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“Enchantments: Visions of the Southwest” features paintings, photos, sculptures, jewelry and handmade prints inspired by distinctive American region
OMAHA, Neb. – Photographer Dorothy Tuma has gathered several artists inspired by the American Southwest for “Enchantments: Visions of the Southwest,” which will run Sept. 1 through 26, 2010, in the Nicholas Street Gallery, Hot Shops Art Center, 1301 Nicholas St. in Omaha. Participating artists Lori Elliott-Bartle, Debra Joy Groesser, John Prouty, Rose Rutherford and Tuma will host an opening celebration 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, 2010, at the gallery.
“The artists were chosen because of the high quality of their work and the varied media they use to depict the Southwest as a whole,” Tuma said. “I hope visitors will experience the Southwest as each of us did when we created these pieces and will see the gifts this distinctive region offers. The show provides a way to explore the Southwest without leaving Omaha, and the opening reception offers a great way to kick off the city’s weeklong creativity celebration.”
Painter and printmaker Lori Elliott-Bartle will display oil paintings and woodcut prints. Her painted landscapes are often characterized by cobalt skies framing the focal points, such as red rocks or twisting trees. Her prints portray interiors, as well as landscapes, with several layers of color. Her style in either medium includes a bold palette, simplified shapes and high contrast. “I’m inspired by the clear light and vivid, fleeting colors I see in the high desert,” she says, “and I’m comforted by the silence of remote areas, where I can easily find internal stillness and tap into creativity.”
Debra Joy Groesser specializes in creating oil paintings “en plein air”, outdoors on location. She typically uses a limited palette of about five colors plus white. She portrays light, shadow, atmosphere and emotion. For this show, she will exhibit plein air and studio paintings portraying locations in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. One inspiring site was Zion National Park in Utah. “I wanted to try to capture that breathtaking beauty and light,” Groesser says. Other pieces depict “the subtle beauty of the desert — Joshua trees, saguaro cactus, the Rio Grande, cliffs and canyons.”
Sculptor John Prouty will show works created from glass and steel. Most pieces are tabletop sculptures intended for garden displays. One piece incorporates natural found objects; one large freestanding piece is constructed entirely of rusted steel, “which has been rusting for about a year and a half,” he says. “Rusted steel constantly changes like the colors and light in New Mexico. I use glass to bring in bright colors inspired by desert blooms and turquoise.” A lifelong artist, Prouty creates and shows his work at Prouty Place in South Omaha.
Rose Rutherford’s original jewelry portrays elements of the Southwest in traditional and contemporary designs, using themes such as harvest, earth and water, and celebration. Rutherford uses only American Indian turquoise along with precious materials from around the world. “For 26 years I have been blessed to see New Mexico with my personal historian and native of Santa Fe, my husband Michael,” says Rutherford. “The land and people continue to amaze me and feed my artistic creativity. Piñon burning, native chili peppers and the overwhelming sense of calm are things I associate with Santa Fe and the area around it.”
Dorothy Tuma, best known for her black and white 35mm images of architecture, turns to color digital photography for this show, where her work explores beauty and spirituality. “The quiet, the solitude, the history and the profound draw me in time and time again,” Tuma says. “Everything is quite beautiful, unique, and deeply religious. I am profoundly moved by the spirituality of the spaces and there are times that I impart the vision to memory and keep as a personal moment; there are also times when I must capture a photo for people who have never visited.”
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