Mixed Media Objects of Art Santa Fe
Kim Tschang-Yeul’s fascinating water-drop paintings and Kim Tae-Ho’s textured color field paintings are on display at this year’s Objects of Art Santa Fe show at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe (555 Camino de la Familia). “When I cut through the surface of the layers of twenty or more colors with a palette knife, the colors hidden underneath come alive, and they carry both the internal rhythm and the external composition,” Tae-Ho writes about his work, an example of Korea’s Dansaekhwa art form. “It is almost like the window frame of a traditional Korean house, a stone wall one finds in the countryside, or a densely woven fabric. In the course of piling and scraping of color layers, countless squares are built. Like a beehive, each square is a microcosm bursting with its own energy, namely, life.”
The square is a focus in another attraction at Objects of Art, now in its eighth year. An exhibit staged by Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery juxtaposes more than two dozen early Navajo rugs and blankets and an array of modern artworks. Homage to the Square poses a dramatic contrast with the jackets, tunics, dresses, bow ties, and other garments made from vintage Japanese kimono fabrics shown by Asiatica, a Kansas City workshop and store that is one of more than 70 exhibitors at the show.
“This is not your grandmother’s antique show,” writes Kim Martindale, the show’s co-producer. “The goal of the show is not about having a complete set of Chippendale furniture. People are no longer keeping strict boundaries in art, they are uniting and putting diverse pieces together. They want to have art and design they can live with, they can wear, and they can love.” She and co-producer John Morris present the show to appeal to collectors young and old, to the connoisseur as well as the simply curious. “No matter what the age or background of our visitors, we want to be sure you are turned on to new things,” Morris said. “You’re supposed to be surprised.”
The show’s thousands of objects also include rare books, African sculpture, Persian rugs, Plains Indian quillwork, and opal jewelry from Haig’s of Rochester, Michigan. Objects of Art Santa Fe opens with a $50 gala from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10; proceeds benefit KNME-TV PBS New Mexico. Admission is $15 during regular show hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11 through Sunday, Aug. 13. Call 505-570-3220 for more information; tickets are available at the door and by visiting www .objectsofartsantafe.com. Martindale and Morris also produce the Antique American Indian Art Show Santa Fe at El Museo Cultural, Aug. 15 through Aug. 18. — Paul Weideman