Good Luck Gallery showcases contemporary art in historic Kalispell space

Apr. 4—Good Luck Gallery in downtown Kalispell sits at a bit of a juxtaposition.

The more than 120-year-old building constructed by Hamm Brewing Company still features the original hand-formed brick, but now those walls serve to showcase dynamic contemporary art.

Walking through the building, owner Tess Heck points out the tin ceilings noting they may be the only such ones left on Main Street. The gallery’s name at the center of a horseshoe is emblazoned on the windows.

“I wanted to have an avenue for contemporary work,” Heck said. “The name is my way of manifesting a bright future. This is going to be a prosperous business for artists and the gallery.”

Plus, she asks with a laugh, who doesn’t like a horseshoe?

Having worked in art galleries for the last decade, Heck jumped at the opportunity to open her own when the Noice family that owned the Montana Modern Fine Art housed in the same building were looking to lease the space.

“My background taught me a lot about what I wanted to do with a gallery,” she said. “It’s fun having a blank slate and getting to start from scratch and it can be whatever you want it to be.”

On April 5 the Good Luck Gallery celebrates its first anniversary with the opening of the exhibition BLOOM featuring works by promising talented artists in Montana contemporary art.

“As an artist myself it feels so good to help sell someone else’s art because you know what it’s like to get that paycheck when your work sells so you can keep doing what you love,” she said. “It’s made me feel like the ecosystem is viable, like the gallery and artists can thrive together.”

Growing up in Kalispell, her love of art began with painting lessons in middle school and continued with the support of teachers throughout high school. She received her bachelor’s from Pacific Lutheran University and her masters in visual studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Returning with her husband to Montana, she focused on raising their daughter and worked for her mother’s company, LC Staffing. But knew she wanted to return to art. Watching Marshall Noice, an expresionist landscape painter, make a career out of art served as an inspiration to further believe she could take that path.

At the back of the building, Heck has taken over the studio once used by Noice albeit putting her own spin on it by painting the space in a soft, but bright pink. It’s been a boost to her art to move beyond working at home in her garage with the room to work on multiple projects.

Her husband, Zack George, is a partner in the Workaday Design firm that occupies the center of the building and their 5-year-old daughter has her own art supplies tucked into a drawer in the studio.

A visual artist who paints on paper and wood panel, Heck describes her work as playing with narratives around contemporary landscapes, motherhood and explorations of both the beautiful and grotesque in portraiture. Her work uses a vibrant color palette to reimagine the familiar like the mountains of Glacier National Park.

Also painting large-scale murals, her work can be seen on several buildings in downtown Kalispell including a mural featuring Montana women’s rights advocate Jeannette Rankin on the Bias Brewing building.

Drawn to contemporary art Heck says it makes her feel “like anything is possible and there doesn’t have to be parameters on art to make it good.”

“I like contemporary art because I feel like there’s less rules — it’s a little more free flowing,” she said. “I do immensely respect traditional art. I’ve studied a ton of art history and I think every artist should. I think it’s important to know where your craft comes from.”

Reflecting back on the first anniversary of the gallery, Heck said it’s been a fun year shipping paintings to collectors out of state and realizing how the gallery can be viable. She’s excited about the possibility of Kalispell being a center for art.

To select the artists featured in the BLOOM exhibition, Heck looked to her network of artists, but also selected artists with work that she admired. She picked all women artists who either live in Montana or have a strong connection to the state.

In addition to her own work, the show will feature that of Sydney Boveng, Shelby Baldrige, Daphne Sweet, K. Fry, Carolyn Hopkins and Kris Vardanega.

The exhibition will showcase a diverse range of mediums, including painting, ceramics, textiles and mixed media all bringing a unique perspective to the theme of growth and renewal. Two illustrators have created unique art that will be displayed — Fry’s work in playfull work in tufting and Vardanega’s paintings. A multidisciplinary artist, Boveng’s evocative landscapes are part of the show along with Sweet’s figurative ceramics.

“BLOOM captures the essence of growth, vitality, and transformation, reflecting not only the journey of the gallery over the past year but also the blossoming careers of the featured artists,” she says in explaining what’s behind the exhibition.

The opening reception of BLOOM is April 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition runs until June 21.

Good Luck Gallery is located at 127 S. Main St., Kalispell. For more information, visit www.goodluckmt.com or contact howdy@goodluckmt.com.

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.

Artwork featured in the Bloom one year anniversary exhibition at Good Luck Gallery in Kalispell on Wednesday, April 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider

A piece by artist Sydney Boveng featured in the Bloom one year anniversary exhibition at Good Luck Gallery in Kalispell on Wednesday, April 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider

Artist Kris Vardenega’s “Weightless Beast” with other featured works in the Bloom one year anniversary exhibition at Good Luck Gallery in Kalispell on Wednesday, April 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider

Pieces by artist Sydney Boveng featured in the Bloom one year anniversary exhibition at Good Luck Gallery in Kalispell on Wednesday, April 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider

Pieces by artist and gallery owner Tessa Heck, foreground, among the works of other artists featured in the Bloom one year anniversary exhibition at Good Luck Gallery in Kalispell on Wednesday, April 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

Casey Kreider