Three New Exhibits at Bountiful/Davis Art Center
August 1-30, 2008

BOUNTIFUL, Utah, July 31, 2008- Three exhibits are set to begin at Bountiful/Davis Art Center on August 1.

Handmade in Utah: Folk Art from the State Collection. In 1896, Utah created the first state arts agency in the country with the express purpose of purchasing paintings and sculpture for a State Art Collection. In 1976 when the Utah Arts Council’s Folk Arts Program was established, the state began to also purchase objects of traditional art made by living Utahns from every region and cultural community.

The collection consists of Native American baskets and beadwork, whittling and woodcarving, rag rugs and needlework, saddles and horse gear made from rawhide and horsehair, and a variety of ethnic arts made by traditional artists from all over the world who have come to live in Utah.

BDAC is pleased to exhibit some of these items curated by Carol Edison and Craig Miller of the Utah Arts Council Folk Arts Program. This exhibit celebrates the culture of Utah and it is appropriate that this exhibit coincides with Bountiful/Davis Summerfest International and the First IOV World Youth Congress that celebrates and promotes the safeguarding of living traditions.

Sounds of Silk: Instruments and Textiles from the Ancient Silk Road – The ancient Silk Road extended from China to the Mediterranean. Silk was brought across Central Asia to the bazaars of Bagdad and Damascus and thus the Silk Route became a line of communication and exchange between the cultures of Persia, China, Central Asia, India and parts of the Arab world.

In this exhibit we see selections from the extensive collection of Dr. Lloyd Miller and Katherine St. John of Eastern Arts in Salt Lake City. It includes musical instruments indigenous to this region of the world along with textiles and other traditional arts items. You will notice the use of geometric and floral patterns in the carving, embroideries and inlays which hold special significance in the various cultures and have become identified with Asian arts. For one week, the exhibit will feature textiles from Bukhara Crafts Development Centre, Bukhara Uzbekistan.

2:00 Saturday, August 30, 2008:
Public discussion/demonstration about this exhibit at BDAC. This program has received funding from the Utah Humanities Council and Parsa Community Foundation California.

Walt Hunter and Jesus Silva, Featured Artists for Bountiful/Davis Summerfest International, combine to call themselves Hunter Hernandez and practice a unique way of artistic expression they call “Dueling Art”. Hunter is a mentor who uses art to inspire troubled young people to change their lives. He and Mr. Silva, a talented artist and former gang member, perform a style of collaborative art wherein each artist participates in the painting. Hunter and Silva will demonstrate the process they use to create unique works of art each day (August 7-9) at Bountiful City Park, 200 West 400 North, during Summerfest.

The 2008 Emerging Artist of Summerfest is Benjamin Davis. Benjamin has used art as means of expression since he was very young. He has always been interested in drawing, but through some very talented and encouraging high school teachers he started to learn how to paint. Benjamin has shown remarkable ability in any medium including acrylics, watercolor, colored pencil, charcoal and oil. His work will be on display at Bountiful/Davis Art Center and he will also have a booth at Summerfest where he will be demonstrating his art daily.

Yaodang Hu is a gifted artist from Shanghai, China. He has exhibited art at Bountiful/Davis Art Center before and he has been featured in the gift shop. He is renowned in China as a painter who follows the traditional form of watercolor and ink painting. He has received many honors in China and a book has been recently published featuring his art. Mr. Hu is unable to be here during the exhibit but his daughter, Zhuma Hu, an accomplished calligrapher will have a booth at Summerfest and will demonstrate her art by writing people’s names in Chinese calligraphy.

The exhibit continues through August 30.

For more information about this exhibit and other programs of the Art Center, contact the Bountiful/Davis Art Center, 801 292-0367 or visit us online at www.bdac.org.