Cie Hoover
Ouray, CO
Wood-based artist living and creating in the mountains of Ouray, Colorado.
MessageArtist, musician, husband. Cie Hoover lives and creates his art in the picturesque mountain town of Ouray, Colorado. In addition to performing alongside his wife Karisa in the folk-rock duo You Knew Me When, Cie has always had a predilection for the visual arts. After working in the Nashville music industry for over a decade, and then touring full-time for six and a half years throughout North America with You Knew Me When, Cie immersed himself in his art after putting down roots in the San Juan Mountains.
Cie grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, and frequently visited Colorado with his family in his formative years. He attended Belmont University in Nashville, TN, and obtained his BBA in Music Business. After graduating, Cie worked in various aspects of the music industry including as a publicist with Garth Brooks’ original manager, the Artist Relations Coordinator for Meinl Cymbals, the Artist Relations Coordinator for the International Songwriting Competition, and the Global Events Manager for Gibson Guitar prior to touring full-time with You Knew Me When. Music has always played an important role in Cie's life, and subsequently plays an important role in Cie's art...especially when getting into an "artistic" frame of mind.
The influence of music helps to shape Cie’s art and life on a daily basis. For Cie, music and art have developed into a means of finding life balance. Prior to putting down roots in Ouray, You Knew Me When had toured, quite literally, nonstop for six and a half years. Their music has brought them to 49 of the 50 States, through Canada, and they released their fourth studio album in 2020, titled “Songs of the San Juans”. While Cie and Karisa still love to travel and perform their music, the ability to once again have a home-life has proven to be an essential factor in Cie’s ability to thrive in both creative worlds.
Cie's artwork is primarily based in utilizing various types of wood to create both wall-mounted works with depth and texture, as well as various sculptural work. After buying and remodeling an old 1898 mining house in Ouray, Cie discovered the versatility of wood as an art medium and began transforming his garage into his woodworking studio. Through the employment of wood as his primary medium, Cie's art aims to pay homage to to nature and to the natural world around us. As an avid outdoor enthusiast, Cie finds this connection to nature to be an essential part of his work. In 2019, Cie received the “Mayor’s Choice Award” at the Inaugural 610 Arts Collective Regional Arts Exhibition in Ridgway, Colorado, and that proved to be a major catalyst in the progression of his art. Since that time he has continued to explore woodworking as a creative and artistic medium, including public art installations throughout Colorado and signing onto the artist roster of the prestigious Slate Gray Gallery in Telluride.
In life, balance is the blending of highs and lows, of happiness and sadness, of failure and success, of ambition and contentedness. Cie’s personal foray into visual art, and more specifically wood-based art, has been its own journey of ups and downs, accomplishments and set backs, and finding the balance between it all. On days when life seems to be going against the grain, getting out into nature plays an important role in Cie’s own ability for finding balance, be it on a long trail run, hike, skiing, or even ice climbing. Utilizing wood as an artistic medium, is one small way Cie has found to stay connected to his natural surroundings. “Through nature I find art. Through art I find balance. And through balance I find peace.”
Statement
Like the limbs and roots of a tree, my aim is to create art that is dynamic, gives a sense of movement, and yet is calming to view. As a wood-based artist, one of my mantras in creating art is for it to be cohesive and complimentary to the natural world. Through the employment of wood as my primary medium, my art pays homage to nature…something that I believe needs to remain at the forefront of today’s societal agenda. From carved mountain scapes, to abstract spirals, to figurative wooden sculptures, my creative process is rooted in cultivating, extending, and growing my abilities to celebrate wood as an artistic medium. This process creates art with a primal core that can be open to personal interpretations, creating a sense of balance and peace. It is art derived from a need for humans to reconnect with nature and the earth, and thus reconnect with each other. Through nature I find art. Through art I find balance. And through balance I find peace.
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