Conversations, color and creativity filled Idaho Street as Idaho Art Gallery celebrated the grand opening of its newest location in Downtown Boise. The event gathered hundreds of visitors in celebration of the city’s art scene expansion.
“We have owned [the Meridian location] for three and a half years and decided to expand into the Boise market,” Nelli Garibyan, alumna and co-owner and curator of Idaho Art Gallery said. “We had some success and had been very happy with the Meridian community, and then a spot came available in the Boise area, on the corner of Idaho and Capital, and we decided to expand and open a second location of Idaho Art Gallery.”
The gallery partners with local and national artists, offering them a space to display and sell their work.
“Art captures the spirit of a community and preserves its stories,” she said. “By supporting artists and galleries, we can help ensure the future generations can experience the beauty, the diversity and the creativity of our time.”
Several featured artists attended the new location’s grand opening, speaking with guests about their work.
Oil painter Betsie Richardson was one of the local artists showcasing their work. The former software technician discovered her passion for art in 2012.
“It’s been about 13 years now,” Richardson said. “I gave art a go, and really just caught the bug. I couldn’t stop, and now I’m here today.”
Richardson’s vibrant paintings of cakes, pastries and other still-life canvases of viewers’ “happiest memories” brought the gallery walls to life.
“I do enjoy painting food, and I love that food is so community-oriented and tells a [story] on its own,” Richardson said. “These are all slices of cake from Crave Kitchen and Bar outside of Boise. They bring me different delicious [desserts] to photograph, and then I paint them. You can actually eat these cakes I paint.”
Each of Richardson’s brushstrokes highlight what she describes as “life’s sweetest moments in the fast-paced world around us”.
“I hope my art conjures delightful memories, and maybe they’ll call their mom and say, ‘Can you make me that birthday cake you used to make me as a kid?’,” Richardson said. “I’m drawn to bringing color and delight, and reminding people that there are happy things that are in our lives. I hope it brings people a little closer.”
Guests also admired the industrial work of alumna and sculptor Gia Strang. Working with reclaimed steel, Strang sources her materials from salvage yards to create her intricate designs.
After a career in the Air Force, the mother of three discovered her love for sculpting in 2018.
Her work explores the concept of regrowth through sculpture.
“It was thrown away before I rescued it, and now it’s living another life very different from its original purpose,” Strang said. “It’s a metaphor for us as humans. Wherever we were at in one point in our lives does not dictate what we become, or where we go.”
Pocatello-based artist Danene Taysom, brought transformation to canvas at the grand opening. The Brigham Young University graduate began her career in interior design before turning to fine art.
“I fell in love with color and harmony,” Taysom said. “Painting just became the next language for me.”
Taysom’s paintings took on new meaning in 2020 after being diagnosed with stage-two breast cancer — an experience that morphed her perspective on life and art.
“I remember lying in the hospital and feeling an overwhelming sense of love — not just for me, but for everyone,” she said. “From then on, my painting changed. I wanted people to feel that same hope and strength when they saw my work.”
Boise local Jonathan Foster said the gallery’s range of talent captured the “essence of Idaho’s art scene”.
“It’s inspiring to see this much creativity in one place,” Foster said. “Every piece tells a story. You can feel how much of themselves these artists put into their work.”
