passione per l'arte

Life Lines - Serigraphs and Linoleum Prints by Knicki Markolf

2016-03-13T00:40:00.000-07:00

New Grounds Print Workshop and Gallery celebrated their 20th anniversary this past weekend during First Friday’s ARTScrawl featuring a solo exhibition by Canadian printmaker Knicki Markolf. The gallery buzzed with local art enthusiasts eagerly participating in the hourly art raffle and enjoying the celebratory cake and good vibrations. Later in the evening, all eyes were on Markolf as she led a riveting linocut demonstration.

Markolf creates bold serigraphs and linoleum prints that explore the internal and external world, using vibrant patterns to reveal delicate connections. She believes we are the weavers of our lives, and as such, we are the fringe dwellers - we live on the edge of our fabric. What is already woven is our past, that which is unwoven is our future, and in the present moment we are on the edge of creation.

As an artist, Markolf is fascinated by the ways in which decorative patterns have been used to create a sense of importance or sacredness. Her work explores the sacred connections between everything using the threads of our lives. She works with knot designs, as well as new representational and abstract shapes, shaping ideas of binding and unbinding.

Markolf believes, “Art making is like falling in love, like opening a present. It is an ongoing process of letting go of preconceived ideas, listening & watching rather than arguing. I let my medium have its way with me, aiding me in unravelling its mystery, teaching me its story. I am a romantic spiritualist and my life is deeply interior. I like movement that is inward, downward and deep to allow for mystery. That is what art making is about, bringing that mystery forward.”

In addition, Matrix Fine Art opened a group show “The Contemporary Figure in Painting,” ranging from pop-influenced surrealism to imaginative, dynamic and endearing takes on human form. Featured artists include local and national painters Julie Beck, Adam Bustamente, Jessica Chao, Deborah Donelson, Archer Dougherty, George Evans, Jodie Herrera, Julia Lambright, Shana Leveson, Daniel Maidman, Iliya Mirochnik, Dylan Pommer, Serena Stevens, Laura Wacha, and Denise Weaver-Ross.

Knicki Markolf’s exhibition will hang through March 27th at New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery, 3812 Central Avenue, SE, Suite 100 B, Albuquerque, NM 87108, (505) 268-8952, www.newgroundsprintshop.com.

East Meets West: The Traveling Chinese Brush at Blue Lily Atelier

2016-02-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the Chinese "Year of the Monkey,” Blue Lily Atelier gallery hosted the opening reception of East Meets West: The Traveling Chinese Brush featuring the exquisite works of Nora Sanders during First Friday’s Artscrawl last weekend. The gallery was packed with locals and art enthusiasts as Sanders led a demonstration painting of traditional Chinese flowers such as bamboo, orchid and chrysanthemum as well as an eclectic mix of East meets West. Blue Lily Atelier, a new boutique art and event space in Nobhill, is the creation of mother and daughter duo, Nadine Scala and Robin Scala, long-time Albuquerque residents and entrepreneurs.

The featured artist, Nora Sanders, is an international artist whose artwork has been exhibited and sold in China, England and the United States. Sanders was born on the Greek Island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. She went to school in England where she lived most of her life. Sanders also lived in Hong Kong in the 1970’s where she first fell in love with Chinese Brush Painting (CBP), better known in the United States as Sumi-e. She studied CBP over many years and most of her early works are in this style. Sanders remembers that one of her teachers, Qu Lei Lei, insisted on the use of only black ink for several years before allowing his students to use color. The idea was to master the brush and the ink and to learn to create moods and perspective with different shades of black.

Sanders now lives in the New Mexico and continues to be inspired by the beauty of the mesas, high desert sunsets, the Rio Grande and the changing colors and seasons of the landscape. However, she uses her Greek roots, her British upbringing and experience of the Orient to guide her in her choice and rendering of a subject. Since coming to the United States in 2006, Sanders has transitioned to painting in a fusion of Eastern and Western styles. She uses a variety of mediums, mostly water based including watercolors, acrylics and also pastels and inks. Sanders does not adhere to a style as this would be too restrictive and limiting. Neither does she label her work as expressionist, modern, impressionist or realistic. “I hate being put in a box,” she says, “so why put my art in one.”

As a side note, Sumi-e art involves the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in very dark ink or watercolors derived from vegetables or minerals. It arrived in Japan via China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) via the sea trade exchange brought in by the Zen Buddhist monks. Over the centuries, the Sumi-e art of Japan developed its own unique characteristics but its roots in the use of the brush, ink and rice paper remain as those that originated in mainland China. It could be said that Sumi-e has retained a purer form of the Xi (Spirit of Zen) as the emphasis is still on the colors of black and white, positive and negative space, the yin and yang of art and everything else.

East Meets West: The Traveling Chinese Brush will hang through February 29th at Blue Lily Atelier gallery, 3209 Silver Avenue SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, (505) 263-6675, http://www.bluelilyatelier.com/. Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 12 - 6pm.

KGB Photography Group at The Gallery ABQ

2015-12-13T10:37:00.003-07:00

First Friday’s ARTScrawl brought me to The Gallery ABQ for the December holiday show featuring art by all of the gallery members. In addition, KGB Photography Group: Kozeliski, Gilbert, and Bidewell presented their stunning exhibition of photography in the gallery salon. Art enthusiasts crowded the gallery as we all listened to John Gilbert give the Artist Insight Talk.

Gilbert, a native of Albuquerque, has always loved art and photography. He has been a professional photographer since 1985. Gilbert says, “When photoshop came out I knew it was for me, to be able to combine art and photography and create unique portraits and art pieces.” His prints are amazingly rich and vibrant, with a subtle three dimensional quality. Gilbert has worked for several big studios but prefers to create photo illustrations and fine art pieces from his home studio now.

Andrew Kozeliski is originally from Gallup, New Mexico. He first experimented with black and white photography learning from Czech-American photographer Milan Sklenar. In 2008, Andrew became a portrait photographer in Albuquerque where he embarked on fine-tuning his photography as an art form in the digital medium. Kozeliski’s images vary from conventional landscape and urban settings to decidedly abstract photography. His traditional work is inspired by everything from the beauty of nature he see around him to the typical informality of humankind. Kozeliski’s abstract work is predominantly experimental and ever-evolving. With Sunrise at Eldorado Canyon, Kozeliski’s camera so carefully captures the sloping ridges of the mountains that to the observer’s eyes it feels as if both the sky and the terrain are moving.

Jeff Bidewell has worked together with his wife Sandy for over twenty years in creating fine art gallery worthy portraits. Whether a classic portrait or landscape, Bidewell’s photography transcends the traditional limits of the art medium and become truly unique pieces of art.

