To artist Hannah Stoll, painting is a “meditative” practice. And in a whirlwind of international work, creative growth and life transitions after the isolating years of COVID-19 pandemic, she’s found a lot to meditate on.
“All the anxiety people felt about being isolated — and how much more appreciative we could all be once we got to be together again — allowed me to bring awe to those moments [of human connection] in a way that I was really grateful for,” Stoll said. “I mean, that's what we have. You’ve got to appreciate it.”
After nearly a year away, Stoll returns to the Roaring Fork Valley this week to open a solo exhibition at The Art Base gallery in Basalt. It’s called “Together in the Dark,” featuring scenes of connection, contemplation and everyday wonder.
“They all have to do with moments that kept me grounded during times of change, and finding comfort in people and just moments of awe,” Stoll said in an interview at Aspen Public Radio on Tuesday.
Stoll first moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2020, with a background in biology and ecology. It was here, working as a naturalist for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, that she felt compelled to pursue art and painting full-time.
"I was sitting there in my lawn chair at the Maroon Bells, going to lead a nature tour, and I was getting super obsessed with drawing and planning out paintings," she said. “And at a certain point, I just had to give way to that urge and buy some canvas.”
That pursuit led her to work at several of the valley’s major local art institutions, including the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, the Red Brick Center for the Arts in Aspen, Isa Catto Studio in Woody Creek and The Art Base in Basalt.
Stoll also became a resident artist at SAW, the Studio for Arts and Works in Carbondale — a place she considers “extremely influential” in her development as an artist.
“This valley was sort of everything for the first two years of me trying to paint,” Stoll said.
Then came a move to Vancouver, Canada, on a working holiday visa, followed by an artist residency with GlogauAIR in Berlin, Germany.
Much of the work featured in “Together in the Dark” was created during that residency, where Stoll said she was “inspired to push it a little bit, and just experiment and let loose of some control.”
“I think that I was kind of starved for that kind of city environment, and it was exactly what I needed in that moment,” Stoll said.
Still, she said, “I would never give up the part of myself that loves being outside.”
“Together in the Dark” opens this Friday with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Art Base. The event will include an artist talk at 5:30 p.m. with Stoll and KUNC reporter Alex Hager.
