EXHIBITIONISM
A PEEK AT WHAT’S SHOWING AROUND TOWN
Pauline Ziegen, When a Whisper Becomes a Song (2019), oil, gold leaf, mixed media on panel
Owen Contemporary, 225 Canyon Road, 505-820-0807, owencontemporary.com Inspired by the prairie lands of the Great Plains, where she painted landscapes en plein air, Pauline Ziegen now makes compositions that tend toward abstraction, but are still rooted in a landscape tradition, replete with a horizon line separating earth from sky. Atmospheric and nearly featureless, her paintings evoke a feeling of landscape without making reference to a specific time or place. The work of Jinni Thomas, by contrast, is more firmly anchored in nonobjective abstraction. Thomas’ paintings are built up in layers in which she pools the paint and sands it away, creating a lustrous, multitoned surface. Meditations on Light, a two-person show of their work, opens with a 5 p.m. reception on Friday, Aug. 30, and is on exhibit through Sept. 12.
Fabio Napoleoni, I Feel It in My Bones (2019), fine art edition on canvas
Chuck Jones Gallery, 126 W. Water St., 505-983-5999 Tattered and worn, and rag doll character Marcenivo, an original creation by artist Fabio Napoleoni, always keeps hope alive in heart in his search for love and happiness, and he always bounces back.The recurring character is a beloved figure who embodies the gratitude the artist feels for the life of his daughter, who endured numerous operations to correct severe heart abnormalities as a child. Let’s Talk About It, his fourth exhibition at the gallery, features new works on paper and canvas featuring Marcenivo. “As a child and into my teen years, the characters created by Chuck Jones played a huge role in my creative thinking,” he said in a statement. “Chuck was able to create unique characters that made you laugh and smile uncontrollably.” Napoleoni hopes to do the same while pulling on your heartstrings. The gallery hosts a collector preview and vernissage at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30. Napoleoni will be drawing live during the event. An open house follows at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, and the artist will be signing dedications.
Jade Leyva, Mandala de Miel (2019), acrylic
Mill Contemporary, 644 Canyon Road, 505-983-6668, millcontemp.com In a new body of work on the theme of human and animal migration, artist Jade Leyva focuses on the universality of the migrant experience, while also emphasizing the fragile relationship of people to land. Although she was born to an artistic family in Mexico City, she didn’t become an artist until she moved to the United States. Her paintings, which she describes as Magical Realism, explore the interconnectedness of life, often through renderings of indigenous women. “Everything that lives on Earth had a story of migration,” she said in a statement. “I paint indigenous women and the femininity that comes along with it. There’s a power in showing the feminine side. I like to express and show the beauty of indigenous women.” I Have a Soul, an exhibit of her work, opens with a 5 p.m. reception on Friday, Aug. 30, and is up through Oct. 1.
David Ligare, Falling Man (Icarus) (2016), oil on canvas
LewAllen Galleries 1613 Paseo de Peralta, 505-988-3250, lewallengalleries.com Since the days of antiquity, artists have evoked the Classical style, reviving, time and again, its artistic ideals. Keeping that spirit alive in paintings that seem to echo the great works of the Classical period (while also seeming new), painter David Ligare creates narrative works that evoke the timeless realm of myth. In his figurative compositions, idealized human figures appear archetypal, and his still lifes are rendered with a sense of symbolic power, enhanced by the artist’s emphasis on balance, restraint, and proportion. Elements, a solo exhibition of Ligare’s paintings, opens with a 5 p.m. reception on Friday, Aug. 30, in conjunction with the openings for Best in Show, an exhibit of hyperrealist works by Tom Palmore, and From the Indian to the Mythic, a show of artist Fritz Scholder’s lesser-known works on the themes of mythology, the occult, the human psyche, and more. Elements is on view through Oct. 12.
Roseta Santiago, Salve A Los Niños (2019), oil on panel
Blue Rain Gallery, 544 S. Guadalupe St., 505-954-9902, blueraingallery.com In sharp contrasts of muted tones and vibrant color, Santa Fe-based painter Roseta Santiago creates vivid realist portraits of indigenous peoples of the Southwest, and more. Native men and women in traditional dress are rendered with great attention to detail, and Santiago captures the soulful countenances of her subjects. “I am completely inspired and will celebrate my senses and my life by painting and storytelling because I cannot help myself,” she said in a statement. “It is this gift to see and hear and paint my thoughts that inspires me to pick up my brushes again to embark on a journey of discovery ... to dance between reality and imagery.” Encantado, an exhibit of her work, opens with a 5 p.m. reception on Friday, Aug. 30. The show is on view through Sept. 14.