Chanciness

The mountains and canyons of the western frontier have long tugged at Joe McKay’s heart and imagination. Family vacations out West as a child ignited a lifelong passion for the rugged landscapes of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. An avid outdoorsman, Joe travels the backcountry in search of inspiration, creating expressive, energetic, and balanced works that often evolve from preliminary studies painted on location. His finished paintings are characterized by an animating play of light and shadow. Joe approaches his art with fervor and perseverance, having trained with several renowned landscape artists and studied extensively at the Art Students League of New York. His work has been exhibited in various locations, from New York City to Santa Fe. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War, Joe has also worked as a lawyer and is an accomplished luthier, but ultimately, painting claimed his soul. Now residing in Declo, Idaho, he has transitioned to a full-time art career and serves as an apprentice to renowned artist Robert Moore. Joe and his wife Lori have two sons who share their passion for the outdoors.

John Roach is an interdisciplinary artist from Brooklyn, New York, with a particular interest in sound. His artistic practice is fluid and responsive to his working conditions, resulting in artworks that can take many forms, including multichannel immersive audio, performance, video, and object-making. Roach often collaborates with a diverse range of individuals, including glass blowers, coders, scientists, percussionists, and poets, valuing the impact of these collaborations on the final outcomes of his projects. He received a BA in English from Rutgers University and an MFA in Painting from Hunter College. His work explores the fissures between materials, objects, and our everyday experiences, examining how these interpretations are filtered through human perception. Roach's recent projects include an artist residency at Zion National Park, where he became the first sound artist selected for the program, as well as various exhibitions both domestically and internationally.