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Show u CTn tains " 9 .; ft ' V t ' 1 Is 1 .1 i - I v. ssj., 1 i if irni itmm im wan noi arm m mmiii nl m i mii i n m -r hnj BOUNTIFUL Crippled by polio as a child, artist Anton (Toni) Rasmusscn knew the real physical boundaries life can impose. His artistic ar-tistic metamorphosis has transcended transcend-ed those barriers and he hopes it will inspire others to do so. "Confluence '92," Rasmussen's one-man show, will serve as a homecoming for the Bountiful Davis Art Center's first director. The show, which opens at the center Friday with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m., will introduce some of Rasmussen's latest creations and will debut his recent landscape "Birth ofaNew Day." "I've traveled a wide path during my career, but where I ended up is the place that means the most to me, said Rasmussen. The renowned renown-ed artist whose works include several mural-size paintings at the Salt Lake International Airport, has "ended up" with his artistic interpretation inter-pretation of the "monumental shapes of the mountains." Many of his recent works, including "Birth of a New Day and his newest "The Great White Throne" depict monoliths of southern Utah. Rasmussen said he spent a lot of time in the mountains of Parley's Canyon as a boy and he was impressed im-pressed with the majesty of the structures. "You can lose yourself spiritually and emotionally. Through my paintings I can put myself my-self in the mountains. It turns into magic. It's most delightful I can feel myself roaming through the imaginary space I'm creating," he Rasmussen said his polio, which he suffered from for nearly eight years as a child, taught him about real and imagined barriers. "People restrict themselves with earthly limitations. Many are not limited by age, weight or health. They are paralyzed by life. It's only up to them to break free," he said. Rasmussen's breaking free came when he began to paint. His mother was a nurse and as a child Rasmussen studied her medical books. "It was then I got this fas cination about recreating the medical world," he explained. Many of his early works are of test tubes, and diagrams of medical equipment. He said it was this early introduction introduc-tion to finding the beauty of the imagery im-agery coming from medical science that helped him purge himself of the sorrow he felt when his father died of cancer. "Cancer cells under the microscope are very beautiful. I began to paint their colors and shapes. It helped my to find something beautiful in the disease," he said. That microscopic view of the world translated into Rasmussen's view of nature. As a high school student he was asked to do a landscape. land-scape. "I didn't want to do it. I was almost obsessed with going around the ridges in the painting I created. I "People restrict themselves with earthly limitations. ..they are paralyzed by life." Anton Rassmussen wanted to do something new in landscape," he said. This pioneer, explorer spirit of Rasmussen's has brought him back to "ground that many have traveled before.- The craggy outcroppings of rocks and mountains of southern Utah have been the subject of many paintings. Rasmussen hopes those who view his works will see them with new eyes. "I hope I'm doing something that has not been done before, that I'm taking a new path. This is an opportunity for me to share my appreciation, ap-preciation, joy and passion for the beauty, strength and wisdom of i i i these monuments. I want those who view the works to feel, not just recognize rec-ognize a location. I hope my paintings pain-tings are that strong," Rasmussen said. Rasmussen received his bachelor's bache-lor's and master's degrees both in painting and drawing from the University Uni-versity of Utah. He began teaching art, and from 1974-84 served as the director of the BDAC. He stopped teaching at Utah universities in 1989, and in 1990 decided painting would become his full-time career. ! The title of the BDAC show, ; "Confluence '92," is a statement j on his life. Literally translated, it I means the flowing together of two rivers into one. Rasmussen said he now has brought his life to a point of new beginning. "Just as the monuments I've painted, I have withstood the elements. I have appreciated ap-preciated that these mountains have been able to stand under pressure. It gives me hope that I can endure. ' The artist said as he has grown older his heroes whom he considered con-sidered to be monuments "have become mortals. But like the mountains moun-tains they have withstood the pressure. ' ' He painted his first self-portrait when he was 22. "It was a gloomy, moody figure with no eyes. My next was in the '70s when I painted myself as a stem businessman. Now I would paint myself as brighter, more illuminated. More relaxed." Rasmussen credits much of this new persona to his new child. "She's just two years old and she is the "Birth of a New Day" that I've painted. It shows the sun coming up as a sign of hope to engulf the weathered, old monument. I'm the old mountain, my child the sun. It amazes me that a man, with the love of a good woman, is astonished by the second chance to redeem himself. ' ' "Birth of a New Day" will be released at the reception on Friday. On March 21 there will be a signing party at the center from 2 to 9 p.m. A limited edition print of "The Great White Throne" will be released on that day. Artist Anton Rasmussen, whose works will be displayed in a one-man show at the BountifulDavis Boun-tifulDavis Art Center beginning Friday, said he hopes he is able to inspire those who see his works "to feel, not just recognize a location. I hope my paintings are that strong." A J J I - J' - ,i , V"n - ft t C i " ... ' " o - i . , v.) " : . ? - jj-j.Kii- ' f 'i -k ; Jf 4s- : . ""iY.'f J'i' Jh-' j h I . j -- "-S! ' k... ... . -. "r-Ti'"-4 i ' : k i : .-' V i:- -v V "Birth of a New Day" will be unveiled at the Bountiful show. Rasmussen said this painting is a statement of where he is in his life at this time. He has a new daughter who is two years old. "The painting shows the sun coming up as a sign of hope to engulf the weathered old monument. I'm the old mountain, my child the sun," he said. |