Hours:
Tuesday – Friday, 11:00 – 6:00; Saturday, 11:00 – 5:00
Closed Sunday and Monday
Additional Hours on First Fridays 5:00 – 7:00 pm
907-563-2787 • 3555 Arctic Boulevard • Anchorage 99503
October 2
First Friday Artist Reception
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Leighan Falley
High Alaska
Leighan Falley
High Alaska
I have felt the power of the landscape as long as I can remember. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, I was captivated at a young age by it all. The giants of the Alaska Range loomed on the horizon to the south, opalescent ice castles rising out of endless forest. At age ten, I told my mother I wanted to climb Denali, and I have bent much of my life around being in its presence.
At the age of 20 I made my first attempt on Denali, and I would go on to pursue a career as an expedition climbing guide. During this time, I made many personal trips to the surrounding peaks. I have now been fortunate to have seen many of the world’s great mountain ranges.
A third-generation aviator, I transitioned into a career as a glacier pilot over Denali after starting a family. With that, I could soar among my beloved mountains every day and come home every night. My father, a career pilot, is also a talented aerial photographer whose images have been likened to Bradford Washburn, and he is a notable influence on my life and art. I only paint from place I have climbed, skied, or flown over. Furthermore, I only paint from photos of my father’s, my partner’s, or my own.
With my art, I hope to show my viewers my deeply personal relationship with the landscape as both a pilot and a mountaineer. My lifelong connection to the landscape flows through my hand and onto my canvases, and this spirituality guides my brush as I create. I am fascinated what I call the ‘‘zenith features,” beautiful yet hostile expressions of nature… and draw deeply on my experiences built from years of raw, un-curated adventures in wilderness. The fear, joy, awe, anticipation, vulnerability, spirituality, and humility I found therein lend my images an irreplaceable authenticity. I find the landscape nothing short of sublime, and I invite the viewer to join me on this journey.
At South Restaurant
Don Kolstad
Revealing the Answer
Artist Statement
I have been a full-time artist since 1982, and I feel blessed to be doing what I love with the support of friends and family.
The evolution of my art over the years has led me in directions I would never have imagined: styles, subject matter, mediums, joys, hardships and most of all the continued progress of learning something new and refining my craft.
I feel that art should speak for itself and allow the viewer to bring their own story and connection to the painting. I love to paint, plain and simple, and I work hard to try and do it well! I have a simple goal with my art…to be the best I can.
Finally, the question I ask myself about my art is, “What would I find interesting to make me want to look at my own work?
Maybe you’ll find your own answer to that question as well. I hope you enjoy the show.
At Crush Bistro
Denis Ryan
Life Appearing From
the Alaska Landscape
Life Appearing from the Alaska Landscape shows how life and place are inseparable. Created in Alaska’s vast and shifting wilderness, this body of work explores the relationship between land, wildlife, and sky, where every season reshapes the environment and every living thing responds to it.
Through photographs of bears moving across rivers, coastlines, and mountain valleys, Denis seeks to show animals not as subjects apart from nature but as part of a larger living system. Their daily rhythms mirror the cycles of the land itself, abundance and scarcity, movement and stillness, resilience and rest. Above them, the northern lights stretch across the dark sky, reminding us that even the atmosphere participates in the story of this place. Together, earth and sky form a quiet dialogue that defines life in Alaska.
Originally from rural County Tipperary, Ireland, Denis’s relationship with wilderness began early and grew through years of travel and exploration across the world. Yet it was Alaska that felt like home. Drawn by its raw landscapes, powerful wildlife, and sense of scale, he moved here out of a deep love for the place and now lives and works surrounded by the environments that inspire his photography.
With these images, Denis hopes to inspire people to connect more deeply with nature and wildlife. When we connect with the natural world, we move closer to living in harmony with Mother Earth. Through each photograph, he strives to bring viewers into the wild, to witness an animal in its own environment, to feel the quiet story in its behavior, and to awaken the bond that inspires protection, respect, and care.
