September 28, 2007

The Good Life

The October artist for the Psalm Visual Arts Gallery features Corban administrator and gallery curator Steve Hunt. The time for the show was designed to coincide with the completion of the new Resurrection sculpture which he designed, located in front of the Psalm Performing Arts Center.

“After two years of featuring other artists I felt like it might be all right to show my own work,” Hunt stated. His acrylic and oil paintings have been shown around the community and sold to private parties for some time, but never at Corban. In October, he will also show at the Randall M. Hasson Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.

“I am excited about both opportunities” says Hunt. “Showing at the Psalm Gallery is an opportunity to share what I’m painting with friends and the Salem community, and being able to show in one of the top five art markets in the country (Santa Fe’s world-renowned Canyon Road) is a dream come true.”

Pure Country

Hunt was raised in Montana, which is reflected in his work through a recurring theme of expansive, open spaces. As a teenager in the 1960s he owned and operated an independent sign company and also worked for other sign companies as a brush letterist. In college (Corban ‘69) he apprenticed in graphic design at the College Press, joining the full-time staff upon graduation. In 1973-77, while maintaining his job, he began doing fine art and subsequently produced 40 paintings. Eventually the need to raise a family with a steady income induced him to start a sole-owner graphic design company which later became the Steve Hunt Design Group.

In 1983 he formed a partnership with a member of that group, Dave Adamson, and was president of the Adamson & Hunt Design Group until the two renamed and reformatted the firm into Church Art Works in 1986. Mr. Adamson still owns and operates that firm today.

In addition to his current position as Vice President for Marketing at Corban, Hunt has accommodated his passion for creative expression and continues to produce works of art. With the skills passed along from his woodworking father, he built a line of original woodworking creations. The past decade has seen him produce a significant amount of hand-built clock cases which reflect an emphasis on creative themes, and sold at Beacham’s Clock Company in Sisters, Oregon.

In 2005 a commissioned painting brought back the love of painting, and although his attention was sidetracked by cancer in 2006 he has produced an impressive body of work, a portion of which will make up the Psalm Gallery show. The show will also include some older paintings and illustration work and that follows his creative track for the past 35 years.

An artist reception to launch the show will be held at the gallery Sunday, September 30th from 4-6 p.m.