Friday, August 24, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Sarah Hartshorne, Quiet Beauty
Sarah Hartshorne’s paintings in the Matrix gallery bring the
beauty of nature indoors. Surrounded by her crisp oil paintings of serene water
lilies, sunflowers and wooded trails, viewers forget that they are indoors.
The
large scale of her work and vividness of her imagery caused viewers to pour
over the paintings, looking for brushstrokes, trying to figure out just how she
does it. Her work explores the play of light and shadow, and brings
her subjects alive with color. Viewers enjoyed talking with Hartshorne about
her painting techniques, her use of color, and the imagery that she works from.
Thank you to all the volunteers, to those who came to the show, and to Jeff Simpson, photographer.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Sally Condon is in this upcoming group show!
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Opening Reception for Image New Mexico
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| Regina Held, Director of Matrix Fine Art |
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| Carol Mell with her work |
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| Uwe Schroetar with Trinity, selected for a Juror's Choice Award by Andrew Connors |
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| Robert Esposito with Grey Beyond the Tenacious which won Second Place as well as the People's Choice Award |
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| Regina announcing the winners |
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| Audrey Connolly receiving her prize |
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| Audrey Connolly with Las
Trampas Neighborhood Watch which one Third Place |
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| Robert Katz, a member of Matrix Fine Art |
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| John Gilbert with his work |
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| Emilie Sommers with her work |
Image New Mexico 2012
This year the annual juried photo exposition and
competition featuring local photographers at Matrix Fine Art culminated
in a spectacular opening event. A grand
total of eight awards were given by the panel of judges, Fernando Delgado,
photographer/artist; Andrew Connors, Curator of Art, Albuquerque Museum;
LeRoy Perea, curator, Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show, InSight Women’s
Photography Exhibit; and Bob Laetare,
director, The Artistic Image (alternate).
First Place was given to David Kelton for his piece, Ice Storm, while second and third went
to Robert Esposito for Grey Beyond the
Tenacious, and Audrey Connolly for Las
Trampas Neighborhood Watch, respectively.
Mr. Esposito’s work was also honored with the People’s Choice
Award. Each Juror was also able to
celebrate their individual favorites through the Juror’s Choice Award, with
both Mr. Perea and Mr. Laetare selecting David Kelton’s Water Drop, Mr. Connors choosing Uwe Schroetar’s Trinity, and Mr. Delgado choosing Mary Hobbs’ Untitled #7 from “Just Before Sleep”. The final award, Best of Show, was given to
John Palmer for Pipes of Pan.
The show is a marvelous combination of images ranging from abstract to figurative and landscape. It will be on view through July 28th. We hope you are able to witness this triumph of New Mexico’s most talented photographers!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The light is quite illuminating
There are stop-and-think shows, funny
shows, interesting shows, some overwrought silly shows and hat-in-hand,
well-meaning shows.
Sally Condon’s 19-piece “In Broad Sunlight” is a drop-dead-gorgeous show, filled with beautifully crafted oil and wax paintings, at Matrix Fine Art. Her radiant paintings magically light up the walls while offering viewers intimate narrative vignettes about life in Condon’s backyard garden universe.
I have mixed feelings about her latest work. In visual tactility and sheer juiciness it falls somewhere between the six Rembrandts that my father visited on rainy Sundays at the Baltimore Museum of Art and those vanilla ice cream bars on a stick wrapped in frozen orange sherbet that were my favorite childhood indulgence.
In “Blue Note” Condon juxtaposes a creamy orange across the
right-hand two-thirds of the vertically divided composition against a
pale gray area punctuated with a turquoise oval on the lower left. Two
circular forms within rectangles on the right are textured with grid
patterns.
The only darks in the composition run along the vertical divide between the orange and gray areas. The effect of the dark blue, red, green and pale yellow vertical stripes of color is to draw the eye away from the large areas to focus on what becomes a rift between the two large planes.
In all of Condon’s paintings the details are where the secrets hide. Most of us think of classical Greek sculpture in terms of pure white marble or limestone. In reality Greek sculpture was originally painted in garish bright colors that were softened and muted into normal flesh tones and hair colors when bathed in unrelenting Mediterranean sunlight.
Condon is unafraid of sunlight and purposefully allows it to burn away many of her forms. The remaining islands of structure are the survivors of the searing solar beacon.
In “Lemon Afternoon” Condon offers small rectilinear sections made up of dark color and collage elements that float in a pale lemon yellow void. The beauty of these details is their clear wax overlays that keep them level with the painted surface.
Condon uses a brayer to apply layers of color to avoid the distraction of brush strokes. Her technique is similar to the application of ink on a printing plate.
By building each layer upon the next, she achieves an inner luminosity that captures and rebroadcasts ambient light.
Condon reveals a sense of humor in “Peek,” a vertical composition of blues and pale yellow that is enhanced with a vertical dark area out of which peeks a flower with white petals that seems to be shy.
The painting is filled with etched lines and highly detailed elements that offer depth and richness to the whole. “Peek” is a stunning piece that includes a bit of scumbled brushwork.
