Exhibition Opening | February 2, 5-8pm
Aprés with the Artist: Talk with Topher Straus | February 4, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Slate Gray Gallery is pleased to present the works of Cie Hoover and Topher Straus alongside each other in “Rhythm in Nature.” Cie and Topher are both Colorado artists who use very different mediums to reflect their experiences in the natural world. Cie, a woodworker and former touring musician, considers art and music to be a united pair. Topher, an avid outdoorsman and digital artist, seeks to understand the rhythm of nature by spending time outside and using that experience to inform his artwork. The result for both artists is an energizing body of work that speaks to the connection they each feel with nature.
Cie Hoover is an artist and musician with a lifelong passion for the visual arts. After nearly seven years of touring North America with his wife as part of their folk-rock duo You Knew Me When, Cie settled in Ouray, Colorado. There, he bought and remodeled an old 1898 mining house and discovered the versatility of wood as an art medium. He transformed his garage into a woodworking studio where he creates carved sculptures and “wooden canvases.”
“My aim with my pieces is to enhance the innate beauty found in wood. I use [woodworking] as a means to stay connected with the natural elements that surround me. Through nature I find art. Through art I find balance. And through balance I find peace.” - Cie Hoover
Topher Straus is an artist who has created an entirely new medium to capture nature’s grandeur.After a successful career in the film industry, Topher shifted gears in 2018 to become a full-time artist whose work represents an unconventional, stylized approach to both natural and urban landscapes. His digital paintings are sublimated onto aluminum sheets and coated in a glossy resin. His colorful and dynamic work has been exhibited in galleries, institutions, museums and private collections worldwide.
“My work is a celebration of nature. A large part of my art is the first step, the actual journey, experiencing nature in person.” - Topher Straus
A portion of sales from “Rhythm in Nature” will be donated to the Ah Haa School for the Arts.