This holiday season, I recommend taking your visiting family members to see this worthwhile art show. KGB Photography Group: Kozeliski, Gilbert, & Bidewell will run through the end of December at The Gallery ABQ, 8210 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, located in the Hoffmantown Shopping Center. Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. (505) 292-9333. http://thegalleryabq.com/

Dee Sanchez - Painting the North: Taos and Beyond

2015-11-16T20:46:00.001-07:00

The art show for Dee Sanchez opened Friday, November 6th to a standing room only crowd at Sumner & Dene Creations in Art. The gallery buzzed with positive energy as many locals came to meet Sanchez in person and to admire her work. As a special treat, Mezcla Latina provided the background music that welcomed visitors as they entered the gallery.

Sanchez lives and works in the village of Alameda, New Mexico. After raising a family, she taught herself how to paint and launched her career in 2002. Sanchez is best known as an intuitive colorist and who paints with a palette knife in the alla prima style, completing each of her paintings in one sitting. Her subjects include grand vistas, cloudscapes and skyscapes, huge, chaotic masses of native wildflowers, and the small villages and people of her state. Sanchez likes to challenge herself to paint one painting EVERY day. In pre-paration for this show alone she painted sixty paintings, sharing her progress on her daily blog with followers all over the country.

As she likes to say, “I was taught by my grandmothers from a very young age to appreciate nature and the environment. I grew up in the country next to a creek and spent my childhood exploring my own little corner of the world. The place to find me was out among the iris and poppy beds - taking flowers and stems apart to see how they grew. Gathering masses of flowers for the dinner table. Picking pecans fallen from the trees. Planting vegetables with my grandpa and his old vintage wheeled plow. I make marks because I want viewers to love the land as I do. To love the serenity of a still life. To appreciate the figure as beautiful. Come along with me and see what I see.”

Sanchez is also the only juried member from New Mexico of dailypainters.com, one of the largest daily painting websites in the world. She has been the poster artist for Weems International Artfest, and created the poster for the 2012 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Sanchez has done ad campaigns for the Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, painted the Jemez Christmas tree for our nation's capitol building, and regularly donates artwork to numerous charitable foundations, and many corporate and private collectors.

The Painting the North: Taos and Beyond exhibition will hang through November 28th at Sumner & Dene Creations in Art, 517 Central Avenue, NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, (505) 842-1400, www.sumnerdene.com

Sisters Paint and Wine

2015-10-27T20:56:00.001-06:00

Art can be found anywhere. Typically, I spend the first Friday of the month cruising Albuquerque eager to attend the ARTScrawl. This month, however, a friend recommended a visit to Sisters Paint and Wine. What a delightful experience!

A new concept gaining momentum around the country, this premier local paint and wine studio provides individual and group step-by-step art instruction in a fun, engaging and relaxed environment. Their story began quite innocently the day after Christmas 2013 when two sisters, Lisa Wilkes and Vicki Woody, discovered their passion for painting while visiting a paint and wine class in Indiana. They went as a family gathering and fell in love with the concept. The very next day they decided to open a studio of our own. One of the sisters, who lived in Indiana, made the move to New Mexico so the sisters could realize their dream. Less than two years later they opened the doors to Sisters Paint and Wine in Albuquerque.

There were a few challenges along the way, getting the studio ready and starting the production of the wine, but they persevered. Now they offer six classes a week and private parties that include everything from:

Birthday Parties
Family Reunions
Girls Night Out
Date Night
First Date
Bridal Showers
Bachelorette Parties
Corporate Events
Holiday Parties
Fundraisers
Corporate Retreats

In addition, they offer monthly memberships and Artist Alley Lite where anyone can use the studio and resources to paint for just $15 per hour. Their business has grown rapidly and now they employ eight artists to teach the classes while they focus on running the business and producing their own wine label, Artistic Wines.

The next time you ponder what to do with your out-of-town visitors, consider taking them to Sisters Paint and Wine to celebrate family, art and friendship. Here your guests will realized their creativity and find their inner artist while enjoying a truly unique evening out.

Sisters Paint and Wine is located at 5500 San Mateo Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, (505) 750-7076, www.sisterspaintandwine.com/. The studio is open Tuesday through Sunday.

Turquoise Trail Art Festival

2015-09-10T23:14:00.000-06:00

In July, I received a tip from a friend that an art festival was in the works along Highway 14 in the East Mountains. Sure enough on the weekend of August 29th and 30th, the first annual Turquoise Trail Arts Festival was held showcasing a variety of art mediums including printmaking, ceramics, stone carving, mixed media, metal, jewelry, woodwork, painting, gourd carving, and sculptures. Carla Ward, from Tinkertown, said the Turquoise Trail Association decided to put together a progressive art festival along the southern part of the trail because other festivals had already been established on the northern part of the trail near Santa Fe.

A collaboration of 50 local artists and five authors displayed their work at venues including The Church, an Art Sanctuary in El Cedro, Scissors Village Salon spa & boutique in Tijeras, Tom & Jerry’s plaza in Cedar Crest, Tinkertown museum, Contemporary Southwest, the Paako event center, San Pedro Creek in Sandia Park and Henderson’s Trading Post in Golden. The art festival proved to be a success, attracting a steady stream of walk in traffic for the businesses that participated.

As I traveled up the trail to visit each location, I had the pleasure of admiring the artwork of Steve Malavolta, Brenda Blackwelder, Dana Bahe, Dawn Chatfield, Linda Taber, and R. Wade Brown. The gourd artwork of Brenda Blackwelder stood out in particular.

Art has always been a part of her life after discovering her talent in college. Blackwelder moved all over the world with her husband for 30 years until they decided to settled in New Mexico. After finding a class in “Cleaning Gourds” that sounded interesting, Blackwelder was hooked. She says, “Everything she has ever learned, art wise, can be put on a gourd.” Blackwelder has been carving for about 25 years making her gourds unique and interesting. What makes her happy is finding someone who enjoys looking at her art as much as she enjoys designing it. “Life is pretty good when you can do what you love to do everyday and share that love with others,” says Blackwelder.

For more information about the Turquoise Trail Association, visit www.turquoisetrail.org/ or (505) 281-5233, trail@turquoisetrail.org.

The Three Dimensional Designs of Edward Martinez

2015-08-18T22:03:00.000-06:00

What a delight to step into SE-OC Right Brain Gallery last Friday to meet the humble and incredibly talented artist Edward Martinez. His unique, one-of-kind designs are three-dimensional landscapes that incorporate LED lights, and in some cases, microprocessors programmed to create different lighting effects.

At the age of twelve Martinez, also known as “Viejo,” developed his style and love for art that keeps changing with time and location, always reflecting his surroundings. As a young boy, he won several awards for his mosaic work and paintings growing up in Chicago. Viejo says, “As a young artist, when this is all you have for your surroundings, people would tell me to look past the rough exterior for inner beauty. What I noticed is that I didn’t have to look past anything at all to find beauty. It was actually on the surface and all around me. This made it easier for me to tell a story and evoke a feeling through my work. Thus, I found mosaic art, drawing and family as my only outlet and form of comfort.”