Another vertically composed picture is “Keeping Up” featuring pink, red, white and green areas floating in pale yellow. At one time we were all the little kid who was assumed to not be able to keep up with the bigger kids.
Though Condon may not have had that kind of keeping up in mind, her lovely pictorial evokes the idea.
Her collage materials include leaves, flowers, bits of cloth and photographs all blended into her compositions under layers of beeswax. Condon is a gardener and beekeeper. Her materials, ideas and stories fall readily to hand. Each painting is infused with sunlight, Condon’s love for nature and a modicum of magic.
http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/05/13/living/arts/the-light-is-quite-illuminating.html
Sally Condon’s 19-piece “In Broad Sunlight” is a drop-dead-gorgeous show, filled with beautifully crafted oil and wax paintings, at Matrix Fine Art. Her radiant paintings magically light up the walls while offering viewers intimate narrative vignettes about life in Condon’s backyard garden universe.
I have mixed feelings about her latest work. In visual tactility and sheer juiciness it falls somewhere between the six Rembrandts that my father visited on rainy Sundays at the Baltimore Museum of Art and those vanilla ice cream bars on a stick wrapped in frozen orange sherbet that were my favorite childhood indulgence.
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If you go WHAT: “In Broad Sunlight,” 19 oil and wax paintings by Sally Condon WHEN: Through June 9 WHERE: Matrix Fine Art, 3812 E. Central HOW MUCH: Free. Call 268-8952 |
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The only darks in the composition run along the vertical divide between the orange and gray areas. The effect of the dark blue, red, green and pale yellow vertical stripes of color is to draw the eye away from the large areas to focus on what becomes a rift between the two large planes.
In all of Condon’s paintings the details are where the secrets hide. Most of us think of classical Greek sculpture in terms of pure white marble or limestone. In reality Greek sculpture was originally painted in garish bright colors that were softened and muted into normal flesh tones and hair colors when bathed in unrelenting Mediterranean sunlight.
Condon is unafraid of sunlight and purposefully allows it to burn away many of her forms. The remaining islands of structure are the survivors of the searing solar beacon.
In “Lemon Afternoon” Condon offers small rectilinear sections made up of dark color and collage elements that float in a pale lemon yellow void. The beauty of these details is their clear wax overlays that keep them level with the painted surface.
Condon uses a brayer to apply layers of color to avoid the distraction of brush strokes. Her technique is similar to the application of ink on a printing plate.
By building each layer upon the next, she achieves an inner luminosity that captures and rebroadcasts ambient light.
Condon reveals a sense of humor in “Peek,” a vertical composition of blues and pale yellow that is enhanced with a vertical dark area out of which peeks a flower with white petals that seems to be shy.
The painting is filled with etched lines and highly detailed elements that offer depth and richness to the whole. “Peek” is a stunning piece that includes a bit of scumbled brushwork.
Another vertically composed picture is “Keeping Up” featuring pink, red, white and green areas floating in pale yellow. At one time we were all the little kid who was assumed to not be able to keep up with the bigger kids.
Though Condon may not have had that kind of keeping up in mind, her lovely pictorial evokes the idea.
Her collage materials include leaves, flowers, bits of cloth and photographs all blended into her compositions under layers of beeswax. Condon is a gardener and beekeeper. Her materials, ideas and stories fall readily to hand. Each painting is infused with sunlight, Condon’s love for nature and a modicum of magic.
http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/05/13/living/arts/the-light-is-quite-illuminating.html
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Text Me
Matthew Lutz’s solo show “Text Me” was a huge leap from the
botanical paintings he was doing. His technique and skill show through in this
new body work that is influenced by modern technology and street graffiti. Inspired by today’s youth and contemporary
events, the work examines our society, our relationships, and how we use
technology to fabricate meaning.
“Text Me” received a review of the show which can be found
at: http://passionateforart.blogspot.com/2012/03/text-me-paintings-by-matthew-lutz.html
Tornado, Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40"
Clients and Pamela DiMauro, Gallery Assistant
More work by Laura Wacha
Saturday, February 11, 2012
RED opening!
Sarah Hartshorne showing at Cancer Center in March!
Come see some of Sarah Hartshorne's in the spring show at the Cancer Center
with the opening on March 25th, 1-4pm. Music, wine, food and 175
paintings to see. On Lang, just south of Paseo, west off of Jefferson. Albuquerque, NM.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January's 1 x 15 Opening
The opening provided a unique opportunity to photograph Minie Gonzales for 2 minutes in the Matrix Gallery! Photographers e-mailed their favorite to be juried in hopes of winning a Think Tank camera bag. You can visit www.matrixfineart.com and see the entries there. Minie was the star of the night and here are some shots of her being photographed!
A past 1 x 15 model
Susan Evans(Matrix Artist) and Tim Anderson (photographer and one of the organizers of this show)
Tanya Landin (Gallery Assistant) and Meredith Chapman (One of the best interns!!)
Thanks to all the volunteers and to Jeff Simpson and Susan Evans for photographing the event!!
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