St. Mary’s Art & Retreat Center hosting Counterpane by artist Emily Silver

Abstract painting of landscapes by Emily Silver will be spotlighted in Counterpane, an exhibit put on by Capital City Arts Initiative, Saturday through Aug. 22 at St. Mary’s Art and Retreat Center in Virginia City.

Silver, a former resident of Northern Nevada, says her work reflects her personal connection to desert landscapes and geography. She uses maps to develop paintings that aim on conjuring a sense of atmosphere, topography, and what the viewer recalls about a landscape.

Silver earned a Master of Fine Arts at San Francisco Art Institute and a bachelor’s at Stanford University in Studio Art. She lives with her family and maintains a studio in Ferndale, Calif. Her exhibition history includes solo shows in Reno, Las Vegas, New York and California. She teaches drawing and watercolor at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Calif. She spends as much time as possible in the desert, as she says, “filling the well.”

Shaun Griffin, cofounder of Community Chest and author of five poetry books, wrote the exhibition essay, “Cartographer of Stone, Silence, and Dust.” Griffin recently finished a memoir about 30 years of living, working and writing in the Great Basin. He also edited a book of essays about the late poet and critic, Hayden Carruth.

A free reception for the artist will be from 1 to 4 p.m. with an artist’s talk at 2 p.m., Saturday at St. Mary’s, 55 N. R St. The gallery, whose admission is free, is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

This exhibition is supported with a lead donation from Comstock Foundation for History and Culture.

The Capital City Arts Initiative supports artists and the arts and culture of Carson City and the surrounding region. The Initiative is committed to community building for the area’s diverse adult and youth populations through art projects and exhibitions, live events, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online projects. For more information, go to www.arts-initiative.org. For more information about the artist and display, go to http://emilysilver.com/.