event | Color Fest
Aug 04, 2017 - Aug 31, 2017
We live in a world filled with color. It can evoke a mood and the colors we surround ourselves with directly influence the way we feel. Artists have a very personal relationship with color often using it consciously to communicate meaning in their work. It enhances the ambiance of a piece powerfully supporting the atmosphere created by the artist. In August we explores the symbolic power of color with the art works of "ColorFest" at our gallery and Satellite Exhibits Sedona City Wide.
One of they first things viewers are drawn in by in Pointillist Sherab Khandro's paintings is the vibrancy of her color palette. She is a master at the use of cooler, deliberately setting them side-by-side to either excite or calm the hue. Pointillism uses pure colors, rather than blending shades, allowing the viewers eyes to naturally blend into hue making use of the innate impact that colors have on each other.
LauRha Frankfort, a multi-media artist, musician singer and one of only five certified Qi Gong instructors in Phoenix, uses Qi Gong theory to create her intriguing pieces. According
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"Swimming Dragon Qi" LauRha Frankfort |
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to Frankfort specific colors and material heal. She paints the human form, mostly female, blending color along the body's energy lines that correspond to certain body parts. Qi Gong emphasizes natural and holistic healing and is the technique of building, increasing and directing the energy of the body, mind and spirit. She says her goal is to spread joy and expression.
Susan Makara, featured in Phoenix Home & Garden's August issue, is renown for her paintings of cairns. Her pieces are collected internationally, one hangs on the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her fascination with them began in Sedona in 2000 where she saw them as she was hiking and was compelled to explore their meaning. She says of them "All over the world, from ancient times to present, people have built cairns. They mark a significant place or tomb, serve as communication, mark a trail, or have a religious purpose. Cairns allow us to ponder the balance of life." She works to capture the true essence of the Sedona red rocks in her paintings. One cannot see it in a photograph, but Sedona's red rocks glitter in the sunlight because of the large amount of silica in them. To create this glowing effect, the metallic textures in Makara's pieces are created by a variety of acrylic gel mediums applied by the palette knife.
Balance, connectivity and spirituality are the attributes the
Ben Wright strives for - both in his life and paintings. Part Cherokee he draws from Native American ceremony, symbolism and tradition in his compelling pieces. He uses powerful imagery, juxtaposed with bold
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"Prayer Stick Medicine"
Ben Wright |
colors and neutrals, in combination with a sophisticated glazing technique. The finished works hold a special vitality and eloquent voice that calls the viewer into a centered peace.
James Cook's paintings are big and gutsy, full of virtuosity; with lavish, vigorous and confident brush strokes. He creates unexpected textures and colors invites the viewer closer tot he vast splendor of his subjects. Margaret Regan of Tucson Weekly said of his work: "Cook's deliciously buttery paint charges outward into a third dimension. Thick swaths of glossy oils - blue against beige, yellow over forest green, rooms on maroon - rush across the linen with nary a thought for cowboy cliché. Stand up close, and you can't imagine that these wild brushstrokes are anything but random, the work of an abstractionist in tune with his automatic muse. Take a step back to view some of the Southwest's most iconic landscapes."
The public is invited to see these new works, intriguing sculpture, paintings, sculpted metal bells, jewelry and kaleidoscopes by renowned local and regional artists at the opening reception for ColorFest on Friday, August 4th from 5-8pm.
Please visit our Gallery, our Satellite Exhibits and Artists in Residence.