When he moved to New Mexico, Viejo became inspired by the night sky and the solar system. He attended the University of New Mexico and received his degree in Electrical Engineering and then went to work for Sandia National Laboratories in the satellite program. From 1993 to 2009, Viejo lived in Los Angeles and started creating three-dimensional luminous underwater seascapes, which were inspired by his scuba diving trips along the California coast. The highlight during this time came when the city of Hollywood commissioned him to create a 3D design of the cityscape including the Hollywood sign. In 2009, Viejo moved back to New Mexico and his work began to focus on mountain landscapes and city murals. Viejo says, “I learned that working with several new mediums like urethane, acrylic resins, silicon rubber and applying my engineering background opened up more doors to be creative in other ways. This is when my art took on a whole new look in my attempt to create original three-dimensional stories in a real and surreal way.”

The artwork of Edward Viejo Martinez will hang at SE-OC Right Brain Gallery through the end of August. He will also join the gallery in Artful Saturday on August 15th from 1pm - 5pm. SE-OC Right Brain Gallery is located at 3100 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107, 505.816.0214, www.se-oc-rightbraingallery.com. The gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, 11AM - 5PM or by appointment.

Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeded Shoe

2015-07-26T18:26:00.000-06:00

Walter Steiger."Unicorn Tayss," Spring 2013.

Recently, I spent the afternoon at the vast, one-of-kind, eye-opening exhibition Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe. This traveling art show is utterly mesmerizing, sexy, and historically educating all at the same time.

Killer Heels explores fashion’s most provocative accessory. From the high platform chopines of sixteenth-century Italy to the glamorous stilettos gracing today’s runways and red carpets, the exhibition looks at the high-heeled shoe’s rich and varied history and its enduring place in our popular imagination. Deadly sharp stilettos, architecturally inspired wedges and platforms, shoes with fox tails, ruffles, horns, feathers, spikes, horse hooves, even some lined with fur are featured among the more than 160 historical and contemporary heels on loan from designers and from the renowned Brooklyn Museum costume collection, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Aperial."Geisha Lines," Fall 2013

Designers and design houses represented in the exhibition include Manolo Blahnik, Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Zaha Hadid, Iris van Herpen, Rem D. Koolhass, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Andre Perugia, Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, Noritaka Tatehana, Vivienne Westwood, and Pietro Yantorny.

The Albuquerque exhibit also includes heels by local designers and artists including Janice Ortiz, Virgil Ortiz, Goldie Garcia, Teri Greeves, and Deana McGuffin, as well as examples of the current Mexican Pointy Boots craze sweeping the United States Southwest and northern Mexico.

“The high heels featured in this exhibition are more than just fashion. They’re history. They’re sculpture. Truly, they are art.”

~ Andrew Connors, Curator of Art at the Albuquerque Museum

Christian Louboutin."Metropolis," Fall/Winter 2010-11.

Presented alongside the objects in the exhibition are six specially commissioned risque and daring short films inspired by high heels. The filmmakers are Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh for “Higher Me”, Zach Gold for “Spike”, Steven Klein for “Untitled”, Nick Knight for “La Douleur Exquise”, Marilyn Minter for “Smash”, and Rashaad Newsome for “Knot”.

The exhibition finishes with two hands-on activites, “Design Your Own High Heeled Shoe” using card stock and crayon markers and “Shoe Story - Tell us the story of your favorite shoes!” using lined 4” x 5” paper and pencils, complete with high-heeled chairs to lounge in. Don’t miss the museum store which has been transformed with every imaginable high heeled accessory: cookie cutters, ice cube molds, door stops, jewelry, books, high heeled shoe bags, and slippers to change into after wearing high heeled shoes!

Killer Heels will hang through August 9th at the Albuquerque Museum located at 2000 Mountain Road NW in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM, (505) 243-7255, www.albuquerquemuseum.org. Museum hours are Tuesday - Sunday, 9am - 5pm. Third Thursday of each month until 8:30pm.

Touch/Tone at Matrix Fine Art

2015-07-05T07:30:00.000-06:00

It’s always a joy to return to Matrix Fine Art, the sister gallery of New Grounds Print Workshop and Gallery. Director Regina Held assembles cutting edge art shows that consistently draw the crowds in regardless of the season. When I attend her exhibitions, I often pause for a moment to take in the swirl of gallery activity. This time I realized what sets it apart is the live printing press demonstration that is a welcomed break during the evening show.

Artists William Ruller and Saul Hoffman join Susan Reid in this group exhibition of textured abstract paintings that beg to be touched. Ruller creates large, tangible, subtly colored geometric paintings. He combines oil paint with textures of crumbled brick and concrete to represent the frailties of humanity; and the erosion of lives that once existed. Hoffman’s clay mosaics are diametrically opposed to Ruller’s in that they are bursting with small, colorful and almost candy-like details and pattern. Middle ground is created by the aboriginal inspired dot paintings of Susan Reid. Her deliberate geometric pattern have a meditative, yet mesmerizing quality about them that is uniquely her own.

Clay artist Saul Hoffman transforms polymer clay into wall art. His work is full of whimsy, color and patterns inspired by his love for life, his family and by the world around him. Originally, Hoffman used polymer clay to create beads, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, magnets, wrapping vases and other items. He traveled the country selling his art jewelry at UWMilwaukee, Goldi’s Shoe Parlor, New Orleans streets, and Door County, Wisconsin galleries. Later during a residency in Jemez Springs, New Mexico from 2003-2005, he became inspired to transform polymer clay into wall art and has been experimenting with this direction ever since. On the surface it appears as if the clay has been painted, but it has not. Hoffman says, “I blend all my colors manually; it takes hours of kneading and rolling clay to get just a couple of colors. I then layer, or swirl, the colors and stack them into canes which are long, lean bricks.” The canes are then sliced to create the tiles for the mosaics. It takes further work to get them assembled and cured. Hoffman lives in Albuquerque where he also works as a real estate broker and a photographer.

Susan Reid paints dots. They are all about motion, vibration and color, inspired by nature, science, math, and cultures around the world. Byzantine tile, native beadwork, the symmetrical patterns of mandalas, and fractals are examples, but it’s Australian Aboriginal Art that most influences her work. Reid took a trip to Australia in 1997 and has been painting dots ever since. With exhibitions in New York, Singapore, Washington, and New Mexico, most of Reid’s artwork can be found locally in Albuquerque.

William Ruller was missing-in-action the evening of the art opening and was unavailable for an interview.

Touch/Tone will hang through June 27th at Matrix Fine Art located in Albuquerque’s historic Nob Hill, 3812 Central Avenue SE, Suite 100 A, Albuquerque, NM 87108, (505) 268-8952, www.matrixfineart.com

Paa-ko Fine Artist Guild

2015-05-08T07:17:00.000-06:00

Under the direction of Dave Daniels, ten exceptional fine artists working in a variety of media presented an impressive third exhibition this past weekend at the Paa-Ko Event Center in Sandia Park, New Mexico. Featured artists included Dorothy McDonough McGeorge, Trish Meyer, Roy Breckenridge, Gloria Casale, Chris Meyer, Anita Daniels, Jane Gaines, Rich Irwin, Jodi Newton, and Joe DiRaddo.

