Mixed Media
Vivo Contemporary’s Giving Voice to Image 6
Since its inception, Vivo Contemporary has operated as an artist consortium, staffed by members who are committed to showcasing their works in themed group exhibitions. Every winter and spring since 2013, Vivo has also promoted a collaborative exhibit between its artists and local, award-winning poets: Giving Voice to Image. Inspired by the Roman poet Horace, who said, “A picture is a poem without words,” the gallery pairs participating artists, who create works in their preferred medium, with a poet who writes a poem inspired by the artwork.
For Giving Voice to Image 6, artists include Nina Glaser, whose allegorical and myth-inspired figurative works are made using a combination of stained glass and photography; Warren Keating, whose impressionistic oil paintings depict figures in motion from atypical vantage points and are made using short brushstrokes that resemble pixels; and Ruth Weston, a sculptor who creates figurative works in ceramic and bronze. All of Vivo’s stable of artists are participating, along with 11 poets. These include Beca Alderete Baca, who based a poem on artwork by Sally Chiu; Valerie Martínez, who was inspired by a piece by artist Gary Oakley; and Reese Taylor, who worked from a mixed-media piece by Ann Laser. In preparation for the exhibit, the poets visited the gallery as well as artists’ studios before writing their poems.
The opening reception for Giving Voice to Image 6 is Friday, March 16, at 5 p.m. Poetry readings take place at the gallery on March 30 and April 20 at 5:30 p.m. and are free to the public. The gallery is located at 725 Canyon Road. Call 505-982-1320. — Michael Abatemarco