Gallery Row
Colorado boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, making it difficult to scrap the outdoors for a day spent inside entertaining the more cultural side of life ” like art.
In the open air of Vail Village, however, one can spend an entire afternoon strolling through its many art galleries, while still experiencing scenic views, fresh air and sunshine. It’s a perfect balance. Here’s a walking guide to Vail Village art galleries:
Start at The Covered Bridge ” one of the village’s most recognized and loved icons. Follow the cobblestone street to Pepi’s and hang a right. Walk a short distance until you see Wall Street on your left. Shoot up the path to Wall Street Fine Art Gallery (on the left), also known as the Richard Haines Gallery.
Richard Haines Gallery
The owner of this gallery is young bronze sculptor Richard Haines. He sculpts realistic representations of wildlife and people.
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“Our gallery is more realism than anything else,” Dan Simons, gallery director, said. “We have master works and Russian artists, as well.”
From there, head toward the mountain just a few steps and into J. Cotter Gallery.
J. Cotter Gallery
Jim Cotter, who creates everything in his Minturn studio, has been a gold and silversmith since 1970. He’s only taken two jewelry courses in his life, and the result is free-form jewelry that is nature inspired.
“It’s my own interpretation, my own understanding of the way things should be,” Cotter said. “I deal with a lot of alternative materials, everything from gold to concrete. I don’t limit myself to the traditional kinds of things that people assume jewelry is supposed to be made from.”
After visiting J. Cotter, head back the way you came down Wall Street and take a left at the intersection. Don’t forget to admire the Children’s Fountain by Dennis Smith on your right. DeMott Gallery is on the right hand side. Enter to experience the spirit of early America.
DeMott Gallery
Paintings of stoic Native Americans toting rifles or riding in canoes fill the walls of DeMott Gallery, along with landscapes and sculptures also depicting the early American frontier.
Cross the street to the Gore Creek Gallery on the left hand side.
Gore Creek Gallery
Gore Creek Gallery boasts an eclectic collection of original artwork ranging from Southwestern landscapes to limited edition bronzes. The gallery is also a history-buff haven, featuring travel, antiquarian, rare and signed books along with maps and signed documents.
“We have a document signed by Philip II of Spain, documents signed by Roosevelt and other presidential signatures,” Jason Hoff, the gallery’s director, said.
“The bigger portion of our books are civil war and WWII books, but we also have a ton of sport books.”
Upon leaving, follow the curve in the road to Gore Creek Promenade and hang a right. The International Bridge is on the left. Take the promenade to the end where you will find Cogswell Gallery.
Cogswell Gallery
Variety is the first word director Steven DeWitt thinks of when asked to describe Cogswell Gallery.
“Variety with its roots in Western culture, the Western art movement,” DeWitt said.
In addition to Western artists like Darcie Peet, who paints plein air around Vail in the summertime, Cogswell showcases a variety of European impressionists and jewelry designers from around the world, including Spain and Israel. You will also find bronze sculptures, weavings and furniture, and wood sculptures created in the spirit of Native Americans.
Head back the way you came, this time crossing the International Bridge. Stay long enough over the water, and you might catch a glimpse of a kayaker enjoying the swells. From there, follow the path up until reaching an intersection. Hang a right on East Meadow Drive to hit three more galleries: Vail Village Arts, Pismo and Karats.
Vail Village Arts
It’s hard to miss Vail Village Arts with its whimsical wind sculptures spinning into infinity out front. Artists Lyman Whitaker and Mark White create them from copper and stainless steel.
“We’re extremely eclectic and colorful,” John Vickers, the gallery owner, said.
“The gallery concept starts with color and from there it can go into all different directions, from abstracts to contemporary to realism to more landscape and wildlife pieces.”
PISMO
“Every time you walk in here, it’s awe,” Chelsey Braley of PISMO gallery said. Colorful glass manipulated hot and cold by some of the world’s most talented glass artists is the awe of which Braley speaks. PISMO gallery is a dish for eye candy, where the imagination can run for hours. Think Dr. Suess or Willie Wonka. Pieces resemble anything from a tear drop to a sea shell to a melting face, and each one changes as the sun maneuvers in the sky.
