First Thursday Exhibitions & November Programs
In-Person & Virtual Happenings at Blue Sky
Nov 4 - 10, 2021
Steven B. Smith, North Ogden, Utah #12
Carl Bower, Lizeth, 2020
First Thursday, November 4
Join us for extended evening hours from 5 - 8 PM.
Join us as we celebrate the opening of Steven B. Smith’s exhibition, Your Mountain is Waiting, and Carl Bower’s exhibition, Private Fears.
Blue Sky is pleased to announce Your Mountain is Waiting, an exhibition of photographs by Steven B. Smith. Steven B. Smith's work seeks to create a portrait of our culture by engaging the many ways we value and shape the landscape. Your Mountain is Waiting was created in Utah, Smith's home state, after years living on the east coast. In this body of work Smith strives to show the complicated relationships that people who live in the west have with their surrounding environment. Whether they are recreating or building a new home their love of the landscape is expressed through conspicuous consumption.
Blue Sky is pleased to announce Private Fears, an exhibition of photographs by Carl Bower. Carl Bower’s series Private Fears, like most of his projects, was a direct outgrowth of personal experience. Bower spent several years struggling with a companion turned stalker. Restraining orders were undermined by wavering resolve, and his personal life was a disaster. Yet he kept it hidden, too embarrassed to share his situation with anyone. The longer it went on, the more ashamed he became, leading to further isolation. The experience left him wondering what others were hiding, what they were afraid to tell anyone for fear of repercussions.
Carl Bower, Palynn, 2018
Saturday, November 6: Carl Bower Artist Talk & Panel Discussion
12 - 1 PM at Blue Sky. For the health and safety of the artists, Blue Sky staff, and attendees, we are limiting the number of attendees at the talk. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Carl Bower (American, b. 1966) is a photographer exploring intimate portrayals of private experience, through both documentary work and portraiture. Frequent themes include perceptions of beauty, coping with adversity, personal identity within prevailing social structures, and the relationship between trauma, shame, and isolation. His images are made with the intention that the medium not be part of the message, but rather a transparent conduit between the subject and viewer. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, his work has been exhibited at the Georgia Museum of Art, the Phoenix Art Museum, and the Annenberg Space for Photography.
Steven B. Smith, Santaquin, Utah, #4
Wednesday, November 10: Artist Talk with Steven B. Smith
5 - 6 PM on ZOOM.
Steven B. Smith (American, b. 1963) is a photographer whose work chronicles the transition of the Western landscape into suburbia. For this work he was awarded the First Book Prize for Photography by the Honickman Foundation and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. The Weather and a Place to Live: Photographs of the Suburban West was published by Duke University Press (2005). His most recent book Your Mountain Is Waiting was published by Radius Books (2020), He has received many awards, including Guggenheim and Kittredge Fellowships. His work has been widely exhibited and can be found in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Smith received his BFA from Utah State University and his MFA from the Yale School of Art. He lives in Riverside, RI and teaches in the Photography department at RISD.
New COVID policies at Blue Sky
To support the safety of our visitors, artists, staff and volunteers, beginning October 4, 2021, Blue Sky requires proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or proof of a negative COVID-19 test (within 48 hours) to visit the gallery, for all guests 12 and older. This is also our policy for any scheduled events, which require pre-registration. Regardless of vaccination status, masks must be worn when inside the gallery.
For COVID testing and vaccination resources, we encourage you to learn more by visiting: