Local artist’s work earns coveted spot in London show
Natalie Voelker is in elite company.
Just don’t tell her that. She won’t believe it.
The Albuquerque-based artist recently traveled to London as a piece of her work was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.
“According to them, it’s the most prestigious portrait shows,” she says in her studio.
A little about the event. The exhibition opened at the National Portrait Gallery in London on June 11 and runs through October 2019. The exhibit then travels to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh from December to March 2020, and then to the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Ireland, from April to June 2020.
The BP Portrait Award, now in its 40th year, is open to artists from around the world. Judges received 2,538 entries from 84 countries. Of these, judges selected only 45 for the exhibition. The exhibitors will also be considered for five cash prizes and a possible commission.
Voelker is one of eight U.S. artists featured in the exhibit.
When she hears that, reality sets in.
“It’s humbling to know that I’m going to be in this show,” she says. “I spent years watching who gets in the show. This time, it’s my turn.”
Voelker’s piece is titled “Davetta.”
She had local activist Davetta Wilson sit for her in 2017.
The oil-on-canvas piece is 6 feet by 5 feet.
Voelker has been painting for 30 years.
She studied art at the University of Wisconsin and in 2004 moved to New Mexico, where she has become known for her murals and portraits.
Voelker’s approach to art is in revealing her subjects’ inner lives through the medium of paint.
“The first time I met Davetta, I knew I wanted to paint her,” she says. “She embodied the power and hard-won sense of self visible in the gestures and facial expressions of those who have persevered through difficulty and struggle.”
Voelker’s work can be seen across Albuquerque, from the Harwood Art Center to the newly opened La Reforma Brewery.
The mural at La Reforma Brewery was finished before she headed to London.
“I paint ordinary people, and everybody has an interesting story,” she says. “With La Reforma, there was an interesting story there too. The statue in Mexico City is really beautiful. She’s the goddess of the revolution.”