“Glass is the only medium that interacts with light,” Eva Pobjecka, the gallery’s manager said. “Everything you see in here will change with the light.”
I think that’s an invitation to stay all day.
The last stop on this side of East Meadow Drive is a couple doors down ” Karats.
Karats
Karats is the only artist working studio gallery in Vail Village with five artists creating jewelry there at any given time for all to watch. Dan Telleen, whose lived in Vail for 36 years, owns the gallery and is one of the jewelry makers. Telleen has a fascination for time, and his jewelry is a mix of old and new elements.
“We use a lot of elements in our jewelry that are old,” Telleen said. “Fossils, coins or artifacts, like stone artifacts or Egyptian scarabs. I’m a real collector of things.”
In addition to the five local jewelry designers, the gallery is accented by sculptors, painters and hand-made ceramics from around the country and world.
Head back down East Meadow Drive and hit Art Novell on the right, up the stairs in the Crossroads Center.
Art Novell
Art Novell features artists, mostly from Eastern Europe, who may not be familiar yet.
The gallery’s most world renowned artist is Ioan Nemtoi from Romania, gallery director Mirela Van Dyke said. Nemtoi, a glass artist, emerged ” like a lot of Art Novell’s artists ” when communism began to fall in Eastern Europe.
“Artists didn’t feel like creating. Their muses left them,” Van Dyke said of communism’s impact on art. “But once communism got out, beautiful colors surfaced.”
Continue circling around the Crossroads Center and look for the blue awning. Enter Englishman Fine European Antique Art and Furnishing.
Englishman Fine European Antique Art and Furnishing
The Englishman offers one of the largest collections of 18th, 19th and early 20th century European oil paintings in the United States. The antique art is displayed among functional art of the antique furniture variety.
Walk across the parking lot to Vail Fine Art for your next gallery stop.
Vail Fine Art
Vail Fine Arts adds real international flavor to the village art scene with pieces from around the globe, including France, Spain, Poland and Russia. Vail Fine Art features the playful, romantic paintings of Poland’s Michal Zaborowski, for example. He paints people doing everyday activities, like dancing in the living room or a maid taking a break. The scenes are fluid and intriguing.
“Our works focus mainly on impressionism,” Jared Heye of the gallery said. “We have some realist pieces, also, some photo realism. It’s museum-quality art work.”
Exit the Crossroads area and head west down East Meadow Drive. Head past Annie’s and up the stairs to Vail Village Inn Plaza and into Clagget/Rey gallery behind Camp Di Fiori restaurant.
Claggett / Rey
The wild, wild west is captured in the art at Claggett/Rey gallery, which represents traditional American art created by many Cowboy Artists.
“It’s representational art. It’s figurative sculpture, wildlife sculpture and landscape paintings,” Laura Wolf, the gallery’s marketing director, said.
Exiting Claggett/Rey, turn right and swing around past Verbatim Booksellers, past Joe Beeler’s sculpture of the Indian and into Vail International Gallery.
Vail International Gallery
When co-owner of Vail International Gallery Marc LeVarn buys art, he’s looking for quality.
“We wanted our gallery to feature work from Europe and different countries around the world, as well as have art from Colorado that we think would be interesting to people from around other parts of the world,” LeVarn said. “We wanted it go both ways.”
Head down the stairs from Vail Village Inn Plaza back to East Meadow Drive for your last gallery spot.
Master’s Gallery
Master’s Gallery is a place with personality, attributed to both its wide range of fine art and enthusiastic director, Rayla Kundolf.
“We’re contemporary, eclectic and diverse” said Kundolf, who will happily chat up the personality of each artist, as well.
Ranging from the more classical, like West Germany’s Jurgen Gorg, to the pop wild pieces of Kaufman, who is influenced by Andy Warhol, Master’s is the type of gallery you can wander for hours without seeing the same artistic style twice.
After a long afternoon of soaking in worldly creativity, hunger is sure to strike. From Master’s Gallery, head next door to La Bottega, a quaint Italian bistro. Order one of their famous cheesesteaks or panini and a glass of Chianti. The wine just might inspire you to buy that piece of art you can’t stop thinking about.
Vail, Colorado