In addition to the fine arts show, local authors John M. Taylor, Albert Noyer, Josephy Badal, and Jennifer Noyer signed books, gave book readings and spoke about their work.

Dorothy McDonough McGeorge’s work reflects the character of her surroundings chronicled over the years such as the open plains of the Midwest, the urban cityscapes of Montreal, Quebec, the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and now the environs of the Southwest in New Mexico. McGeorge chooses to organize her picture plane into segments to compel the viewer to share the whole of the image through its parts. The idea of perfect proportions found in nature, supported by mathematical principles, have had a direct influence on her exceptional paintings.

Glass artist Gloria Casale has worked in many media including photography, stained glass, fused glass, watercolor, and needle art. In 2002, she moved to New Mexico after a successful career as a physician and has since found the beauty of this state to be an inspiration for the creation of dazzling fused glass. Casale also has a stained glass piece commemorating the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 on permanent exhibition in the New York and New Jersey Port Authority offices.

Trish Meyer’s artwork explores a wide range of experimental techniques and media including encaustic, watercolor, acrylic, calligraphy, book arts and printmaking. She has created a series of exquisite handmade silk scarves which were eco-printed using a variety of natural dyes from eucalyptus leaves, flower petals, tea leaves and rusted objects. Meyer explained that she lays out the plant materials on white silk scarves, rolls them up into bundles, and steams them for up to an hour. “Although I create patterns with the leaves, I'm always excited to see what the end result will be. For instance, the pale green round eucalyptus leaves make a bright peach color, while colorful petails may barely show up at all! I also add little rusty bits to create dark accents,” says Meyer.

The Paa-ko Fine Artists Guild generously donates 10% of their sales to a East Mountain Womenade which provides emergency financial assistance and/or services to families with school-aged children in the East Mountain area. For more information about the Paa-ko Fine Artists Guild please visit: http://paakoartists.com or http://www.facebook.com/PaakoArtists.

Love and Hearts at Essence Gallery & Boutique

2015-02-14T20:10:00.001-07:00

Last Friday’s ARTScrawl led me to Old Town’s Essence Gallery & Boutique, a very well appointed gallery, featuring a “Love and Hearts” group exhibition just in time for Valentine’s Day.

This show includes the work of Linda Patrick’s ornaments and wall hangings, Karina Graham’s recycled art, and Jillian Maresco's paintings. This exquisite exhibition focusing on hearts, love and romance is a must-see date with your sweetheart!

Gallery owner Jillian Maresco has always had an interest in art from an early age. Her parents were both art collectors and often took her to galleries, art auctions, art shows and museums as a child.

She worked in retail most of her life starting in clothing shops and more recently, art galleries learning every step of the way.

Maresco acquired many artists friends from working in galleries such as The Copper Tree Gallery, Gowen Arts, Weems Gallery, Hernandez Fine Art, Concetta D Gallery, and Sumner and Dene Creations in Art prior to opening Essence Gallery and Boutique in 2014. She now represents about thirty artists showing a diverse collection of original wall art, prints, clothing, jewelry, pottery, metal work and gift items.

Essence gallery features a different artist each month and participates in the first Friday ARTScrawls as a member of the Albuquerque Art Business Association.

The annual Old Town Sweetheart Stroll is scheduled for February 14th, from 1 - 5 pm. Love and Hearts will hang through February 28th at Essence Gallery & Boutique, 323 Romero Street NW, Suite 1, Plazuela Sombra, Old Town, Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 843-7367, www.essencegalleryboutique.com

Contemporary Artifacts - works by Chris Meyer and Jenn Noel

2015-01-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last Friday’s ARTScrawl led me to the Weyrich Gallery featuring Contemporary Artifacts with mixed media artist Chris Meyer and ceramics artist Jenn Noel. Gallery owner Valerie Tibbetts has created a show that combines Meyer’s modern photography, printing, traditional collage and assemblage techniques with Noel’s functional pottery, featuring earthy glazes and traditional symbols such as spirals. Both of their work gives the impression of being archaeological finds while still being recently made, fitting Weyrich's overall theme of "diverse works from dreams, folklore, myth and the earth”.

Jenn Noel grew up in Socorro, New Mexico and earned her BFA in graphic design with a minor in photography and marketing from Eastern New Mexico University. While working as a graphic designer, she had a creative outlet but felt something was missing. Her interest in pottery began when she returned to school at the University of New Mexico to pursue a nursing degree and by chance took a ceramic class on the Arita method of Japanese porcelain. This method continues to influence her art work even though she now works in stoneware. Noel is a ceramic artist who truly believes in art living in a functional space. She validates this by adding, “When you use handmade objects, it allows you to slow down and experience the beauty of the world.”

Chris Meyer is a fan of wabi-sabi - the “beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”. He admires the myriad details of natural and handmade objects. His pieces start as photographs of rocks, ruins, petroglyphs, and petrified wood found around the Four

Corners region of the Southwest. Meyer looks for shapes, patterns, and hidden meanings in those images, akin to the way an old-school Zuni carver studies a rock looking for an animal’s spirit to release. From there, he creates collages to emphasize those patterns, and then print his photos on top to unify these real and imaginary worlds. Meyer finishes by adding assemblage elements – including sticks, stones, beads, bones, feathers, fibers, and metals – to add dimension, both to the physical work as well as to its layers of meaning, with many of the items selected specifically to convey a story embodied in the final piece.

In describing his unique process, Meyer says, “Rather than attempt to create a perfect print of my photos, I see the shapes they contain as a starting point. I study these images for patterns, then build collages out of various papers, symbols, and texts to emphasize the shapes, texture and mood of an individual photo.” Meyer has exhibited his one-of-kind art with many groups including Collage Artists of America, Los Angeles Experimental Artists, and The Society of Layerists in Multi-Media.

There will be a second reception for Contemporary Artifacts on Saturday, January 10th, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Weyrich Gallery. At this reception, Chris Meyer will give an artist talk that will be videotaped for later posting on Facebook and YouTube. Contemporary Artifacts will hang through January 30th at Weyrich Gallery, 2935-D Louisiana Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, (505) 883.7410, www.weyrichgallery.com.

Female Gaze/Male Figure at Matrix Fine Art

2014-12-11T00:01:00.001-07:00

How do women view men? Is it through the lens of desire or objectivity? What does it mean to reverse the roles and examine how women look at men?

This show, curated by Diane Alire, was to feature eight female photographers exploring the concept of “the female gaze” by photographing the male nude. However, only six of the original eight photographers presented their work at the exhibition. The idea for the show came from the companion exhibition “One Model, 15 Photographers” previously at Matrix Fine Art in which one female model was photographed by fifteen photographers.

Participating artists include Lisa Tremaine, Kyle Zimmerman, Ann Bromberg, Kate Livingston, Aaron Marie and Diane Alire. Kyle Zimmerman says, “I think the lens that we view each other is more complex than only desire or objectivity. I am female/I am male. I am me/I am you.” Her piece Legacy is a story about the feminine quality in the male to nurture, to hold, to stay. Her piece Reach is a riff on the old classic Vitruvian Man - a study in perfect proportions and standards. Zimmerman says, “For me, perfection is about the reach we all have to enforce our destiny. Man. Woman. Us.”

