Delmar Riney Art Gallery at Pratt Community college starts the school year with what gallery director Marsha Shrack describes as the most unique art exhibit she has ever seen. The exhibit is a two person show with corrugated cardboard sculpture by Jessie Montes and paintings and photographs by Duane West who is Montes' agent.
Jessie Montes is one of twenty five children, and the sole survivor of five sets of twins. The self taught artist, who now lives in El Paso, Texas, is a native of Mexico, and has been a naturalized citizen since 1972. He says that growing up impoverished in Northern Mexico was his inspiration to create something from nothing, as he had to create his own toys and items of amusement. He chose corrugated cardboard as a material because so much of it was going to waste. It was his way of recycling a material that would have gone to the landfill, adding to our environmental problems. The various ways Montes cuts and combines the cardboard changes the material by creating textures and varied themes. Corrugated bulletin board cardboard is also used in many of the pieces. The surface is then painted with acrylics and finished with a protective coating. The pieces vary from small plaques of unusual designs to free standing pieces of various dimensions up to six feet tall. Montes was featured by Art and Antiques magazine as one of 5 Exciting Modern Artists recognized for their expressive power with materials that become magically transformed. His work is shown nationally and is owned by many collectors and museums.
Duane West and his wife, Orvieta have been agents for Jessie Montes since 1998. As Shrack was preparing for the Montes exhibit she received a letter from Pratt resident Ed Boots making her aware of the fact that Mr. West was quite an artist himself. Boots and West became acquainted during the Clutter murder trial in Garden City, later made famous by Truman Capote's book "In Cold Blood", in which West was chief prosecutor. This is the 40th show the Wests have had for Montes but only the 2nd occasion that West has exhibited with Montes.
West's interest in art and photography began as a child and developed at Garden City High School and Garden City Community College. He went on to get his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate degree from Washburn University and law school in Topeka Kansas. West practiced law for 52 years in Garden City during which he served as a city commissioner and was mayor for 2 years. Meanwhile, West continued to study art through professional workshops in various media and was admitted as a Signature Member of the Kansas Watercolor Society in 1997. Although his many other interests have restricted production of this own artwork, last summer following the Greensburg tornado, West recruited artists and photographers to donate their art to those who lost their homes. Some works displayed in this exhibit are a result of that project.
The exhibit will show from August 19 until September 11 in the Delmar Riney Art Gallery at Pratt Community College during regular business hours 8-5, M-F. For more information contact gallery director, Marsha Shrack, at 620-450-2191 or by email at marshas@prattcc.edu.
