Current Exhibit:

Spellbound: Annual Fundraiser Exhibit by VonCommon Artist Studios

The Confluence Center (Western Montana's Home for Nonprofit Events) art program Torrents is thrilled to present a magical evening of art and community! This month we proudly present the group exhibition/fundraiser Spellbound for our favorite local Artist Studios: VonCommon.

VonCommon is a nonprofit communal art studio that has been helping artists create art and community since 2010. VonCommon is thrilled to present their annual fundraising exhibition: Spellbound, a celebration of the enchanting interplay between language and art.

Words hold power. They conjure worlds, weave illusions, and cast spells of imagination. Spellbound invites artists to explore the captivating realms where text and image intertwine, where the written word becomes a visual incantation. See work by:

Jessie Smith, UmamiMami Creations, Thread Parade, Michelle Angelique Ernst, Lark Sanders, Lauren Grove, The Magician, Dianne & Nick Beesley, Lady Pajama, Huckleberry Hen, Josh Harteis, Julee Hall, Grace Wolcott, Amy Doty, Korey Bell, Kaitlynn Webster, Dagny Walton, Isabelle Hoecherl, and Morgan Grau.

Join us for the exhibit opening on First Friday, September 5th, 5-8pm, which will include Live music by John Floridis & Jennifer Slayden, plus free snacks and drinks. Stay after and come out back behind the Center for further fun at VonCommon’s Alphabet Block Party, 8-10pm! The exhibit will remain on display through September 26th, and can be seen by appointment through the Center: 406-926-6526.

When to see Spellbound:

  • First Friday, September 5th, 5-8pm

  • Final Friday: Artist Talk + Closing Reception, September 26th 5-7pm

August 2025 Exhibit:

REFORGE: Two Voices

by Cameron & Quinton Decker

Cameron Decker-

My art practice is guided by intuition, memory, and connection to place. I work with natural materials like pigments made from rocks I gather and handmade willow charcoal elements. Each carries meaning, memory, and deep time of geological histories compressed into color. Drawing with these materials grounds me in a long continuum, where I feel both connected and fleeting. Creation comes in flurries, often sparked by reflection, and driven by a desire to learn and surprise myself. Whether working in painting, drawing, printmaking, or public art, I hope to honor those who shaped me and offer something lasting.

Quinton Decker-

My work spans painting, sculpture, and photograph,y exploring themes of identity, perception, and social mythology. Across these mediums, I investigate how character, form, and symbolism, communicate emotional and cultural narratives. The paintings draw from neo-expressionism, using chaotic yet structured imagery to depict invented figures that reflect internal states and symbolic meaning. In the Sciapods series, I reframe mythical creatures historically used to dehumanize, examining power, otherness and colonial imagination. The photographic series humanizes abandoned homes ,using visual texture and detail to critique the erosion of the American Dream and the instability of housing as a symbol of success. Together, the work reflects on what it means to be seen—as human, as monstrous, or as something in between.

When to see REFORGE:

  • First Friday, August 1st, 5-8pm

  • Final Friday: Artist Talk + Closing Reception, August 29th 5-7pm

About the Artists

Cameron Decker is Diné (Navajo) and a descendant of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. He is an artist and educator working in printmaking, painting, drawing, digital art, and public arts. Cameron holds a B.A. in Art History from the University of New Mexico and an M.A. in Fine Arts through the Creative Pulse program at the University of Montana. He served as faculty and Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Salish Kootenai College and was formerly the Educator and Outreach Coordinator at the Missoula Art Museum. Cameron creates his own natural pigments and charcoals for painting and drawing. His public artworks are installed throughout schools and parks on the Flathead Reservation.

QuintonDecker is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Ronan, Montana, now based in Missoula. He earned his Associate’s degree in Media Design from Salish Kootenai College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Montana.

Working across a range of mediums—including digital illustration, painting, ceramic sculpture, printmaking, and photography—Decker’s work explores themes of identity, escapism, vulnerability, duality, texture, color, and a sense of urgency. Influenced by artists such as Steven Paul-Judd, Jean Michel Basquiat, PabloPicasso, and AllanHouser.

For Decker, art is a powerful form of communication—an outlet for self-reflection and a means of connecting with others.

Past Exhibits…

2025

July: Village by Michael Dinning

June: Partly False Prophet by Madelaine Millar

May: Limits of My World- Mental Health Awareness Group Exhibit

April: Designing Happiness by Ivette Kjelsrud & Self Expression by Willard Alternative High School

March: Blooming Bodies, Group Art Fundraiser for Earth Within Girls

February: Finding Hope: A Sense of Urgency by Elaine Fraticelli, Lauris Reintjes & University of Montana Photo Journalism

2024

December/January 2025: Solstice, Second Annual Holiday Group Exhibit

November: Homecoming by Alyssa English

October: Backstory by Linds Sander & Everything by Ladypajama

September: A Sense of Place by Meghan Hanson

August: Throwback, Group Art Fundraiser for VonCommon Studios

July: An Inward Gaze by Jennifer Baylis & Moving Through by Katrina Ruhmland and Gail Trenfield

June: Shake the Raw Goddess by Marlo Crocifisso and John Piacquadio

May: Women-A Force of Nature, Group Art Fundraiser for Earth Within Girls

April: Resurgence- Visualizing Tribal Sovereignty Over Ancestral Lands

March: To Still Find Joy by Heidi West, Ladypajama, Nancy Rishoff & Randy Zielinski

February: A Fungal Mènage a Trois by Tim Wheeler & Circuitous Proportions by Mickey Haldi

2023

December/January 2024: Solstice, First Annual Holiday Group Exhibit

November: Laura Blue Palmer & Elisha Harteis

October: Strange Things and Pretty Scenes by Randy Zielinski, Jess Alber and Brian Christianson

September: Scapegoats and Flying Monsters by Anwen Cruikshank

August: Eight Makes the One by David Sampson

June/July: Invisible into Visible by Tricia Opstad and Karl Schwiesow

April/May: Torrents Grand Opening Exhibits