Kate Livingston poignantly describes the experience of photographing the male figure by stating, “As a female artist, I know the way I see men is generally different than a male artist views a woman. I believe that women see things with a little more grace or delicateness, a softer beauty, if you will. There isn’t a feeling of, ‘that is so sexy,’ but more like, ‘that is so beautiful.’

Livingston also mentioned that when she picked her model some of her considerations were, ‘Would I feel comfortable working with him?’ ‘Is there any connection?’ She imagine that a male photographer might not even consider these questions when choosing a female model.

Livingston chose the outdoor setting at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. She brought two assistants with her to block the trail on either side to make the model feel safe. Livingston says, “Tent Rocks is a part of my feminine self. The hike isn’t too challenging or long, and it’s got twists and turns just like emotions. It has slot canyons that fill with water in a storm, but for the most part are very dry and protected from the hot sun.” Her two pieces titled Strength and Perseverance are named for qualities that she says many men possess, but they are also qualities within her.

Female Gaze/Male Figure will hang through December 27th at Matrix Fine Art located in Albuquerque’s historic Nob Hill, 3812 Central Avenue SE, Suite 100 A, Albuquerque, NM 87108, (505) 268-8952, www.matrixfineart.com

My Path to Enchantment ~ photography by Kate Livingston

2014-11-05T14:32:00.002-07:00

Art can be found anywhere. Typically, I spend the first Friday of the month cruising Albuquerque eager to attend the ARTScrawl. This month, however, I was enjoying a tuna melt sandwich at the Cheese & Coffee Cafe one Saturday afternoon when I was seated directly in front of a stunning exhibition of photography produced by Kate Livingston. The title of the show intrigued me. When I inquired about the genesis for her series, Livingston explained, “I get very inspired by exploring new places, especially the spaces between towns that are more wide-open, and unusual little side-of-the-road attractions that you’d never experience if you took an airplane instead.”

Originally from New Hampshire, Livingston lived in Philadelphia for about seven years before moving to New Mexico in 2011. She hasn't looked back since. Livingston says, “I love traveling and building my scenic photography collection. There is something incredibly refreshing to me about New Mexico and the Southwest that I can’t really describe. I feel closer to the Earth, and that is what I hope to show in these photographs.” The places featured in this photography series range from Albuquerque, New Mexico all the way to Livermore, California. Livingston says, “For me, they represent a new way of thinking, a breath of fresh air, and adventure.”

Livingston got her first camera when she was just eight years old. The very first photo she took with that little 110 film camera was a shot straight at the sun from outside her grandmother’s house. The afternoon sun was just above the tall pine trees, and the rays of light created rainbow colored sun flares that spread to the edges of the photo. Livingston still cherish that 3 1/2” x 5” print to this day; it symbolizes what she stand for as an artist: true beauty doesn’t have to be found by following the rules. After college graduation, Livingston managed a Ritz Camera shop and then worked for Olan Mills Studios for a few years. She currently works as a photographer for Kyle Zimmerman Photography in Old Town Albuquerque.

My Path to Enchantment will run through the end of November at Cheese & Coffee Cafe Downtown, 119 San Pasquale Avenue, Albuquerque, NM 87104. Cafe hours are Monday - Friday, 10am - 3pm; Saturdays 10:30am - 2:30pm. (505) 242-0326. http://www.cheeseandcoffee.com

Two Perspectives at The Gallery ABQ

2014-10-08T23:06:00.000-06:00

First Friday’s ARTScrawl brought me to The Gallery ABQ for the opening reception of 2 Perspectives, featuring water media and drawings by Jerry Love and oil paintings by Jean Porter. In addition, Rebecca Nolda was present with her mixed media series Hidden City in the gallery salon. Art enthusiasts crowded the gallery as we all listened to Porter give her presentation on Artist Insights.

Originally from New Jersey, Jean Porter was trained as a technical illustrator. Her varied experience includes electrical layouts, topography, electrical schematics to all kinds of illustration for publication. Porter has produced graphic designs, one of which was selected for the logo of the New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair. Porter says, “My genre is Surrealism, using allegory, parody and analogy to make a statement, to a large extent I think that reality only exist in it’s perception.” Many times, Porter juxtaposes seemingly unrelated objects into a piece of art for the purpose of seeing their meanings in a whole new way.

Jerry Love began drawing at the age of nine. His cartoons and drawings papered his bedroom walls. During his high school years, classmates commissioned him to draw portraits of themselves and their heartthrobs. Love likes to tell stories with his artwork. His audience can relate to his subjects, whether a western scene with cowboys and horses, rodeo events, trains, or Civil War reenactments. Love’s focus on Southwestern Art, so vividly depicted in his water media paintings and drawings, can be seen in “Mounted Command” and “Boots” featured below.

Rebecca Nolda was raised in the country and has never found the city to be quite comfortable, in spite of living almost exclusively in cities since she was a teen. Nolda says, “In the city, there aredark places, crowded places, occasional oases, many versions of boundaries...places to get lost, get found, get sidetracked...be isolated, entertained, enveloped, and abandoned. Not all of those are experienced with the same frequency or with the same intensity, but there are moments of recognition for each that I wanted to express in my mixed media pieces.” Nolda’s salon exhibit, “Hidden City”, is an amalgam of paint, 2D collage, and 3D assemblage. Being abstract, they are not meant to represent specific places or situations, but to capture the physicality of being in the city as well as the mental construct of being a city dweller.

2 Perspectives and Hidden City will run through October 27th at The Gallery ABQ, 8210 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, located in the Hoffmantown Shopping Center. Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. (505) 292-9333. http://thegalleryabq.com/

What Makes Art Great?

2014-09-04T05:12:00.000-06:00

What is it about some works of art that allows them to stand the test of time? What is it exactly that make a work of art truly memorable and truly great? There are many beautiful works of art and many more that are surprising, innovative, and thought provoking, but of all the art produced in the world in any given year, very few pieces are exceptional. “Great” art manages to satisfy its viewers at a deeper level than the rest.

For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of critiquing fine art in the Southwest from as far north as Taos to the southern town of Truth or Consequences. Today, I’ve chosen local artists that exemplifies the meaning of greatness in the categories of Narrative, Beauty, Realism, Form, Movement, Symbolism and Expression. The featured artists’ works have been looked at in an analytical way in order to assess what it is that makes each one so successful in its own field.

Narrative

Chris Meyer - Most of his work originates as photographs of rocks and similar natural forms. Meyer studies these images for patterns, then build collages out of various papers, symbols, and texts to emphasize the shapes, texture and mood of an individual photo. Adding assemblage elements – including sticks, stones, beads, bones, feathers, fibers, and metals – to add dimension: both to the physical work, as well as to its layers of meaning. When done, he leaves it to the viewer to play the roll of archaeologist, studying the resulting artifact for clues of when and where it came from, imagining what purpose it served for the unknown culture that created it.

