"A Love Letter to Indian Creek" by Clarissa Fortier
“Indian Creek marked a liminal space: a break from life’s obligations and commitments, and a place where you could simultaneously process and escape what brought you there in the first place.”
Thank you, Sponsor!
Both exhibitions “A Love Letter to Indian Creek” by Clarissa Fortier and “Patterns of Consumption” by Kalliopi Monoyios were generously sponsored by EverGreen ZeroWaste.
EverGreen ZeroWaste has committed its human and financial resources to operate in a manner that produces a positive, material impact on society and the environment.
Learn more at evergreenzerowaste.com
Carbondale Arts presented “A Love Letter to Indian Creek” a solo exhibition by painter Clarissa Fortier at the Carbondale Arts Gallery on display August 16 through September 19, 2024. The opening reception took place Friday, August 16, from 5-7pm at The Launchpad, with an artist talk at 5:30pm.
“Patterns of Consumption” a solo show featuring works by mixed media artist Kalliopi Monoyios ran concurrently (August 16 - September 19) in the second gallery space.
Selections from Clarissa’s Artist Statement:
“A Love Letter to Indian Creek” is an ode to the place that has held me through so much change. In the spring of 2017 I visited the Creek with only the intention of painting – a first for me, after so many climbing trips over the years. Surgeries over that winter kept me from climbing, so instead I painted en plein air. I stood for hours on dirt roads, adjusting to my new body as I worked to capture the changing light on each cliff face.
This January I climbed cracks in the Creek as my father’s health declined. Sometimes I struggled and fought bitterly with the rock. Those moments brought me a reprieve from the sadness I felt as I grappled with my father’s deteriorating state.
These paintings are a culmination of nearly a decade of painting the Creek. I continue to find joy and play in painting the changing skies, dramatic clouds, large swaths of sagebrush, and the shadows on the red buttes. The red, pinks, blues, and greens beckon me back each season to squeeze more paint onto my palette and lose myself in the expansiveness and beauty of the Creek.
There is an implicit love of the material of paint on a surface that I want to express; one that is deep at my core as a painter. I came for the climbing, but I stay for the place.
Clarissa Fortier, painter, Carbondale, Colorado
Originally from New York City, Clarissa Fortier moved to Colorado in 2014 to live and work in the mountains; landing first in Telluride, where she taught outdoor education and worked as a children’s librarian. She returned to New York City in 2017, and attended several classes at the New York Studio School (NYSS). In 2019, she moved back to Colorado for the Elsewhere Studios Residency in Paonia, which led her to Carbondale later that year.
Fortier attended college in the midwest, receiving a BA from Oberlin College in 2013 in environmental studies and studio art. Upon graduation, she worked in youth outdoor education and traveled around California and Utah, exploring the unique landscapes of the Western U.S.
She completed an artist in residence at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in 2013, as well as an artist in residence in Zion National Park in 2015. Clarissa lives full-time in Carbondale.
When she is not painting outside, she creates work at the Studio for Arts and Works (SAW), a community she has been a part of since 2020. She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Social Work through the University of Kentucky, with an expected graduation date of December 2025.
Learn more about Clarissa on Instagram @thepaintedlandscape
Enjoy the artist talk from opening night (August 16, 2024).