What an exceptional opportunity I had as the 2022 exchange artist being hosted in Bariloche, Argentina. I was swept up in the arms of an extraordinary group of artists and community members, beginning with my first event, which was the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Aspen-Bariloche Sister Cities program. In the days following, I visited artists’ studios and homes, viewed many exhibitions, and took part in provocative discussions, each experience exemplifying the diverse and outstanding talent of Bariloche’s artist community.
Most impressive was the close collaborative and supportive way in which the artists interfaced with one another, creating so many unique opportunities for their work to be shared with the public. They are an amazing group of imaginative, planet-conscious, community-caring individuals unique in their creativity and approach to making their art seen by the public. During my exchange, the Bariloche art association celebrated the grand opening of their very own building. They worked diligently for 11 years to make this happen. The excitement and enthusiastic tenor were palpable and all very well deserved.
Showcasing all the remarkable artist interchanges were the beautiful and majestic mountain and lake settings. Bariloche and the Roaring Fork Valley share the attribute of extraordinary landscapes. Though different in several ways, it is an essential element embodying the partnering of talented and fantastic people living and working 6,000 miles apart, sharing ideas, cultures and professions. I am so honored to be part of this program and look very forward to its continued success and having artists from Bariloche come and be hosted by our exceptional community.
Deborah Jones
http://www.deborahjonesart.com/
Deborah Jones is a painter, collage and book artist working in her studio in Basalt, Colorado, United States. Her career in the arts spans many years beginning with being a founding member of the Graphic Workshop in Boston, Massachusetts while receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Mass Art College of Art and Design. With a move to the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado in 1973, Deborah began teaching art at the Aspen Community School in Woody Creek, Colorado while operating a small screen printing studio. In the late 1990’s she founded and was the director of the Wyly Community Art Center, now called the Art Base located in downtown Basalt, Colorado.
Deborah has been exhibiting her mixed media artworks locally and nationally over the past decades. Her work explores her relationship to nature, memory, and belonging through a variety of mediums and forms.
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