Beauty

Raymond Wiger - His sculptures are both exquisite and mesmerizing. Wiger describes his sculpting process as follows, “Sculpting in wire mesh equally involves the use of the right and left halves of the brain; the creative and the analytical. Beginning with a square, rectangular, triangular or other polygonal piece of mesh, the transformation to figure occurs without the use of any tools but the hands – in essence, skin against skin.”

Realism

Tamara Coatsworth - Primarily inspired by nostalgic pop culture, Coatsworth precisely explores the iconic nature of everyday items. Observers are amazed at her attention-to-detail when it comes to skillfully utilizing a wide array of glass-making techniques including torch work, fusing, sandblasting, acid-etching, and elaborate enamels to create original artwork that lovingly replicates items such as movie-theater popcorn, a box of matches, or beautifully decorated cupcakes.

Form

Dorothy McDonough McGeorge - The subject of her work is often structures that reflect the character of a place. McGeorge is a firm believer in the use of Dynamic Symmetry in her compositions, using this classic way of dividing her canvases. Her goal through composition and color is to organize the picture place into segments which compel the viewer to share the whole of it through its parts.

Movement

Jonathan Wolfe, PhD - A fractal is a never-ending pattern which naturally demonstrates movement. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems - the pictures of Chaos. Fractal patterns are very common in nature. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, and hurricanes. Wolfe’s fractal designs are unequivocally one-of-kind.

Symbolism

Matthew Lutz - His body of work is influenced by modern technology and street graffiti, using traditional oil painting techniques to depict human interaction in the digital age which explains why at least one or more subjects in each painting is holding a cell phone. In addition, Lutz especially admires the works of Pablo Picasso; elements like the elongated limbs, arresting colors, and mystical visages are evident in his painting "Tornado."

Expression

Janet Bothne - One of her most intriguing works, “The Daily Din,” is an acrylic & mixed media on canvas. With this painting, Bothne began layering paper scraps and vinyl letters into her work to examine marketing messages that pervade our culture. One day, instead of being annoyed by the latest pile of junk mail, she looked at it as a bottomless source of free art supplies. Bothne says, “These marketing messages are so ubiquitous, we digest them constantly without thinking, or even noticing, their demands for our attention.”

Art by Elguera

2014-08-07T17:19:00.001-06:00

Ron Elguera’s visual art is provocative, daring, colorful, imaginative, expressive and wonderful all at the same time. To really understand the depth of the genius behind his art, one must first grasp Elguera’s humble beginnings.

Elguera lived in Peru as a youth where he began painting at the age of 10. He followed this with an extensive study of the cello beginning at 18. Elguera says, “My cello studies taught me to absorb the laws of perspective, composition, design, human figure, anatomy, portraiture, color theory and tonal plans.” After a number of years as an actor on the New York stage, Elguera moved to Southwest and graduated from the University of New Mexico, majoring in art and art history. He studied all the great masters from Giotto to Marcel Duchamp and Picasso. Elguera considers himself a greatly diversified artist, with a particular emphasis on portraits. He specializes in the “alla prima” style which requires only one sitting for a portrait.

Most of Elguera’s work is done on gessoed, high quality Arches paper. In spite of painting in five to six different styles, each blank canvas invokes it’s own image depending upon his mood or inspiration. A nocturnal worker, Elguera focuses on classical, conservative styles of art. He says, “My senses and thoughts are sharper at night and the serenity of the wee hours provides my soul with temperament to better focus.” Most of Elguera’s gallery work is drawn and painted from live models or his imagination. None of his work is done from photographs. Because of a pasty, two dimensional look, Elguera’s says, “A trained eye can almost always detect a work painted from a photograph. As such, these painting are never as rich as those that use live models for their subject matter.”

Three months ago, Everett W. Byers, his friend of 35 years encouraged Elguera to show his artwork to the public for the first time. Byers made all the necessary connections and financed the gallery opening much to Elguera’s delight. Now Art by Elguera is a thriving mainstay of the Albuquerque ARTScrawl with a rotation of paintings every three months.

Art by Elguera Gallery is located at 2 Church Street in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 243-0099, www.artbyelguera.com.

Anita Daniels - ASD Glassworks

2014-08-02T14:38:00.000-06:00

Red Vessel - Pate De Verre
ASD Glassworks

Anita Daniels of ASD Glassworks is the featured artist for August. Daniels says, "My design inspiration comes from my love of textiles. The wide variety of vibrant colors and patterns inspire my designs. I take pride in every custom piece produced and take great care in order to produce art that I would be proud to display in my own home. I have a degree in chemistry and industrial arts and have taught a variety of different art classes in different mediums. As a Bullseye trained artist of glass, I received instruction from some of the best teachers in the industry.

Green Glass Cane I- Vitrigraph Glass Cane
ASD Glassworks

To create unique and complex designs, I incorporate glass flow and multiple firings which produce dimensional and organic patterning. I cut, stack, and assemble the glass to create a final distinctive piece. Because of the nature of the process and technique used, all finished artworks are unique and one of a kind.

Sunrise- Vitrigraph Glass Cane
ASC Glassworks

I love glass - the chemical processes, smell of the cleaner, clicking of the kiln, the endless variety of color, and all the possibilities for design. The anticipation of the finished
product coming from the kiln is pure enjoyment for me, and I can't wait to produce the next new design. I strive to bring my passion to each piece of art."

Anita Daniels' glasswork is currently showing at The Gallery ABQ and Amapola Gallery, both in Albuquerque, and Color and Light Gallery in Madrid, NM. For more information about Daniels, please call 888-970-9534 or visit www.asdglassworks.com .

Mark Horst ~ Figures & More

2014-07-10T05:55:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday, July 5th, was the opening reception for Mark Horst’s Figures & More exhibition at Sumner & Dene Creations in Art. Positive energy filled the gallery as many friends and locals came by to see the latest series in Horst’s signature artwork.

Horst is a figurative expressionist painter with a large following; Many who have become as enamored with his art work as I have. Author, teacher and painter Martin Shaw says, “Mark Horst carries a quiver full of painterly gifts. His startling work reveals wild pinpricks of the eternal, often in the subtlest of images. Make no mistake, the paintings sometimes hold our feet to the flame-a door between a collectively understood image and some new paint-spirit that comes hurtling through. Not always a comfortable experience. Horst is one of the few new painters to hold the paradox of tradition and innovation within him- there is brilliance here.”

After hiring and working with professional models, Horst finds the best subjects for his paintings tend to be his own son or granddaughter. His paintings usually begin with a series of rapid-fire photographs, timed seconds apart. Horst then draws his figures with charcoal. After working to render an image accurately, he might brush it into a blurred mess. Or he might use a scrapper to distort and blend all the parts and pieces that seem to be isolated and distinct. Horst says, “Nothing is more tedious to me than a painting that has resolved every ambiguity.” This process is exactly what distinguishes Horst’s paintings from all others.

