Blogs / Local Buzz / Summer 2012 / Gilman Contemporary’s 5th Anniversary Celebration

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Gilman Contemporary’s 5th Anniversary Celebration

Five Years, Five Artists and “Take Five” Cocktails

Gilman Contemporary Gallery, located at 661 Sun Valley Road in Ketchum, turns five this July 6th, and from 5-8pm they will be celebrating with Toni’s Ice Cream, Calle 75 tacos and “Take Five” specialty cocktails.  Five of their newest and most compelling artists will be featured, including Isabel Bigalow, Kevin Sloan, Ashley Collins, Alex Couwenberg and the extraordinary Gerardo Hacer.  “It will be a good mix of abstract and inspirational work,” says owner L’Anne Gilman.  “And we are very excited about having Hacer here.” 

Hacer’s work is focused mainly on giant metal origami-inspired sculptures painted in bright colors.  “It is probably some of the most unique artwork I have ever seen,” says L’Anne. So is Hacer's story—abandoned at birth by his Mexican-American gang-member parents, he was raised by foster parents, attended Trade Tech College’s welding program and after one very inspirational origami lesson from a volunteer reading “Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes," he turned into the exceptional artist he is today. 

The gallery itself came together five years ago when L’Anne and friends Raine Kidder and Casey Hanrahan joined up to create Gilman Contemporary--a lifelong dream of L'Anne's finally realized.  “We wanted newer, younger collectors and contemporary work.  And with the quality of art that is already in the other galleries of the Valley, we knew it would be a challenge,” L'Anne explains.  But with the support of friends, her husband, many artists and B. Anne Reed, a local gallery owner with whom she worked for many years, she decided to make the leap.  “We are just happy to be here, in this economy, after everything that has happened,” says L’Anne.  And they're not only just surviving, they are enjoying continuing success, voted “Best Gallery” in the Valley for four years in a row.  “We hope to make it five!” she adds.  

When asked what has made their gallery so successful over the years, L’Anne responds, “It’s the quality of the work, which is unique, fresh and innovative. We also have a very honest and intimate relationship with our clients.  We like to focus on a small number of artists to really be able to represent them well.”  It also, obviously, has something to do with the relationship that the three women have maintained with each other over the years. “For me, the gallery doesn’t exist without them. It’s our mutual respect and friendship that has kept it so strong,” she says.   

So come by Gilman Contemporary on July 6th and take five, either minutes or cocktails, and cheers to the three women who have created a local art staple on Sun Valley Road and in the art community of the Wood River Valley. “We definitely want to make it a good time,” says L’Anne.