Tyree Riggs at The Art Spirit

The reception, on Friday, October 12. 

The opening reception for Michael Horswill and Tyree Riggs at The Art Spirit Gallery was packed with sculpture and an energetic crowd last Friday evening during Artwalk. The Art Spirit Gallery of Fine Art, on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d'Alene, hosts a variety of painters and sculptors, but focuses the spotlight on Horswill and Riggs this October. While Riggs's work greets visitors in the space at the front of the gallery, Horswill's sculpture and charcoal drawings take up most of the first floor of the venue.
Both artists work in metal, though Horswill uses a wide variety of metals like brass, copper, and stell, as well as organic materials such as glass, rawhide, wood, and paper.
Riggs uses welded steel and sometimes wood and found objects, like in Ant Farm (2012), in her sculpture.

Ant Farm (lower right) is a found object and steel assemblage.
(top: Just Jackalope (2012), back: Iron Diet (2012); both are welded steel)

The giant horse head of copper, bronze and steel called Xanthos (2011) is the largest work in the whole show, and showcases Riggs's ability to create robust movement in smooth (though purposefully not seamlessly) soldered planes of metal.

Xanthos is pretty hard to miss.

Her subjects, including owls, rabbits, horses, toy-like objects, and pieces of machinery, are often playful. However, their sturdy media give her work a sense of power and strength.
Riggs's work meshes well with Horswill's more abstract and structural assembled forms. Together, Horswill and Riggs make a diverse showcase on the versatility of metal sculpture.
Though Riggs has been showing work at The Art Spirit since 2010 and has created public works for the city of Coeur d'Alene, this is her first featured show. I saw her at the opening reception and tried to get her attention for a quick photo, though she was constantly visiting with lots of different people. Clearly, it was a successful opening for Riggs and her work. The opening reception was lively and stayed busy for most of the evening, with wine being served at the back and crowds of Artwalk regulars circulating and relaxing in the space for a long time. The show, which runs until Saturday, November 3, was exciting to visit at its opening, but is definitely worth a visit during the day.