Horst grew up in small town Minnesota. He studied pottery and printmaking in high school and college, but eventually earned a Ph.D. in theology from Yale University. After twenty years as a pastor, teaching and working toward neighborhood renewal in south Minneapolis, Horst pursued the craft of painting and drawing at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the New York Studio School. He has publicly exhibited his artwork since 2007. Most notably at Canyon Road Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Philip Morton Gallery in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and Fine Art Associates in Boulder, Colorado. He now lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mark Horst’s exhibition, Figures & More, will hang through July 26th at Sumner & Dene Creations in Art, 517 Central Avenue, NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, (505) 842-1400, www.sumnerdene.com

SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico

2014-06-12T07:25:00.000-06:00

Last Friday’s ARTScrawl led me to the opening reception of the group show SURFACE and the solo show PARCHED featuring the work of Jane Gordon at the Harwood Art Center.

SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico is an annual juried exhibition, professional development and endowed cash awards program presented by Harwood Art Center in partnership with Albuquerque Art Business Association. This year’s show includes 13 exceptionally talented, committed artists - each in a different stage of emergence: Isaac Alaridpease, Mia Casesa, Chris Casey, Jessica Chao, Xuan Chen, Christa Dalian, Beverly Fisher, Holly Grimm, Bryce Hample, Dani Jeffries, Georgina Latino, Jamie Porter Lara, and Tera Muskrat.

Two artists stood out among the pack. Ceramic tile artist, Dani Jeffries, who says, “My piece represents the yin and yang. Cold hard tile versus soft warm imagery. Light and dark. All things in balance.” Chris Casey whose sculptures are truly one-of-kind says, “My work is an exercise in pure abstraction. I eschew all representation in favor of elegant forms and vibrant collaboration.”

Jane Gordon, the 2013 SURFACE Marion & Kathryn Crissey Emerging Artist Award recipient and the Harwood Art Center Solo Exhibition Award recipient, led an awesome solo exhibition, PARCHED, in the front gallery. Gordon, who holds a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Art Ecology, says she’s inspired by science fiction and fantasy. She hand made each and every rock that appears in her exhibition. In addition, Gordon invites visitors to take seed balls for use in their own neighborhoods to encourage the reflection on the ubiquitous gravel and concrete that prevents even desert plants from flourishing.

The Harwood Art Center has quite a history. From 1925-1976, the property was the home of the Harwood Girls School. Due to cuts in the school’s budget, the school was closed and the campus was reopened as the Albuquerque Urban Indian Center, the Southwest Organizing Project and the Albuquerque Amritsar Academy from 1976-1984. In 1984, Escuela del Sol - Harwood Art Center’s future parent organization, began renting a portion of the campus for elementary school students. From 1991-1995, the focus of Harwood was to build its own community of artists and connect to the neighborhood. Starting in 1995, Harwood expanded to include an after school art program and a summer art camp for children, art classes, exhibitions, community outreach projects, apprenticeships, teaching and professional development opportunities.

SURFACE and PARCHED will hang from June 6 - July 24th at the Harwood Art Center, 1114 Seventh Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, (505) 242-6367, www.harwoodartcenter.org.

Paa-ko Fine Artists

2014-05-07T23:58:00.000-06:00

Under the direction of Dave Daniels, eight exceptional fine artists working in a variety of media presented an impressive debut exhibition this past weekend at the Paa-Ko events center in Sandia Park, New Mexico. Featured artists included Gloria Casale, Anita Daniels, Jane Gaines, Rich Irwin, Semiramis, Dorothy McGeorge, Chris and Trish Meyer.

Ceramic sculptor Rick Irwin is a self-taught artist who began to pursue a lifelong interest in ceramics as he phased out his practice of optometry in Austin. From the beginning he gravitated toward hand-building due to the great versatility of form it offers. His work has gradually morphed from functional pieces to more complex sculptural forms, primarily figurative. The very talented Irwin says, “I never tire of the places clay takes you, the satisfaction of watching a piece develop during the forming process, the anticipation of opening the kiln to see the finished piece for the first time, and the warm feeling when someone actually likes a piece enough to take it home.”

In describing his unique process, mixed media artist Chris Meyer says, “Most of my work originates as photographs of rocks and similar natural forms. Rather than attempt to create a perfect print of my photos, I see the shapes they contain as a starting point. I study these images for patterns, then build collages out of various papers, symbols, and texts to emphasize the shapes, texture and mood of an individual photo.” Meyer has exhibited his one-of-kind art with many groups including Collage Artists of America, Los Angeles Experimental Artists, and The Society of Layerists in Multi-Media.

Contemporary glass artist Anita Daniels was first introduced to glass at Bullseye Glass in Portland, Oregon. As a Bullseye trained glass artist, she received instruction focusing on the “Old World” techniques of Pate de Verre & Glass Cane. Daniels says, “My design inspiration comes from my love of fabrics. The wide variety of vibrant colors and patterns inspire my designs.” Daniels has a degree in industrial arts and chemistry and taught many years at the middle school level. Her background in these two areas served as the perfect combination for the exploration of glass and all its unique scientific properties to create her pieces. Daniels’ glass work is exquisite.

The Paako Fine Artists generously donated 20% of their sales to a local charity which provides emergency financial assistance and/or services to families with school-aged children in the East Mountain area. Their next exhibition is scheduled for October 18th and 19th at the Paako Events Center, 232 Paako Drive, Sandia Park, NM 87047. For more information please visit: http://paakoartists.com or http://www.facebook.com/PaakoArtists.

Chroma - Etchings by Pamela Wesolek

2014-03-13T12:45:00.001-06:00

Green Ocean,
etching and chine colle, 36 x24"

This past weekend, I attended First Friday’s ARTScrawl at New Grounds Print Workshop and Gallery featuring an etching exhibition by Pamela Wesolek. In this new body of work, Wesolek fuses abstract and botanical elements. The colors reference the botanical’s personality and support the energy driving the abstractions. Her intention was to make a gallery space ripe with “Chroma,” or color, and for the viewer to be led by the color into the details of the work. Wesolek says, “I felt strongly about using color as the theme because it seems true to the season of spring when the black and white world of winter dramatically reinvents itself.”

Horses Tails

The highlight of the evening was an etching demonstration of “Horses Tails” by Wesolek. She began by describing the process of inscribing the copper plates with a variety of techniques, using archaic dental tools. Wesolek then coated the copper plate with a water base Akua lamp black ink and wiped the top surface clean with a starched cheesecloth, leaving ink only in the etched lines. The plate was then laid face up on the press bed, covered with Mitsuyama paper from Japan and Mulberry paper from Thailand. The felt flaps of the press were laid on top of the paper and then hand cranked through the press with enormous pressure transferring the inked areas to the paper.

