Glacier Art Museum features multimedia exhibit by Missoula artist

A preview reception is planned June 18 for a new solo multimedia art exhibit, Our Sometimes Home: April Werle. 

Werle presents a contemporary, multi-media installation and exhibition that combines murals painted by the artist, recent paintings and video projections. Inspired by family memories and 1990s and 2000s American TV shows, as well as her bi-racial experience growing up in Montana, Werle’s work references images and cultural narratives that portray a promised version of the idealized American life. 

Windows, mirrors, and screens are often seen in her work as reflective surfaces, as well as barriers within her narratives. Distorted space and color placement bring attention to the possibility that these depicted moments, even those of grief and escapism, may be romanticized. Acrylic on stained and whitewashed wood, Werle’s paintings are an exploration of memory and the evolving awareness of identity. 

Werle is a narrative painter depicting identity, memory, and diaspora through magical realism and intimate, domestic scenes. Recent solo exhibitions include: I Live With a Ghost, PlatteForum; My Other Half, The Chase Gallery; and Secret Life of a Multicultural Couple, Bell Projects. Her work has also been exhibited at Brea Gallery and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula. Werle completed a residency at PlatteForum and the Emerging Artist Residency at Centrum Foundation. She was awarded the Creative West Artist Fund Award, as well as the ARPA Grant and the Strategic Investment Grant from the Montana Arts Council. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings and Create! Magazine. 

The reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door and free for members. Live music will be provided by cellist Lee Zimmerman.  

The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 26. 

    It's fun! For the whole family by April Werle, acrylic and stain on wood pane. (Photo courtesy of April Werle)