Big Sky, MT

Montage Big Sky

In the heart of a picturesque landscape where mountains merge with plains and rivers wind through the wilderness, Montage Big Sky’s world-class art collection celebrates diverse artistic practices that tell a range of stories reflective of Big Sky’s precious natural surroundings and the important lifestyles, cultures, and histories of the local community. The 500,000+ square-foot property features over 150 unique fine art pieces by local, emerging, and established global artists alike, adding visceral new ways for guests to create more meaningful connections to Big Sky during their visit.

Spirit of the West

Photography by Christian Horan
Featured Artist  |  Jessica Drenk

Art Advisor
Farmboy Fine Arts

Project Location
Big Sky, Montana

Interior Designer
BraytonHughes Design Studios

Project Scope
Public Areas, Spa, Guestrooms
& Corridors

An Exploration in Materiality

My team at Farmboy Fine Arts collaborated with Montana-born artist Jessica Drenk in two site-specific commissions for Montage Big Sky’s lobby area. Drenk’s practice celebrates the shapes and forms found in the natural environment by repurposing everyday objects and exploring diverse materials. She used pages of found books, transforming them into stunning dimensional artwork that resemble cultural artifacts, feathers or rock striations and geological formations created over millions of years.

Jessica Drenk "Bibliophylum, 2021" (books, wax, pins)

Jessica Drenk "Interleave, 2021" (books, wax, glue)

Havoc Hendricks "Tranquil Geode, 2020" (acrylic, latex, and spray enamel on wood)

Mountain Lines

Havoc Hendricks grew up in rural Idaho, where he began studying nature's never-ending line patterns through water, mountains, geodes, cloud patterns, and wood grain. Commissioned to create an original work for Cortina, Montage Big Sky's signature restaurant, Hendricks hand-painted each line on an unconventional surface shaped like a mountain giving the piece a dimensional effect. His Mountain Lines painting is reminiscent of seeing the earth's bands on a globe or a flat map, where a giant area becomes small enough to grasp.

Exuberant Elements

We commissioned Portland, Oregon-based artist David Rice to create four unique, colorful paintings for the Montage Beartooth pub & rec area in his distinctive style. From the explorer, whose backpack features a Yellowstone National Park patch and fishing gear, accompanied by a Western Meadowlark bird, to the American Black Bear and Antelope surrounded by Ponderosa pines, each painting by Rice celebrates Montana's natural beauty and splendor.

Ben Miller "Yellowstone River, MT, 2021"
(acrylic on polycarbonate) — Ben Miller "Yellowstone River, MT, 2021" (acrylic on polycarbonate)

Rhythms of the River

Ben Miller is a local artist based in Bozeman, Montana, known for his fly-cast paintings created on the banks of America’s rivers. Miller uses a unique technique that involves intricate handmade brushes that he fashions in the style of fly lures, casting them against the work surface with darting motions from as far as twenty feet away. Named after the Yellowstone River that flows through Montana, the original fly-cast painting in the Montage Big Sky lobby is part of his series Rhythms of the River, which aims to capture the dynamic qualities of the riverscape.

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Alpine Oasis

Spa Montage features three stunning site-specific installations by Brooklyn-based sculpture and installation artist, Carson Fox. With her unique approach to working with resin, Fox created hundreds of rock-like forms, incorporating Swarovski crystals for a luxurious and reflective effect. Each rock was applied individually to the wall, creating meditative circular shapes that vary in density, with patterns reminiscent of those found in nature. These unique installations by Fox speak to the mission of the surrounding area, inspiring a sense of connection, meditation, and renewal.

Carson Fox "Big Sky Meditation, 2021"
(resin, Swarovski crystals, pins) — Carson Fox "Big Sky Meditation, 2021" (resin, Swarovski crystals, pins)

Natural Surroundings

Monica Gilles-BringsYellow is a local Indigenous artist based in Missoula, Montana, who grew up on the Flathead Reservation, located a few hours north of Big Sky. Depicting her personal reflection of the local surroundings, Gilles-BringsYellow utilized brilliant colors, gold leaf, and resin to create a unique and dimensional landscape painting of Spanish Peaks. The original commissioned work by Gilles-BringsYellow is a stunning homage to the breathtaking scenery of Big Sky.

Monica Gilles-BringsYellow "Untitled, 2021"
(acrylic, resin, gold flakes) — Monica Gilles-BringsYellow "Untitled, 2021" (acrylic, resin, gold flakes)

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Ranching Lifestyle

The Montage Big Sky meeting rooms feature three original works of art by Montana-based artist Amy Brakeman Livezey. The realistic figures in her paintings tell a story about the local ranching lifestyle and strong community ties seen in the rural landscape. Using Montana Historical Society photographs as inspiration, she invites viewers to take a fresh look at the past by combining human forms with layers of paint and paper remnants within abstracted fields of shape and color.