Perennial Nature,
etching and chine colle, 24 x 15"

Nova,
etching and chine colle, 24 x 18"

Wesolek was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. She graduated from St. Olaf College with a BFA in 1998. In addition to being a studio artist with New Grounds for the past fourteen years, Wesolek has exhibited her work in Chenaii, India, Toronto, Canada, Tokyo, Japan and Nantes, France. Wesolek also has major art collections at Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina and Wolverhampton College, Woverhampton, UK. She is also an avid hiker, a mother and a life-long observer of nature.

Pamela Wesolek’s exhibition Chroma will hang through March 29th at New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery, 3812 Central Avenue, SE, Suite 100 B, Albuquerque, NM 87108, (505) 268-8952, www.newgroundsprintshop.com.

TEDx ABQ Salon ~ Why Art?

2014-02-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, I attended my first TED event, TEDx ABQ Salon Art, held at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History to a sold out audience. Speakers from a wide range of backgrounds, education and art experience pondered the question, “Why Art?” They toyed with, tackled and confronted its function, importance, purpose, and place in the world using videos, slides, and performance art.

John Grassham, the Executive Director at Creative ABQ, and Carlos Contreras, an award-winning performance poet, were the event organizers. They set the stage with original artwork created by Cloud Face, one of the original founders of Foundations of Freedom, a collective involving a number of rising stars in the street art, dance and music fields. Together they created an intellectually stimulating evening featuring the following speakers:

Andrew Connors - Curator of Art, Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, who shared that “good artists give us the freedom to make connections. They have a sincere interest in telling a story through symbolism. We have to allow ourselves to be taken by an artist and to let go of who we think we are. In doing so, it will transform our lives!”

http://cloudface.wix.com/love

Sherri Brueggemann - Art Administrator, ABQ Public Art Program, whose response to the question, Why Public Art? stated, “because it’s a law in Albuquerque.” She urged a crowdsourcing of ideas to make more art for “them” and “us.”

Rene J. Palomares II - Master Art Teacher at Bosque School, rephrased the question Why Art? to “Why Not Art?” He encourages procreativity, not pro-art. He inspires others to bring “excellence” to their artwork.

Diahndra Grill - Artist, Activist, Educator and CoFounder of JustWrite, a performance project for prison inmates, responded that “art empowers us. We must look for art in unexpected places. What’s poetic? I challenged you to be poetic.”

Zack Freeman - a performance artist, known universally as a one-man musical group using only a sampler, used his voice to make his colorful lyrics come to life as he discussed the “art of peacemaking (a listening artist), culinary art, physical art, martial arts and the art of family - how art can make a family courageous, spiritual and inspirational.” He posed the question, “Can art change the world?”

Cloud Face, the artist, performed a live painting of a bird on canvas from start to finish in just two hours. The painting was auctioned off at the end of the evening with proceeds going to a local charity.

Richard Saul Warren is best known for having created and chaired the TED conferences from 1984 thru 2002, bringing together various thinkers in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience, where x = independently organized TED event. TEDx ABQ was formed by Tim Nisly in 2010. For more information visit: http://tedxabq.com/

SE-OC Right Brain Gallery

2014-01-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

The SE-OC Right Brain Gallery is a new gallery located in the showroom of the former Garcia Toyota car dealership, giving it a spacious and less cluttered feeling than other galleries. The focus of this gallery is on art created from optics technology and precision metal working techniques that form the foundation of its parent company, Sandia Electro-Optics Corporation.

Currently the gallery is showcasing the talents of a variety of artists who demonstrate their right brain talents with the technologies of solar energy, fiber optics, lasers, glass, photography or metal. Featured artists include Pea Garvanian, Jeff Laird, Tom Spross, Flo Stein, Marian Berg, Robert Crespin, Cindy and Joe McDonnell and Tom Roche.

Two of the artists were present during my visit to the gallery. Jeff Laird, who has been photographing the painted over graffiti of urban American for nearly thirty years, has created a series of mysterious, whimsical forms from commonplace manufactured metals such as perforated and diamond plate steel and aluminum using computer aided design drawing and water jet cutting he calls The Perforated Triangles. This striking, memorable, and enjoyable series consists of colorful systematic components of fanciful, irregular forms which are designed to be hung from the ceiling, on the wall, or bolted together to display on the floor or in the landscape.

I also had the pleasure of talking with Paula “Pea” Garvanian who creates solar-powered art lamps for outdoors from castoff and discard material; hence the name “Leftovers” as her business name. In Pea’s words, “I use repeated patterns, layers, light, and reflection to maximize the energetic and thematic felling each lamp evokes, resulting in a piece of art where the whole far exceeds the sum of its parts.” The SE-OC Right Brain Gallery gets my vote for the Albuquerque art gallery with the most intelligent design.

In addition to the gallery, Sandia Electro received the franchising rights to offer Engineering for Kids programs in New Mexico in September 2013. The hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum was developed by a Virginia-based company to teach lessons in a fun, engaging way to kids from ages 4-14 who participate in after school classes, special camps and parties. Joyce and her husband Michael Cumbo have leased a 2,200 square foot space at the American Square Shopping Center to manage the program’s launch in Albuquerque this past November. In the long term, the Cumbos hope to set up about half a dozen similar learning centers around the state.

SE-OC Right Brain Gallery is located at 3100 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107, 505.816.0214, www.se-oc-rightbraingallery.com. The gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, 11AM - 5PM or by appointment.

Donatella Davanzo: Venice and its Carnival

2013-12-09T20:22:00.001-07:00

First Friday’s ARTScrawl led me to The Artistic Image gallery for the opening reception of a new photographic exhibition by Donatella Davanzo. This exceptional show allows the viewer to experience the beauty and history of Venice while understanding the work of celebrated photographer Donatella Davanzo.

An anthropologist and documentarist photographer, Davanzo has specialized in the study of North American Southwestern Natives’ spatiality. Since her field researches, begun in 1997, she has been documenting settlements and ceremonial spaces, with particular attention to the relationship between traditional organizations and issues of the surrounding environment already dealt with in the first photographic exhibitions held by the Italo-American Association in Trieste, Looking around Arizona (1997) and View of Life from the Southwest (2000), and in the following lectures and publications, both in Italy and at the University of New Mexico. Today, Davanzo is a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at UNM.

Her current exhibition, Venice and its Carnival, includes more than 20 images taken during Davanzo’s multiple visits to the Venice from her home town of nearby Trieste since 2007, plus a slide show of 100 more images of masks. The exhibit includes several photos of Venice itself, included by the photographer to contextualize the mask images. Venetian masks are made of leather, porcelain or with the original glass technique, simple in design and decoration and often with a symbolic and practical function.

The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival that ends with Lent, forty days before Easter on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. It is said that the Carnival of Venice was started from an important victory of the “Repubblica della Serenissima”, in the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia, in 1162.” In honor of this victory, dances and reunions started to take place in San Marco Square.

Be sure to make time in your busy holiday schedule to view this one of kind photographic bonanza. Venice and its Carnival will hang through January 31, 2014 at The Artistic Image, The Cardenas Arts Center, 1101 Cardenas Drive NE, Suite 202 & 206, Albuquerque, NM, 505.554.2706, http://www.PhotoArtNM.com.