BEHIND Meet J B EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS GALLERIES ON PEROUTKA

efore his time as Assistant Director for the Breckenridge Art Gallery, Jon Peroutka worked in interior design. But “it wasn’t quite the right fit,”

Peroutka said. He worked mostly with commercial art, and although he has always loved all forms of art, he preferred to work with fine art, as he now does at Breckenridge. “When the opportunity came up to work here at the gallery, I jumped at it,” Peroutka said. Now one year into his position,

Peroutka has met artists from a wide variety of styles and backgrounds, including impressionistic landscape artist Michael Flohr.

“Being in a special place like this attracts people from all over the world,” Peroutka said. “At first I was a little apprehensive to talk to someone who’s famous. But everyone is just a person, and that’s what it comes down to.” That philosophy led to establishing events such as Masterpiece Wednesdays, where art viewers get to be artists themselves by painting on a canvas set up by the gallery. Peroutka’s children, two

daughters

(four and eight years old), love to engage with the art and meet the artists. According to Peroutka, they would rather go to the gallery than the park. “When they find out they get to go to the galleries and shows and look at the

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“When the opportunity came up to work here at the gallery, I jumped at it,”

paintings, they get so excited,” Peroutka said. “By the end of the day, whatever artist is in here, they give them a hug.” Along with carrying on the tradition of art with his family and gallery viewers, Peroutka treasures the Breckenridge environment for its tranquility and quiet. But he was once in the midst of an avalanche. While skiing at a small hill in Wisconsin a few years back, the slopes suddenly gave way. Luckily, he only ended up with some bruises—nothing broken.

And he maintains a good sense of humor about skiing. His profile picture on Facebook for the page “Jonny P’s Art Tracks” is Goofy skiing around a sign with the words “The Art of Skiing.”

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