Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (The Square) will host featured artist Richard Swanson for an Exhibition Reception and Artist Talk on Friday, March 14th, 2025 from 5:30 – 7:30pm. The program is at 1400 1st Ave North, Great Falls, Montana, and the event is free and open to the public.
About Rhythm & Whimsy: Sculpture by Richard Swanson
Rhythm and Whimsy illustrates Swanson’s understanding of line, form, balance and rhythm to create three-dimensional line drawings that bounce brightly like jazz phrases – no hidden meanings but spontaneous and lyrical, with the interval between notes as essential as the notes themselves.
Richard Swanson began this series of small-scale metal sculptures in 2013 after a decade of creating monumental public sculptures. The intimate scale of this body of work offers a level of spontaneity difficult to achieve in larger works, reflecting a freer use of color, form and line, embracing an improvisational and syncopated style of working that is as much about process and play as the final product. Swanson considers these sculptures visual poems whose colorful rhythms suggest a story or fragment of a dream.
With a large portion of his career dedicated to large scale and public works, Swanson explores space and scale freely, using size to either envision the individual works as studies for larger pieces, or as playful poetic quips standing complete all on their own.
This exhibition was sponsored by the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, MT, and travels under the auspices of the Montana Art Gallery Director’s Association, supported by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana; coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s Cultural and Aesthetic Projects Trust Fund; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Exhibitions at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Montana Credit Union, Hotel Arvon, First Interstate Bank, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design.
About Richard Swanson
Swanson maintains two studios: a pottery, for making utilitarian and sculptural vessels, and a warehouse space, where he works on multi-media sculpture for museum installations, landscape installations and dance collaborations. Since obtaining his MFA from the University of Montana in 1994, his work has been honored with several major grants and awards, including a Montana Art Council Individual Fellowship, Art Matters Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship, Helena Presents Individual Artist Grant and a New Forms: Regional Initiative Grant. His many large-scale works have found permanent homes in the Northwest and beyond. Several of his public art commissions have become the defining visual symbol for cultural institutions including the Myrna Loy Center, the University of Montana-Helena, and the Holter Museum of Art, as well as the Medford Educational Facility in Medford, Oregon. His figurative clay vessels are featured in many books and magazines and have homes in institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs in Washington, D.C. To see more of Swanson’s work, visit his website at https://richardswanson.org/
About Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (The Square) is north-central Montana’s only contemporary art museum. Founded in 1977 and located in Great Falls, Montana, the museum resides in and stewards the original 1896 building of the historic Central High School. The Square is known for exhibitions that feature intriguing outsider and contemporary living artists in conjunction with exciting exhibition programs and studio art classes to the community.
General Information
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is located at 1400 1st Avenue North, Great Falls, Montana. Admission is FREE to the public, donations are greatly appreciated. Visitor hours: Tuesday 10am to 9pm, Wednesday through Friday 10am to 5pm, and Saturday from 10pm to 3pm, Sunday and Monday closed. Closed on select holidays. Visit www.the-square.org or call 406.727.8255 for further information.
