Exhibit by Tessa Heck

Big Thaw is a series of contemporary landscapes of Glacier National Park, incorporating bright and bold abstracted shapes.

Weaver Room Gallery
March 8 – May 17, 2024

Reception

Opening: Friday, March 8th from 5:00-8:00pm

Artist Statement

Created in the depth of winter and huddled around my space heaters in my studio, I was attracted to the hyper pigmented colors that could be found on those miraculous alpenglow evenings, where the neon brightness reminds you spring is coming soon and it hasn’t forgotten you. Painting can be a lonely process, particularly up in the Northwest corner of Montana. Peering out my window to see the glacial peaks on bluebird days gave me a sense of hope and wonderment.

Big Thaw utilizes flashe vinyl paint to create abstracted glaciers and shadows. I am attracted to this painting process for its mattifying effects and crisp lines. Flashe gives me a level of control but is also unforgiving, making it a delicate process I have grown to love.

Ultimately, Big Thaw draws on the changing of seasons, fertility, and learning to embrace the uncertainty of change.

Artist Bio

Tessa Heck (b.1990) is a visual artist and mother working in painting on paper and wood panel. Heck’s work plays with narratives around contemporary landscapes, motherhood, and often draws a hard line between beauty and grotesque in her portraiture.

Heck received her BFA from Pacific Lutheran University and her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Heck has shown in the Northwest at Kalico (MT), the Museum of Contemporary Craft (OR), Stumptown Coffee Roasters (OR), Montana Modern Fine Art (MT), Disjecta (OR), The Carle Gallery (MT), Hap Gallery (OR), Killjoy Collective (OR), Jupiter Gallery (OR) , and Wildfang (OR). Residencies include Western Creatives Initiatives Open AIR, Caldera Artist’s Residency, and PNCA’s Global Studios. She is the recipient of the Artists in Schools and Communities Grant (Montana Arts Council), and the Working Artist’s Grant (WA). She currently lives and works in Kalispell, MT and runs a space called Good Luck Gallery.