Name: Tom Howard, Simone Simonian and The Burton Collection
Start: 2025-09-19T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-09-19T21:00:00-06:00
Location: 444 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, Utah 84111

Tom Howard, Simone Simonian and The Burton Collection

Please join us this Friday, September 19th, from 6 - 9 PM for the opening of new work by Tom Howard and Simone Simonian on our Main Floor and Richard Burton photography & The Burton Collection in our Dibble Gallery.
Tom Howard received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Utah and a Master of Fine Arts from Brigham Young University. He is a member of Utah’s Watercolor Society and the Plein Aire Painters. Raised in the Bear River Valley, Howard has an attachment to the land that runs deep. Surrounded by a vast expanse of land and mountains, he learned at an early age that he loved to draw and paint the scenery he called home. Today, Howard’s landscapes captivate those looking for solace in their surroundings. As Howard says, “Landscape paintings are my escape, if only for a little while. I seek and find inspiration in the sense of being completely alone and yet in the presence of something truly grand and beautiful.”
Simone Simonian, having had the good fortune of studying under the enigmatic and formidable Alvin Gittins at the prime of his teaching career, was one of few students who got to know him well. To this day, Gittins’ powerful mantras are part of Simonian’s working lexicon that resonate with him each time he begins a new painting or drawing. After receiving his BFA from the University of Utah, Simonian further refined his figure drawing skills by attending a workshop taught by revered draftsman, Paul Davis. Later, he polished his understanding of color by working under the celebrated pastel artist, Daniel Greene. “Understanding light, the power of form, and achieving greater likeness takes a lifetime of learning and painting. I have many masters to learn from. Thanks to all who set the standards of excellence and continue to inspire.” - Simone Simonian
Richard (Dick) Burton (1940-2020) began his career at the investment division of First Security Bank, but photography soon became his passion and lifelong endeavor. He studied photography at UCLA in 1968 and 1969 and later taught photography at Utah State University and the Salt Lake Art Center (Utah Museum of Contemporary Art/UMOCA). He produced several solo shows throughout the ‘80s, the finale of which was a four-year documentation of U.S. Highway 89 between the Mexican and Canadian borders, exhibited in 1989 at the Salt Lake Art Center. Then other business pulled him away and, in the blink of an eye, 15 years zipped by without capturing a single image. During his hiatus from photography, he watched the mountain he lived on become developed, each year resulting in more destruction in the name of “progress.” This turn of events compelled him to once again tell a story through photos. “Off the Mountain” was the title of Richard Burton’s last body of work depicting a lifetime of change and beauty in his surroundings.
He served as a director of the R. Harold Burton Foundation for many years. Later, he and his wife, Timmy established the Dick and Timmy Burton Foundation to give back the to their local community. Education, science, literacy, as well as health and human services were their focus but supporting the visual arts was their passion. This exhibit will feature a combination of Dick’s photographs, as well as a selection of the artwork he and Timmy collected throughout their lives.
The exhibit will remain on display through October 10th.