The city of Bozeman is a college town, with a large School of Art, hence scads of resident artists. This lead to a sincere dedication to the arts by the City of Bozeman, resulting in dozens and dozens of works on display throughout the city. Certainly the largest gathering of art works is at the Bozeman Public Library, the majority of the works located in an art park behind (south of) the library,
Bozeman Sculpture Park.
This is the second wonderful
Mitch Billis fantasy sculpture that we've encountered in Bozeman. The first, entitled
My Story, is to be found at the public library and features the same protagonist as does
Taming the Toad. In both we see a young boy living out his wildest fantasies. In
My Story he takes a Magic Carpet ride, while here he rides a humongous toad to a standstill. The two sculptures are equally well sculpted, with exquisite attention to detail, both toad and boy quite realistically rendered.
We suspect that, in truth, the two sculptures are actually Mitch Billis giving form to a couple of his own boyhood fantasies. Surrounding the
Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture one will encounter quite a few more art works, all well worth taking the time to pause and ponder over.
Mitch Billis
Upon graduating from high school in 1980, Mitch moved from his home in Montana to Colorado to learn the foundry process, and it was there that he completed his first bronze casting. After working in a Kalispell, Montana bronze foundry, Mitch returned to Colorado in 1983 to work and study with well-known bronze artist Veryl Goodnight for four years. During his stay he met many people who had great influence on his art, including Hollis Williford, George Carlson, and George Lundeen. From that time on, Mitch began sculpting on a regular basis. Endowed with a sense of myth and wonder, Mitch creates bronze sculptures inspired by his life and family to the effect of glistening grandeur shining in the Montana sun.
From Gallatin Art Crossing
Inside Art Crossing
Mission Statement:
To place public art that enhances the cultural experience for Bozeman area residents and visitors to the Gallatin Valley.
Vision:
The Gallatin Art Crossing (G.A.C.) exhibit hosts a variety of artwork introducing viewers to many artistic approaches. The main focus of the organization is to select and place sculptures throughout the Bozeman area. All sculptures, unless noted on their plaque, are available for purchase during their tenure in the program An additional goal of the program is to add at least one piece to our permanent public collection each year. The community assists in this process by voting for their favorite sculptures online which helps the board select the People’s Choice Award winner. The winning piece, along with two to three other pieces are then voted on by the G.A.C. board for possible purchase and permanent placement.
From Gallatin Art Crossing