Santa Fe, NM MIXED MEDIA A diverse array of art
Anew group show at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will feature four artists whose works range from bronze and wood to oil and acrylic.
Artists in the show are painters William Haskell and Jeff Cochran, and sculptors Paul Rhymer and Tim Prythero, who creates three-dimensional mixed media works.
For Haskell, the show will allow him to show his newest images of the West, which are done in a regionalist and modernist style. “My newest works are focusing on the abstraction and geometry that I see occurring naturally around me as well as the rich and vivid colors that exist in the Southwest,” he says. “My paintings are also based on past observations and experiences that I have had. Much of my inspiration continues to focus on the interplay of light and shadow surrounding the landscape of the West. I am particularly drawn to storm activity and the energy it creates.”
The Santa Fe-based painter says he enjoys showing in group shows like the one at Manitou because they offer a bubbling cauldron of ideas about the West to collectors. “One of the biggest reasons I enjoy doing group shows is seeing the creation and execution of ideas that are completely different than mine, based on the same or similar subject,” he adds. “I always enjoy seeing other artists that have their own unique way of seeing something.”
Prythero will be presenting one of his mixed media sculptures, Star Trading Post. “[It’s an] old Phillips 66 gas station inspired from a photo of 1950 station in Northern New Mexico,” he says. “I got my inspiration for the Star Trading Post after traveling along old Route 66. The main idea [was to show] old remnants of trading posts, though some are still operating, some abandoned.”
Bronze artist Rhymer will be showing sculptures in a variety of sizes, including a monument-sized roadrunner work, Life in the Fast Lane. “Much of the new work has been inspired by and pays homage to my love of music. I am in awe that music, as an art form, can immediately invoke an emotional response. I’ve been using
animal subjects in my sculpture for my narrative for songs. It’s been really fun,” he says. For Life in the Fast Lane, it all came down to birds. “I love birds. Period. Roadrunners have tons of attitude and are really interesting from a sculptural point of view. I’ve sculpted bunches of them. At some point I felt that the idea needed to be more epic. What better place to have an 8-foot roadrunner than in New Mexico at Manitou Gallery?”
The four-artist show runs from July 12 to July 22.