – From Earth to Art combines his artistic passions of interlacing traditional tufa casting techniques with his intuition to reveal the inner beauty of raw gemstones—creating unique wearable works of art.”

For Grant, his show offers an opportunity to highlight areas of the country he is passionate about. “I have had a life-long interest in alpine landscapes and have had the privilege of working extensively in many of these remote areas of the West that have been set aside as wilderness areas. Getting into these rugged places is not easy and getting there with all of an artist’s supplies and equipment can be very challenging,” he says. “Traveling by horseback and mules or by hiking in on foot makes the time spent in wilderness very precious. Being able to do plein air field studies directly from nature is essential to capturing fleeting moods and colors that develop into larger studio paintings.”

To drive his point home, Grant quotes naturalist John Muir: “Keep close to Nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” Muir also said: “The mountains are calling and I must go…”

“The mountains have been calling me all of my life, so I have answered the call and have made an effort to share what I have found through my paintings,” Grant adds.

Bo Joe, Lone Mountain Spider Web turquoise ring set in sterling silver

For Joe, who is the son of sculptor and painter Oreland Joe, he will be showing Native American jewelry, much of which will have fine and intricate designs with turquoise, gold and silver. Some of the work will be cast from tufa, a sandstone-like rock that can be carved into a mold, in which molten silver can be poured. He’s excited to be showing his work in a gallery environment. “I feel it is of importance that any medium of high-quality artwork deserves to be represented in an equal atmosphere, in particular a premier environment,” Joe says.

The jewelry artist works in many mediums, and the show will reflect his interest in his materials. “While I specialize in high-grade turquoise, each individual piece these days directs my flow to the materials needed for its best overall composition,” he says. “But a solid favorite will always be gold as it is in its most natural state, and the special qualities it has offers a lot for an artist.”