Exhibit by Edd Enders

Portraying the western environment that encompasses everyday life while utilizing manmade imagery such as roads and fences to symbolize our human impact on the landscape.

Lobby Gallery & Weaver Room
February 3 – April 30, 2025

Reception

Artist reception with artist talks on Friday, February 28th from 5:00-8:00pm

Artist Statement

I consider myself a contemporary western painter. I’m not interested in portraying the West as it’s commonly idealized with pristine landscapes and romanticized wildlife, cowboys and Indians. I am deeply connected to the western environment where I’ve grown up, worked, and lived. I want to portray human’s inevitable activity and impact on this region. In the bigger picture, I hope that in 100 years people will look at my paintings and learn something about this place and time, as I see it.

I have explored a wide range of painting styles, color palettes, brush strokes and subjects. My work is inspired by everything around me. As I travel around the West, I see things compositionally; how shapes and colors interact. When a scene moves me – emotionally or visually – I gather information with a sketch and notes. Back in my studio, I use the sketch as a starting place for my oil paintings and choose colors, often abstract, to convey the mood or meaning I want to evoke. My intended statement is often more ominous than my vivid colors suggest. While painting, I focus on composition and fit shapes and colors together like puzzle pieces. I often use imagery like roads, fences, and road signs to add both visual interest and symbolism depicting human impact on the landscape.

Artist Bio

Livingston Montana native Edd Enders was born in 1962, graduated from Park High, and studied art at Montana State University, Bozeman from 1990-1993. Growing up, he spent his free time outdoors observing nature, drawing, camping, and hunting. As a young man he worked on archeological survey teams throughout the West and as a hunting guide, packer, wrangler and cowboy from Alaska to Arizona. Enders has been painting since 1989 and has been a prolific full-time painter for two decades. Widely admired, Enders has collectors ranging from New York to Key West to Chicago to Shanghai and has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

“I consider myself a contemporary western painter. I’m not interested in portraying the West as it’s commonly idealized with pristine landscapes and romanticized wildlife, cowboys and Indians. I am deeply connected to the western environment where I’ve grown up, worked, and lived. I want to portray human’s inevitable activity and impact on this region. In the bigger picture, I hope that in 100 years people will look at my paintings and learn something about this place and time, as I see it.”