Celebrate FCA's new face and new exhibit with featured artist Eric Matranga. Help ring in FCA's first show of the year debuts at the First Friday opening reception on Jan. 5 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at 505 Macon Ave. FCA invites the community to join them and be a part of the new face of FCA in 2024. The show runs from Jan. 5-26. During that time, visit the FCA gallery to explore how its contributing artists portray the "New Spirit" theme through a variety of media. All pieces are available for purchase. FCA is also happy to feature Brush Hollow Winery at this month's First Friday.
January's featured artist is Eric Matranga, whose oil paintings of landscapes are created in bright, vivid colors. 'New Spirit' is Fremont Center for the Arts' theme for January Exhibition speaks of his art in the following way.
"I will always thrill at taking blank space and filling it with what my inner eye sees," he says. "What I produce has matured as I consider how others view what I do."
According to Matranga, his earliest influence was Monet and other Impressionists. He discovered that Van Gogh, Cezanne and Picasso appealed to him with their use of color and stylized representation of the world they saw. Their influence is clear in his under-painting, which is balanced and quite abstract.
What he drapes over it is pure Matranga, "a symphony of color in defined, two-dimensional space."
Matranga earned his undergraduate degree in Art from Boise State University in 1991, then spent 20 years engaged in Social Science pursuits and consulting. Since retirement, Matranga spends his time painting and teaching about drawing and painting. During the Covid epidemic, he had over 40 paintings selected for numerous online shows and has exhibited in galleries in California and Arizona. His paintings are in many collections in the U.S. and several in Europe.
The Western landscape is featured in most of his work, and he finds himself in Colorado seeking a nurturing artistic community.
"At the end of the day, I never want to look back and wish I had done something I elected not to do," he says. "That commitment to my art is evident on my canvas and I am excited at each day's opportunity for new growth."
For more information, call 719-275-2790, go to FREMONTARTS.ORG or follow FCA on Facebook and Instagram.
Governor Polis Announces Final Revitalizing Main Streets Grants of 2023, including Westcliffe
Governor Polis and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) this week awarded eight final Revitalizing Main Streets grants totaling $1.7 million to strengthen Colorado's downtowns and ensure that cities, downtowns, and communities across the state are safe, accessible, and welcoming to all.
"These investments will make our unique downtown areas more fun, improve safety, and create public spaces that drive economic growth while making the Colorado we love more accessible to pedestrians, bikers, buses, and drivers alike," said Governor Polis.
One of the final 2023 Revitalizing Main Street Grant recipients was for the Town of Westcliffe for $250,000.
"Not only does this encourage physical activity, it also enhances local economic vitality in towns and cities across Colorado," said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. "Through this approach, we are grateful to be able to set an example of how statewide transportation agencies can work cohesively with local municipalities to build stronger, healthier, and thriving communities."
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