September 12th – December 13th
Opening Reception, September 12th, 5-7pm
Expanding the Boundaries of Art
The exhibition New Frontiers brings together a dynamic group of artists who challenge traditional categories and invite us to reconsider what art can be in the twenty-first century. From artificial intelligence and digital experimentation to 3-D printing, abstract painting, and sculptural light works, the show celebrates innovation while remaining deeply rooted in the human desire for expression and meaning.
At the heart of New Frontiers is dialogue between tradition and transformation. Renowned Montana realist Clyde Aspevig, celebrated for his luminous landscapes, anchors the exhibition in the enduring power of direct observation and painterly skill. In contrast, Apsáalooke (Crow) artist Sean Chandler engages with memory, identity, and cultural resilience through layered abstraction, connecting the past with contemporary Native experience. Dave Hull and Michael Blessing extend this conversation into bold, contemporary modes of representation—Hull with his explorations of color and form, Blessing with his luminous, cinematic figures that capture the play of light in modern life.
Pushing further into experimental terrain, works inspired by sacred geometry investigate the intersection of art, mathematics, and spirituality, offering visual meditations on harmony and universal order. Steve Bormes transforms found objects into illuminated sculptures that come alive when lit, reimagining industrial remnants as sources of wonder. Alongside these artists, digital and AI-assisted works, as well as 3-D printed creations, expand the exhibition into the realm of technology—demonstrating how new tools generate new frontiers of creativity while raising questions about authorship, process, and imagination.
Together, these diverse approaches create an exhibition that is both rooted and forward-looking. New Frontiers is not about leaving tradition behind, but about exploring how art evolves when it meets innovation, and how innovation is enriched when grounded in history, place, and culture. In Bozeman—a city itself at the edge of tradition and growth—the exhibition underscores the museum’s mission to spark dialogue, expand vision, and affirm the central role of art in shaping the way we see the world.
